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"Sure." I race past her to scoop up Harper and set her on the top of the smallest slide. Harper giggles and slides down like an old hand.
"Again, Unca Ash."
So I do it again. And again. And again.
"Louie, over at Bergman's auto, has a sign in his window looking for help. I don't know how you can fit more working hours into your day, but I thought it might be something you'd enjoy."
"That's a great idea. I've got Tuesday and Friday free during the day."
"The only upside is at least you'll be too busy to spend more time with Clover Weston." Amelia catches Harper at the bottom of the slide and hands her over to me.
"Don't worry about me, Sis." I set Harper on top of the slide. "Clover Weston can't hurt me."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Clover
My foot slides out from under me on the wet, muddy trail and I grab a tree to stop myself from falling on my face. When I straighten and get my feet back under me, my knee shoots a blast of pain straight to my brain so severe I gasp aloud. My hair is dripping wet, the rain pounding down on me, but I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, waiting for the pain to subside.
Eventually, the pain becomes bearable and I take a step, but there's more pain. Not as severe, but clearly my knee is tender enough that there will be no more running for me if I want to race in a few weeks.
I ease my way down the trail, cursing myself for not checking the weather. Now, I've re-injured my knee and my run time isn't even very good. My heart rate stubbornly remained in zone three, no matter how easy I tried to go. I know enough about my body to realize I'm worn out from teaching classes and training every day, but it's still frustrating. I can't remember another time that it's been such a struggle to find the energy to train the way I want, but then again, I've never trained for an endurance race before.
At my pace, it'll be dark before I get home, but I've got no choice but to keep going. It's not like Grant's going to send a helicopter to rescue me without asking why I'm limping.
By the time I see the house in the distance, past one more bend in the trail, across the trail head parking lot, and overtwo fields, I'm soaked to the bone and shivering so hard my knee aches just from the vibration of my body. Hopefully, the shivering will also make it impossible for anyone to tell I'm limping.
My phone vibrates in my running belt, and I bend my body over it as I pull it out. Ava's name flashes on the screen and I pull the hood of my sweatshirt farther over my head to keep my phone dry as I put it to my ear.
"Clo, why aren't you video calling?"
"Because I look like a drowned rat. What's up? Did you hear back from Nina about doing a guest post on my page?" In another effort to gain me more followers, Ava has asked fitness guru to the stars, Nina Trace, to help me out.
"Who is the hottie you're making out with on that snake video?"
I hold back a groan for so many reasons. One, Ava doesn't like to discuss things that make her uncomfortable, so ignoring my question about Nina means she turned us down. Two, Ava's seen the video. And three, she called it 'that snake video.' "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"Are you kidding? Babe, that video is fire. It's got over fifty thousand views. Why didn't the poster tag you in it?"
I snort. "It hardly fits my brand."
"Brand Schmand. You need views and new clients. You can't be picky. But don't worry, I tagged you in it. Guaranteed, you'll get more interest on your pages."
"You did what?"
Silence.
I glance down to see I have no bars on my phone. The call dropped. Damn it.
By the time I drag my weary, shivering body onto the porch, I'm praying I don't run into any of my sisters or their friends. Itoe my shoes off next to the front door and put my hand on the doorknob.
"Empress? What are you doing out in the rain?"
You have got to be kidding me.
I push back my shoulders and smile as best as I can with my teeth chattering because hell if I'm going to give him even the iota of an idea that I'm struggling.
With a deep inhale, I pivot on my good leg to see Asher in a raincoat, hood up over his head and the most adorable little girl I've ever seen, also in a raincoat, in his arms. He jogs up onto the porch looking like he just stepped out of the pages of some catalog that sells clothes for rugged, bearded muscle men, while I stand there, wet clothes clinging to my body, my hair an absolute flat mess.
