"Do you think he's scarred for life?"
"He looks pretty calm actually," Viola said and patted my shoulder. "We'll leave you to it."
"Okay."
"Don't forget we have to perform soon," Scarlett said.
"Have I ever forgotten?" I said.
"No, but"—she waggled her brows—"you've never brought anyone to the reunion either. I wanted to make sure you don't get distracted. So…"
Rolling my eyes with a laugh, I said, "Thanks. See you soon."
Tolliver reached me, and I smiled up at him.
"You good, Stone?" I asked.
Instead of answering me with words, he pulled me into a bear hug.
"That bad, huh?"
"No," he murmured into my hair, "but not gonna lie. There was a moment I didn't think I'd make it out alive."
I laughed.
"You think that's funny, Kent?"
"I think you're hilarious," I said.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Of course, it is." As Tolliver squeezed me one last time then took a step back, he was smiling. "Not to ruin the moment or anything, but I'm dying to know. What exactly did they say to you?"
"Well, let's see," he said.
Tolliver looked up in thought.
"Your dad told me again what would happen if I disrespected you—in much greater detail. That man is a legend."
I smiled then gestured for him to go on. "Okay, what else?"
"The others followed his lead. Clayton was definitely the scariest—he's Aurora's dad, right? Although, there was a moment when your Uncle Ollie asked for my measurements. Something about getting the size of the coffin right? That was inventive and horrifying."
"Apparently, he says that to everyone."
"And I thought I was special."
I smiled at him. "You are to me. What else? Come on, Tolliver, you were over there a while."
He shrugged. "Well, we talked about you, of course. But besides that and the threats, we mostly talked about hockey.
"Really?"
"Yeah, apparently, they don't know much about it. So I gave them the basics."
Shaking my head, I put my hands on my hips and said, "All that time, I was over here worrying about you."
"Ah, that's sweet, Kent."
