Page 47 of Now and Then

From my left, I hear Luke’s pained “Holy shit” followed by thundering footsteps as he runs around the corner of the house.

“You okay?” I keep my eyes on the back door.

“Slipped on the damn grass,” he says, stepping up next to me. We’re now shoulder to shoulder.

The women reappear, and based on the way Navy’s hands are frantically waving around, it looks like they’re arguing about something. Sutton shakes her head and returns to the kitchen, still wrapped in the blanket. She freezes immediately, eyes locked with mine. She mouths something, but I don’t know what she’s saying. Navy and Greer stop their squabbling and stand behind Sutton.

She opens a drawer and pulls out a huge wooden mallet.

“Oh shit,” Luke says.

I can’t help but laugh, remembering when Sutton whacked Luke in the head with a hockey stick as kids. He needed three stitches that time. “Stick to the plan,” I say.

“My plan didn’t involve going to the ER because my sister beat me with a kitchen utensil.”

“Yeah, well, just remember this was your idea.”

Sutton drops her blanket, and my heart hammers against my sternum. She’s wearing my old ratty sweatshirt from my early days in the police department. You could ask any man, and he’ll tell you that seeing his woman wearing his clothes comes a close second to seeing her wear his ring.

I match Sutton step for step as we approach the door. She pauses when she reaches the handle, the wooden mallet held off to her right.

“Who are you?” she yells.

I tilt my head.

She looks down at my hand, then immediately back to my face. Her eyes narrow. “You both are so dead.”

She reaches for the handle at the same time I do. She flips the lock, yanks the slider open, and proceeds to chuck the wooden mallet at Luke.

It hits him square in the gut, and he grunts, “The hell?” and doubles over in pain.

“You two suck.” She steps up to me and pushes my chest.

I’m laughing so hard, gasping for air as the mask clings to my face.

“Har har har,” she says and pushes me again. She bends down to pick up the mallet, but this time Luke’s smart enough to get out of the way.

“Luke?” Greer peers out from the safety of her dining room. Sutton’s about to hit him again, but Greer quickly steps behind her and grabs the weaponized kitchen utensil before Sutton can do any real damage. Luke’s doubled over in a fit of laughter.

“You guys are such assholes,” Navy says, leaning against the doorjamb.

“We are,” Luke says through his laughter. “But you love us.”

Recognizing Luke’s voice, Duke sprints out from his hiding space behind Navy. Duke doesn’t even slow down as he launches himself at Luke. The two fall backward into the grass.

“No!” Greer yells. “I get to kill him first.”

She dives for him, but he catches her and wraps her in a bear hug, laughing uncontrollably.

“That was so not funny!” Greer yells.

“It was kind of funny,” I say.

I try to pull the clown mask off, but I’ve sweated so much it gets stuck. After a few seconds, I look up at Sutton, who stands two feet in front of me, arms crossed over her middle. “A little help, babe?”

She raises an eyebrow. “And what if I said no?”

“Then I’ll just have to—” I jump forward, wrap my arms around her body, and throw her over my shoulder.