Page 117 of My Lucky Charm

“Get out,” Dallas says. “Are you any good?”

Scarlett looks up at Gray. “Am I, Dad?”

Gray draws in a slow, deep breath and lets it out on a huff. “Unfortunately, yes.”

Scarlett’s face beams even though he already told her once that she was good. I know from experience how one of Gray’s compliments feels, though, and I don’t blame her for making him repeat himself.

“Is Poppy in the kitchen? I want to see if she’ll let me help,” Scarlett says, shrugging off her coat.

“Yep, just through there.” Dallas points off to the side in the direction of his kitchen, and Scarlett runs off.

“She must look like her mom,” Dallas says to Gray. “She’s way too cute.”

“Maybe, but she favors him on the ice.” I nod toward Gray and take off my coat, then motion for Gray to hand his over. “She was skating circles around the boys out there today.”

Gray shoots me a look. “I don’t want her playing.”

“But she is playing.” I hang our coats on the hooks by the door. “And she’s good.”

He grunts.

“I put in an Amazon order for a Grayson Hawke to English Dictionary, but it hasn’t arrived yet. When it does, I’ll be able to interpret those grunts in no time.”

He glances sideways at me and shakes his head.

I look at Dallas. “Is Sylvia here?”

While I didn’t tell Gray, I do know why Dallas moved to Loveland instead of the city. His grandma lives with him, and she had to have surgery. I don’t think she was supposed to stick around after she recuperated, but this place and its people must’ve grown on her, because she’s still living here, and my entire family is happy that she is.

“No, actually,” Dallas says. “She had a date.”

My eyes widen. “A date?”

“Some guy named Walt,” he says. “She met him playing pickleball.”

I laugh out loud. “Of course Sylvia plays pickleball.”

“Surgery gave her a new lease on life,” he says. “They went to dinner at 3 p.m.” He chuckles, then motions for Gray to follow him into the living room, where, I’m sure, there is some game on the TV.

Before he walks away, Gray looks back at me. “You good?”

I nod with a warm smile. “All good.”

It gives me a glimpse into the kind of person he is when he’s not being Grayson Hawke, and I like it.

A lot.

I watch as he and Dallas disappear, then turn around to find Raya walking in the door.

She takes one look at me and says, “I talked to Amber today.”

“Hello to you too.” I scowl and walk into the kitchen where I find Poppy standing at the counter, stirring something and Scarlett sitting across from her, licking a spoon.

As predicted, Raya follows me. “You punched Jay, Eloise?”

Scarlett looks up. “It was awe . . . some.” She holds out the word “awesome,” wagging her eyebrows like it was, in fact, the coolest thing she’d ever seen.

“You punched him? In front of her?” Raya shakes her head.

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