Page 93 of The Other Fork in the Road

“Ma, me and Jax want to take the girls to paintball. Can Grant hang with you?”

“Of course. We were just about to whip up some cookies. But paintballs will bruise. Those girls don’t want that.”

“We’ll use jelly balls. They don’t hurt or bruise.”

“Okay, see y’all later.”

Austin disconnected the phone. “Boom.”

Jax walked over, his eyes traveling up and down my body, sending that now familiar zing to my tummy. “We have coveralls, so you don’t mess up your clothes.”

Austin clapped his hands together. “Let’s roll.”

CHAPTER20

JAX

Madison and Zoey stood next to my truck by the forest Austin and I had been running around in since we were kids.

They were wearing ginormous white coveralls that I was getting a kick out of. Madison’s eyes dropped to my chest, and she raised her brows in a sexy challenge, making me want to throw her in the back of my truck, and finish what we’d started last night.

“I can’t go running in a muddy forest in these.” Zoey lifted her booted foot. “We need different shoes.”

I pulled down my tailgate, grabbed a duffel bag, and tossed it on the ground. “See if you can find something in there.”

I leaned back on my truck as Madison and Zoey tore through the bag. A few seconds later, Zoey was sporting an old pair of brown work boots as Madison pulled on a pair of flip-flops. Slim pickings in my bag of crap, but if she could run in tap shoes, I was sure she had the balls to take on the forest in flip-flops.

“Well, this blows.” Madison looked down at her feet in my size twelve flip-flops, which had spent the summer in my fishing boat.

Her nose crinkled up. “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can wear?”

“Nope.” I liked her sexy red toenails. “You’re just lucky it’s a nice day.”

Austin walked over. “Are we ready?”

Zoey shrugged. “Maybe.” It was a dare, not a question.

Austin led the way into the woods. “Each team has a flag that I’ve hung on a tree about two hundred yards ahead. Jax and I have the cheetah flag because we’re badass, and you girls have the parakeet flag.” He nodded. “I think we all know why that is.”

“Whyis that?” Madison put her hands on her hips.

He chuckled. “Because you’renota badass, that’s why.”

Zoey shook her head. “Whatever.”

“The goal is to get your team’s flag and take Jax and me out. That’s not likely, but it should be fun for you New Yorkers.” He gave me a high-five. “We’ll start by the truck, and since you’re beginners, without a shot in hell ofactuallywinning, you can get hit six times before you’re dead.”

Zoey shook her head. “I must’ve heard you wrong, because we don’t need any special treatment.”

“Uh, Jax and I hunt everything. Youdoneed special treatment.”

Austin and Zoey walked away as I grabbed Madison by the waist. “I’ll give you special treatment.”

She harsh-whispered me. “Shhh!”

I passed out paintball guns and goggles to everyone, and purposely put multi-colored jelly balls in each of them. I wanted to have a little fun, and this way, the colors would not indicate who shot who. You know it; my halo is held up by pitchforks.

“When I say go, it’s on.”

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