Page 89 of Beneath the Scars
We settle into the last two open chairs. I’m next to Carson while Zane sits next to Teddy.
The conversation continues where it left off when we arrived.
“We’re going to have to hire more people,” Dad says.
Cooper nods in agreement. “I know. The tourist season is stretching us way too thin. But what will we do when winter comes around? We won’t need all the extra hands anymore.”
“Are you talking about hiring more deputies for the summer season?” I ask.
Dad answers, “Yeah, we were run ragged this season.”
He’s right. This was the worst tourist season by far. I raise an eyebrow at Zane. His pleased smile is enough to tell me that, however this goes, it’s all going to work out in the end.
“So, you guys crash the girls’night every time?” Zane asks as we walk into Cooper and Quinn’s house.
“Yep. The girls like to bet on how long we’ll be. The guysvary it up every time, but for the most part, we make it about two hours on average.”
Zane laughs. “Your family is weird.”
I nod at that as we thunder down the steps to the basement.
“Damn it, Quinn,” Aunt Natalie curses. “How are you always right?”
Aunt Quinn’s lighthearted laugh is her only response.
Natalie keeps pushing. “Do you cheat? Does Cooper text you the plan or something?”
Quinn scoffs. “Lord, no. That man is too big a rule follower to cheat.”
“Hey, now,” Cooper defends as he places his palms on Quinn’s shoulders. “I’d help you win if you asked. Those bets have paid for a lot of fun toys for us.”
The way he says toys makes Lottie and Caroline groan. “Oh, gross.”
“Hey, I was talking about kitchen gadgets for your mom,” Cooper replies. “I don’t know what your dirty mind is thinking about.” He ruins the retort by winking at Aunt Quinn.
“So you are cheating!” Aunt Natalie points at Cooper and Quinn as if she foiled their plan.
“No, we are not cheating,” Quinn rebukes.
I move across the room to where Adalaide is sitting on the couch. It’s a ginormous sectional that can hold a ton of people comfortably. Addie scooches over enough to give me space to sit between her and the armrest of the couch.
“How’s your night been?” I ask.
“Perfect. I won forty bucks in poker, and now I’m letting everybody else get a chance to win.”
I bark out a laugh. “That’s my girl.”
Addie cuddles up to me. “I love being your girl.”
“Oh, do you?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“How would you feel about being my girl forever?”
Addie scoffs. “You know I’ll be yours until the day I die.”
“Yes, I do know that. I meant more in the official sense.” I dig into my pocket and pull out the ring box I’ve been carrying around for weeks. Trying to figure out the perfect time and place to propose has been daunting. I hadn’t thought anything would be good enough until this moment.
