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"I don't care about the dirt! There are coyotes out there!"
"Well, yeah." Ro's forehead crinkled with obvious confusion. "Did you not know that?"
Jason finally set her on her feet, and she jerked away from him to cross her arms over her chest. "No! I thought they only lived in the desert!"
The kitchen went dead silent for a moment before her entire family erupted in laughter.
"You didn't know they lived in the woods?" Luca managed through loud guffaws.
"No. Whenever you see them on TV, they're in the desert."
"On TV?" Octavius stopped laughing long enough to look at her with open curiosity. "When did you see a coyote on TV?"
"You know." Feeling self-conscious, she shrugged and looked at the floor. "In that cartoon."
"Oh,tesoro." Still laughing, Jason drew her into his arms. "I love you."
The laughter around them died immediately. Evie raised her head to stare at him, unsure if she'd heard him correctly over the din. "What did you say?" she whispered.
She'd half-expected him to deny it or try to backpedal. But he simply smiled at her and reached up to tuck a stray bit of hair behind her ear. "I love you, Evelyn Berkshire. It's okay if you're not there yet. I can wait."
A part of her longed to say it. But something—maybe it was cowardice or self-preservation, she didn't know—held her back. "Can that just be enough, for now?"
"Yeah, little one. It can be enough, for now."
Chapter 11
Since the sweater Ro had lent her was huge and bulky, Jason let her out of the house with just the sweater, a hat, and a pair of gloves also on loan from Ro.
"Someone should have given me a list," Evie grumbled, pulling on the gloves.
Pulling the knit hat down on her head, Jason grinned and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. "A list of what, tesoro?"
"What I needed to bring. I packed for 'spending the week at a ski lodge without actually skiing', not 'hiking and communing with nature'."
"You knew you were going to be stuck here with Ro. It didn't cross your mind she'd be dragging us all outside as often as possible?" His voice was thick with amusement as he grabbed one of her gloved hands and pulled her outside.
"It's Ro. I gave up trying to figure her out months ago."
"Fair enough." Pulling her close, he gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Cheer up, buttercup. It's a beautiful day, and you get to spend it with the people you love."
"You are such a nerd." But she couldn't hide the smile his words brought to her face.
"Watch it, little girl. This nerd knows how to cut a switch."
It was the second time in an hour he'd threatened her with one, and she'd have been lying if she said she wasn't curious. Not quite curious enough to push him into following through, however. "Sorry, Daddy. I'll be good."
"Mmhmm. I'll believe that when I see it."
"Would you two get a room?" Teagan teased from behind them.
Evie rolled her eyes. "I tried. He said we had to go hiking with all of you crazy people."
"Crazy?" When Octavius turned around, his grin was full of mischief. "You haven't seen crazy, Fancy."
"O, what are you doing?" Evie stepped back, but she slammed into the immovable wall that was Luca. Octavius rushed her, and moments later, she found herself draped across his shoulders as he strode purposefully up the hill. Lifting her head, she sent Jason a pleading look. "Daddy! Help!"
"O isn't going to hurt you, Evie. You're fine." The asshole had the nerve to grin at her.
