Page 145 of Split You Open

Anchor tuts, his smile faltering for the first time as disapproval colors his tone. “You waste energy worrying, Blair, and you know how I feel about wasting energy.”

Blair shrugs. “Well, now I don’t have to with you here. Come, we made dinner. You can tell me all about what you’ve been up to. We’ve made a Mediterranean salad so it won’t sit too heavy but you’ll get most of your food groups. The garlic naan might be a bit too fancy for you, but it’s delicious so you at least have to try it.”

Anchor raises a brow curiously, “Learning to cook, Blair Bear?”

“She’s the best chef I know,” Wes says warmly as he looks down at Blair.

She smiles back at him.

Anchor takes note of the interaction.

“Between her and Wes, the rest of us have been getting spoiled,” I tell him as I nudge my head to indicate for everyone to follow as I turn around and head for the table.

Santi skips down the porch steps with a plate covered in foil.

“Cariño, on the table or next to the grill?” Santi calls out.

Blair trots past me toward him. “On the table!”

“Cariño?” Anchor mutters darkly from behind me.

I chuckle, the sound more frustrated than amused. If he thinks the endearment is bad, he’s got a whole other thing coming to him when he sees that Santi has no problems barreling past boundaries when it comes to his daughter.

Dinner goes as well as can be, given the present company.

Blair fills her dad in on what she's been doing around Gnarly Pines, and Santi and Wes chime in every once in a while. Rhett doesn’t bother participating. In fact, he just sits there glowering at Anchor. It’s pretty on par for any interaction Rhett has with new people so at least that’s not too concerning.

Anchor, for all his proclivities for avoiding human interaction, sits and participates with surprising ease. I haven’t seen him around anyone other than Blair in so long I kind of figured he’d forgotten how most interactions work.

“—so they cleaned out a room in Zone Two and set up a place for me to work in there,” Blair says as she beams around the table at everyone. “It was nice not giving up all that nursing education after receiving your text.”

“Blair did all the work moving the stuff out of there,” Santi objects sheepishly. “She wouldn’t let us help.”

“As she should,” Anchor replies, his answer clipped.

Wes places a hand on Blair’s shoulder. “Naw, what she should’ve done is wait for us to do it. A lot of that stuff was heavy.”

“And if she’d waited, then what?” Anchor counters. “How long would it have taken for one of you to step in to give her the assistance she needed? No, Blair was right to handle it on her own. Then she’s not indebted to any of you or a burden.”

Wes stiffens while Santi frowns, his brows furrowing.

“Indebted to us?” Santi repeats, then scoffs. “That’s not how things work around here.”

Anchor ignores him to give his attention back to his daughter. “So, you’ve been exposed to more than just these men, Blair Bear? The staff at Gnarly Pines all have seen your face?”

I stiffen. “Of course she has. We waited until we thought the danger had moved on and then gave her something to do that she would enjoy.”

“How terribly reckless.” Anchor shoots me, then Blair a dark look. “All these years in hiding and for what now that everyone knows who you are and what you look like?”

Blair opens her mouth, but I cut her off.

“This was never supposed to be her prison,” I remind him.

He shoots me a withering look. “A prison is safer than this arrangement.”

Santi laughs around a mouth full of food. “Well, we got one of those in the basement.”

Anchor misses the way both Wes and Rhett elbow Santi on either side as he looks at Blair.