Page 185 of Huckleberry Hill
Miss you, love you, and if Declan is reading this then tell him I give my blessing.
* * *
Love, Salem
* * *
P.S. Lingerie is expensive, dude. And if anyone asks, it wasn’t me who sold Gianni’s clothes at a consignment shop. Also, it wasn’t me who signed him up for a gay dating app.
With a laugh, I brought the note to my chest. And then I handed it to Declan. He quickly scanned it and let out a booming laugh.
I heard the sound of the front door open. “Hadley!”
“Crap,” I muttered, closing up the box of lingerie. “Quick, get this in the closet.”
“We really need to move back into the cabin,” Declan said, as he placed his beer bottle on my nightstand. He got up and put the box into the closet.
“Up here!” I called out.
I heard the heavy tromp of my father’s footsteps and a moment later my door opened.
“What are you guys doing up here?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Declan and I said at the same time.
“Right,” Dad drawled.
“Is Gianni still alive?” I asked.
“Yes. Unfortunately,” Dad said. He looked at Declan. “You did some serious damage to his pretty-boy face.”
“Sure did,” Declan agreed.
“Saved me the trouble. Thanks, Declan.”
“My pleasure.”
“I think we deserve a beer,” Dad said.
“One step ahead of you.” Declan gestured to the nightstand where his nearly empty beer bottle rested.
“Ah, I better catch up then,” Dad said. “It’s three p.m. anyway. Perfect time to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?” I asked.
“Declan defending your honor,” Dad said. “Among other things.”
“What other things?”
“Let’s go downstairs,” Dad suggested. “Muddy should be back any moment.”
Declan and I exchanged a glance. Dad was being unusually cryptic. He left the room, leaving us no choice but to follow. Tempest was the first one out the door.
By the time we made it downstairs, Dad had already grabbed himself a beer and made himself comfortable in the den.
“Sparkling water? Ginger ale?” Declan asked me.
“Water’s fine,” I said as I took a seat on the couch.
