Page 34 of Chains
“Are you sure, Caleb?”Riot glanced back, then wobbled precariously on his unsteady perch.“Fuck!”
“Don’t fall!”I yelled out, taking a step forward, but Caleb put an arm in front of me gently.I glanced up at him, but Caleb shook his head with a mischievous grin before he winked at me.
“I ain’t gonna fall,” Riot grumbled as he made an effort to place the banner’s corner where Caleb told him.“How’s that?”
“Eh, when you lost your balance, it moved some.I think if you go a little farther to the right you’ll have it.”Caleb pointed the direction he wanted Riot to move the banner.
For some reason Griffin coughed slightly.More like he cleared his throat.Allergies?
Then I saw it.The trough filled with water for the kids to bob for apples was next to where Riot was currently reaching way out to tack the banner’s corner to the wooden frame we’d built as the entrance.Leaning…awayfrom the ladder.
“Oh, God…” I put my hand over my mouth, wanting to stop the carnage but helpless to actually tell Riot to be careful again.“Um, Riot?You sure that’s a good idea?”
Caleb shot me a pleading look, shaking his head subtly.
“I told you, I ain’t gonna fall.I’m steady as a rock.”He sounded like he felt that, by telling him to be careful, I’d affronted his manhood or some shit.
Caleb raised an eyebrow at me as if to say, “Youstillsure you want to stop the carnage?”
When he wobbled again, but still stretched for all he was worth, I opened my mouth to tell him to get down and move the ladder, but what came out was, “You’re right.I don’t know what I was thinking.Lookin’ good there, sunshine.”
“Damn straight -- AHH!”
Riot’s yell was cut short by the big splash as he landed in the trough.Thankfully, it was bigger than the standard bathtub and made of a stout rubber rather than a hard plastic or he might have been hurt, but Riot landed perfectly in the middle, completely submerged before sitting up with a coughing sputter.
“Mother fuck!That’s fuckin’cold!”Riot gasped for breath as he sat up, then scrambled out of the water.“Son of a bitch!”
“Riot!”Violet chastised.“There’s kids here!”
“Fu-- er, fudge.Sorry, honey.”
Everyone in the immediate vicinity roared with laughter.Griffin nearly fell off his perch, laughing so hard he had to hold onto the frame with both hands.Caleb’s mischievous grin had morphed into full-blown laughter as he doubled over, hands on his knees.Even I couldn’t help giggling despite feeling a twinge of guilt.
“Sorry, Riot,” I called, trying and failing to sound sincere through my laughter.“But you’ve gotta admit, that was pretty funny.Besides, you said you wouldn’t fall.”
Riot stood dripping in the grass, his cut soaked through, T-shirt clinging to his muscular frame.He glared at Caleb, who was still cackling with delight.
“You little shit,” Riot growled, but there wasn’t real anger in his voice.“You set me up!”I swear to God, those two acted more like siblings than anything else.
Caleb straightened, wiping tears from his eyes.“Consider it payback for eating my last Pop-Tart.”
“That was three months ago!”
“I have a long memory,” Caleb shrugged, his superior smirk as cocky as any biker in the place.
Carrie approached with a towel she’d pulled from one of the supply boxes.“Here, you big baby,” she said, handing it to Riot with an affectionate grin.“I promise you won’t melt.”
“No,” Riot huffed as he wiped his face with the towel.“But I think my balls are gonna freeze off.”
Chains appeared at my side, his arm sliding around my waist as he surveyed the scene.I leaned into him automatically, my body recognizing its home.
“What’d I miss?”he asked, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he took in Riot’s drenched appearance.
“Just Caleb demonstrating his tactical genius.”I lifted my face to Chains who leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss.
Hannah approached, her arms full of toy donations.I rushed forward to help her, but Chains took the whole thing and dumped them into a giant tub we had set up for drop-offs, so we could go through to make sure everything was new and in the original packaging.“The collection boxes are already filling up,” she said, nodding toward the decorated stations positioned throughout the park.“And we’ve still got four hours until the official start.”
“Good.”I smiled, checking off another item on my list.“Where’re the fog machines?”
