“But it’s the best camouflage for hide and seek,” she whines.
“Yeah and it makes you a tasty snack for bugs,” he shoots back, making her eyes go wide.
“Baby, your feet,” Brax says, pointing at her legs before throwing her over his shoulder and walking into the pond, fully clothed.
When he’s waist deep, he drops her down, supporting her back while they both wipe at her feet.
“Hey! I want to help!” Ryker yells, wasting no time as he strips off completely naked and jumps in after them. He sandwiches her between them before turning her to face him. He kisses her gently then starts licking her face, making her giggle.
I feel the tension leaving my body, seeing her laughing. I glance at Apollo, who’s watching her with a smile.
“You said you didn’t know anyone named Penny,” I state with a raised eyebrow.
“Is that her name? I call her Angel.”
“I told you that wasn’t my name!” she yells from the water.
We both smile as Brax and Ry try to clean her off, but she just seems to want to hug them.
“I better go check on the horses,” Silver says, quickly leaving. I sigh, watching him leave.
“So, what’s up with him?” Apollo asks quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“Why is he dragging his feet with Angel?”
I narrow my eyes at him before asking, “What did she tell you?”
“About Silver? Nothing, but I can read between the lines.” So she mentioned Silver to him, that says something. And he’s right, it’s clear he’s interested in her, and I see that way she glances at him, but for some reason he refuses to accept their connection.
“What about you?” I ask, as a bit of trepidation enters my voice.
“What about me?”
“Come on, don’t play dumb, what’s going on between you two? Don’t think I didn’t notice you playing naked hide and seek.”
He laughs, turning to watch where she’s splashing Ryker, then using Braxton as a shield.
“We’ve grown really close the past couple days.”
“How close?”
“Close enough to see how amazing she is, to know I love her, and to want to marry her.” He turns his worried gaze to me. “I hope you can forgive me, Indy.”
“Of course. You’re my twin, you don’t even need to ask. I’ve been searching for you since you left, you know?”
“Yeah, she told me. But that’s not what I’m asking for forgiveness for.”
I frown at him. “What do you mean?”
“When she first arrived here… I didn’t treat her very well.”
“What did you do?” Brax asks as he approaches carrying Penny, who’s clinging to his chest.
“Apollo, I’ve forgiven you, you don’t need to bring it up again,” Penny says with a sigh, like this is something he keeps rehashing.
“I beg to differ,” Brax says, placing her on her feet and gently pushing her behind him.
