Page 103 of Out Of A Fix

“I’m hungry,” Griff announced to the table. “Who wants some kolachkes with cream cheese and sausage?”

Tatum raised her hand. “Oh, me. Yes, please.”

He got up then, and an open-mouthed Viola watched him leave the table and go to the kitchen, where he preheated the oven.

“He cooks?” she asked Luke.

“He does. He loves it, and it’s been great,” he replied, smiling at her. “If you could let him help you make the turkey and everything for Thanksgiving, that would be appreciated.”

“Of course I will. I would love to show—” She turned to me then. “This is your influence, isn’t it.”

I made a face. “It’s him mostly, ma’am, working hard, making changes.”

“Yes, but there’s always a catalyst, and that had to be you. I mean, look at this place,” she said, gesturing toward the living room. “It’s marvelous.”

“It is,” Quinn agreed, and when I glanced at her, she sat up from her slouched position and gave me a wry smile. “Truly.”

“Thank you,” I said to her, then refocused on Viola. “And thank you, ma’am. The kids have done great with all the changes.”

“Yes, they have, and don’t call me ma’am, call me Viola.” She got up and joined Griff in the kitchen, standing close but with her hands behind her back so he’d know she was solely there to observe.

“You’re not a bodyguard, then?” John asked, returning my attention to him.

“Nash is a fixer,” Luke explained. “It’s not the same as a bodyguard. He works to create an entirely new environment. Protection is only a minor part of his mandate.”

“Oh no,” I groaned. “You’ve been reading the website.”

“And quite an impressive website it is,” he teased, shoulder-checking me gently. “That mission statement alone is worth the price of admission.”

“Why?”

“To learn more about Torus Intercession, of course,” he replied cheerfully. “I’m interested in you, so why wouldn’t I look up the company you work for?”

“It’s so pretentious when you read it, though.”

“Lots of really big words,” he said, chuckling, pressing into my side. “Very fancy.”

“I’ve told Owen a hundred times that he needs to put his thesaurus down.”

“What was interesting to read about, though,” he began, his breath warm on my ear and down the side of my neck, “was that all the things your boss says his fixers do, you’ve done since you’ve been here. The description may have way too many ten-dollar words, but it certainly does not oversell what fixers do. It’s very impressive. You save people and whole families.”

“It’s actually not that⁠—”

“It is,” he murmured. “You know it is.”

If I turned to him, we’d be nose to nose, so I gave my attention to Quinn across the table from me instead. “Would you like something to drink?”

“You’re too late,” she said, pointing to the glass of strawberry ice tea in front of her. “Tatum already served me.”

“You made how much at the yard sale?” John was asking Darwin, probably because he got tired of waiting for me to answer his question about what exactly I did. I was making a great impression all around because Luke was so distracting. “I don’t know what you think a lot of⁠—”

“Over a thousand dollars,” Tatum chimed in. “And now we⁠—”

“That’s a terrible habit, young lady,” John scolded his granddaughter. “You should never interrupt someone when they’re speaking.”

She tipped her head. “But you interrupted Darwin first, then me.”

“Yes, but I’m an adult, and you’re a child.”