Page 91 of Knotted their Beauty

That’s my girl! “It’s two blocks down. I think I need a snack before I walk there. Will you eat with me?”

“Well, it would be rude if I didn’t,” she says with mock seriousness.

Baron leans against the wall as he watches us, chuckling under his breath. He had a hell of a time with his van earlier this week, and I thought he was going to pass out from heat stroke by the time he got back.

“You just got home and you’re already angling for a park date with Arlo. I see how it is,” he teases her.

“He missed me so so so much. This much!” She throws her arms open and I have to put her down when she almost hits me. She’s a tiny menace sometimes.

“That’s a lot,” Lennox says sagely from the kitchen as we walk toward him. “What is the tiny tornado having for her snack before this exclusive park date?”

“Grapes and cheese?”

“Hmm. I think I need some crackers too,” I admit, going to the fridge. “How do you feel about blueberries, kiddo?”

“I could skip them.”

My pack watches as I deliberate over our snack, until I finally have a plate for us to share. Cali says that food sometimes tastes better when it’s from the same plate, and I tend to agree. Sitting down, I pop a grape into my mouth and begin to chew with a hum of happiness.

I cut them all in half to make them easier to eat for Cali, and Ves folds his arms over his chest as he watches us.

“Are you the reason she turns every conversation into an intense deliberation?”

“No. Your genes are the reason she does this,” I grin. “I’m just getting on her level or she’d never try new fruits.”

I managed to get her to agree to mango slices, which weren’t even on her radar.

“Sneaky, and really smart,” Baron says. “Miss Cali, you have Arlo dancing to your tune, don’t you?”

“I don’t know what that means,” she shrugs. I know for a fact she does because it was on one of her shows. We discussed how the phrase could be used on a video call. She wanted to fully understand it the second she heard it.

Cali is so fucking smart. We just all live in her world.

“I have to go to work, but I plan to be home for dinner,” Ves says.

“Really? Can you read me a story before bed, or do you need to go back?”

My omega’s daughter is well versed in how things work in her dad’s life. It doesn’t bother her, she’s willing to roll with the punches, besides she knows he helps people.

“That’s undetermined. I’ll know later today.”

“Okay.”

Cali and I finish our snack, and she helps me by washing our shared plate while I fill up our water bottles. She’s standing on the step stool, and Lennox watches her carefully as she places the plate in the drying rack. He hands her a towel and she thanks him as she uses it.

“Arlo, I need to change my shoes. I can’t play in my sandals.”

“I put your bag by the door. Do you want to see your room?” her dad asks.

“Yes!” The squeal was high pitched enough to deserve a new note register, but Ves doesn’t flinch. He’s well used to his daughter’s antics.

“Are you sure you want to walk?” Lennox asks, watching as they leave.

“Yeah. We walk everywhere. She sounds as if she’s going a little stir crazy.”

“How do you figure?” Baron asks.

“She’s used to her routines. I know she has a blast with her grandparents, but that’s different. When she’s with me, whether it’s the hotel or LA, she knows what she can get away with,” I explain. “If she needs quiet time, no one is going to force her to chat. Or, I can tell when she’s restless and needs to move.”