Page 2 of Axe Marks the Spot

She sighs. “I won’t, but Starlight Haven is safe. Lowest crime rate in California, remember?”

Nathan tugs on Kas’s ponytail and chuckles. “She is right about that.”

“Regardless, you stay in sight of your uncle, or you’ll lose your video game privileges. Got it, Kas?”

“You wouldn’t!”

She’s right, I probably wouldn’t enforce it with how things have been going for me lately, but I nod and keep my features stern. “I would.”

Kas presses her lips together. It’s no secret she loves her video games and would dramatically “die” without them. Or so she’s said before. I often think it makes me a bad mom, letting her play them so young, but I’m doing the best I can. After a long day of working in the ER, I don’t have the energy to force her to go outside all the time. I guess I should be glad she wants to go to the obstacle course now.

“Okay,” she says finally.

“Alright, then, have fun.”

Kas jumps up. “Let’s go, Uncle Nate!”

“Go wash your hands and face and use the bathrooms first—there aren’t any over by the course. The portable bathrooms and sinks are right there,” Nathan says, pointing to an area behind me in his line of sight.

Kas takes off without complaint, and I sigh. “I’m glad she listens to you, at least.”

“She listens to you, too.” He smiles softly, polishing off the last bite of his funnel cake and brushing the powdered sugar from his hands.

“Only after arguing with me.”

I take another sip of my lemonade as Nathan stares at me. “You okay, Linds?”

“Yep, I’m fine.”

“Liar. Tell you what—why don’t I watch Kas for the rest of the afternoon? I bet you can finally meet a lumbersnack to throw you around.” He waggles his eyebrows at me teasingly.

I laugh. “I forgot I told you that.”

“You’ve only been talking about it since you moved here. Truthfully, I think you wanted to come to the games today more than Kas did.”

Nathan’s right. Kas didn’t really want to come to this event at all. I convinced her with the promise of funnel cake and other sugary items. Plus, Fox and Morgan’s company, Starlight Lumber & Logging, hosts the games. The couple doesn’t participate in it anymore, but they are a huge part of setting it up and getting sponsors for it.

“Linds? Are you really fine?”

I look into my younger brother’s eyes. We’ve always been close—even more so after the death of our dad three years ago from a stroke and then my divorce from Jeremy. In many ways, he’s become more than just a brother. He’s a friend and a solid male presence in Kas’s life.

But though we’re close, I’m not going to share with him that I’m not only exhausted but in need of a good lay, too. I’m also not going to tell him that the reason I haven’t put myself out there in the past two years is because I’m still dealing with hang-ups from my ex. That’s not stuff I want to talk about with Nathan, especially when he has such an amazing relationship with not one but two people. A relationship I can’t help but feel jealous of sometimes.

“I really am,” I assure him. “I’m just tired.”

He taps his fingers on the table. “I don’t believe you, but maybe if I get you liquored up tonight, you’ll spill the beans.”

“Tonight?”

“Okay, yeah. Definitely not fine if you forgot.”

“What’s tonight?”

“Kas has that birthday sleepover at Moira’s, and you’re going out to Moose’s Bar with Fox, Morgan, and me. No backing out.”

I want to smack my forehead. “I totally forgot.”

“Obviously.” He chuckles.