Page 22 of Enter if you Dare: Part Three

Khodi laughs. “She isn’t your sister.”

“She is my future sister, and I’m telling you I am watching you, buddy.”

Khodi picks up a string of lights and hands one end to Clay, then ignores me as Clay shakes his head.

Storming off, I head back to Leni, who looks up from the box.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing,” I lie. I like this big-brother thing.

She follows my gaze to where Khodi is now focusing on hanging the lights. “Noa.”

“What? I said nothing.”

She shakes her head. “You have the least subtle face of any person I have ever met.”

“That’s not true—I am extremely subtle.”

She gives me a look, a lot like the one Valli gives me when she is frustrated, and it only makes me smile more. “You win, I’m not subtle at all, but I am still not telling you. Now, get back to work.”

She laughs and goes back to rifling in the box, and I return to making sure everything is running according to plan. The island looks good in Christmas mode. It might not be a winter wonderland, and more of a Halloween Christmas mash-up, but it suits us.

Rue is all over the menu, and I have a taste test this afternoon. Of course, I agreed to it because his food is to die for, and not because I don’t trust him.

Valli is due back from her visit with Cave soon, though I’m still upset I haven’t been able to see him. Nixie says that Cave listens to Valli and that right now we need no incidents. It’s not that she thinks it would turn bad if we saw him; rather, we don’t want to overwhelm him. I get it, but it fucking sucks. I see Cipher breaking on the inside, and I want to help him. He will never admit anything, though, so there isn’t much I can do.

“Valli is heading back over the bridge,” Clay yells out. I asked Ares to radio him so I could meet her.

I hand a hammer and the wreath I picked up to Leni. “Put these somewhere.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere, use your judgment—you’re good at that.”

Leni mutters something, but I am already moving toward the front gate. When I reach the parking lot, Valli is getting out of Nixie’s car. She smiles and runs toward me, throwing her arms around my neck. I love seeing her so happy.

“How was it?”

“Good,” she says. “Actually, it was really good.” She reaches into her bag and pulls something out, holding it toward me.

It’s a scarecrow, about the size of my palm, made from paper torn and folded from a magazine. It has a hat and everything. The legs are slightly uneven, and that makes me smile. I take it from her carefully.

“How cute is it?”

My eyes gloss over and my heart squeezes. Fuck, I miss him. I never realized just how much I cared until now. I know now I love the guy. I may not be in love with him, but he is one of my people. He’s someone I would trust with my life, and I’m sure there are only three of us who would ever say those words about Cave.

I hand it back to her carefully, knowing without a doubt that if I keep ahold of it, I will accidentally crush it and then be mad at myself.

Valli puts it back into her bag, and I pull her in for a hug.

“Thank god you’re back. Your sister doesn’t believe I’m a good project manager, and Clay is getting lippy. And Khodi keeps ogling your sister, plus there is a light situation.”

Valli pulls back and takes my hand, then waves at Nixie.

When we get back to the tent, Leni is standing on a chair, trying to reach the top of the entrance to hang the wreath, and Khodi is holding the chair steady.

The afternoon goes by quickly now that Valli is back, but no one seems to give her any attitude when she delegates the tasks. Rue sets tables up inside the tent, and staff carry out the food he has been cooking all day for us to try. People drift in and out, grabbing a bite to eat, and by the time daylight dims, the temperature drops, and people pack up for the day, the tent and most of the main paths are done. I feel good about where things are at.