Page 105 of Taking the Pitch
Marlene hands them both a towel and instructs them to go inside and sit in front of the fire to warm up.
Brent and Reese follow seconds after. Cass hands Brent a towel giving him a hard time for only making it a few more seconds than the children. When she hands Reese his towel, a shade of pink graces her cheeks that definitely isn’t from the cold. Reese keeps his eyes on her a couple of beats longer thannecessary as he takes the towel from her and wraps it around his body. Cass stares after them as they head into the house.
When she looks back towards the pond, she notices me watching her. I give her a smile and use my free hand to zip my lips. She gives me a small smile and turns back to the pond where Kessler, Judd, and Garrett are the only ones left.
Kessler and Garrett are splashing at each other, trying to get the other to give up first. Judd must have decided he’s had enough because he gets out and heads towards me, goosebumps covering his body and his teeth chatter violently.
“Judd, your lips are blue,” I tell him, handing him his towel.
“My balls probably are too, if I could find them. Might need your help with that later, Shortcake.”
I gasp and backhand Judd on the arm. “Juddson Davis!”
“Ow, what?” he asks, rubbing his arm.
“Can younottalk like that in front of your mother?”
Marlene smirks. “I’ve read your books, dear. What Judd said is pretty timid compared to the scenes you write.”
Judd snorts and I bury my face in my hands. “Oh, God.”
“You’ll be saying that later, too.”
I smack him again, earning another yelp.
“How long have they been in there, Cass?” Lucy asks.
Cass looks at her phone. “Three minutes and forty-five seconds.”
“Kessler Davis! You guys have proven your point. Get out of there before you get hypothermia!”
“Not yet! The bet was who could stay in longer. I’m not leaving until Garrett does.”
“Listen to the missus, Kessler. You’re not going to win this,” Garrett taunts, not even looking a bit cold. Kessler, on the other hand, does.
“This is nothing, I d-do Ice baths all the t-time,” Kessler says as his teeth start to chatter.
“Kessler Davis, if you don’t get out of that pond right this second, the blue balls you’re experiencing now will be nothing compared to what you’re going to feel the rest of this pregnancy.”
“Ooo, Lucy’s cracking the whip.” Judd teases.
“But, Luce!” Kessler starts to protest.
“Test me, Davis, and see where it gets you,” she tells him, crossing her arms and lifting a single brow at him.
Kessler huffs out a sigh and trudges back towards Lucy, making Garrett the winner.
Marlene claps her hand. “Well, now that that nonsense is over, who’s ready for dessert?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
judd
“Your mom sentus home with enough food to feed us for a week,” Amelia says in the passenger seat on our way home.
I chuckle. “I told you. Wealwayshave tons of food. Mom doesn’t know how to cook on a small scale. To be fair, she had to cook a lot of food for us when we were teenagers because we could put the food away. Plus, Garrett moved in with us the summer before he and Kessler started high school.”
“I noticed he called her Mom when he came in.”
