With summer warm all around them, the workshop beside Custom King's was thrown open, allowing the sea breeze to waft through and keep the workers inside cool. Not that one of the workers was inside, of course - Lena had got into the habit of working outside when the weather allowed it, her workbench set up beneath an awning to shade her from the worst of the sun as she painted the boards. It was rare now that her imagination was allowed to run riot on the boards; people had taken the "custom" part of Custom King's to heart, and they had a list of orders as long as their combined arms to fill. Today's project for Lena was a child-sized surfboard, which the little girl in question had asked to be covered in sunflowers. Nice and easy, and startlingly cheerful to work on, for once.
At least, people couldn't really tell Tommy how to make a surfboard. There were slightly different designs for different people, but no one knew surfboards the way Tommy did, and few dared to argue with him about the design. Decorating them was another matter, but that was up to Lena. At the moment, Tommy had taken a break from all the cutting and sanding to cavort on the beach with their son, who was giggling as the waves rolled up onto the beach to cover his feet, while he wiggled his toes in the sand. Behind him, stood Tommy, holding the little boy's hands, and every now and then, he'd lift the boy into the air to a flurry of giggles before setting him back down on the sand again.
He wasn't alone by the shore. Jaz was sitting in the surf with her daughter, Noelle, the two very seriously contemplating a shiny seashell they had found together while Tommy and Nicky played nearby. And, of course, the ever-present dogs. Between them, Milo and Luna could cause a disaster to become a catastrophe, but they were far too lovable ever to blame for it. Lena glanced up from her painting to look over the sand, smiling as she shaded her eyes. Would it really kill them to shut up shop early for once"
It seemed Jack had the same idea, as he had put the "Out to Lunch" sign on the shop door and was making his way down the beach to join them, a picnic basket in one hand and a water cooler of lemonade in the other. He waved as he got closer, calling over, "Lunch time!"
Glancing over her shoulder, Jaz grinned, pointing to Jack for Noelle's benefit. The eighteen-month-old girl tottered out of the surf, running awkwardly over the sand to her father, waving her shiny seashell for him as her mother rose to her feet. "Daddy!"
"Hello, angel!" Jack greeted his daughter, meeting her more than halfway. He set the picnic basket and cooler down on the sand before scooping her up into his arms. "What have you got there?" he asked, having noticed the shiny something she'd been waving at him.
"Sthee sthell," she informed him, showing off the pearlescent shell in her pudgy hands as he held her up off the sand. "Mama wash inna sthee."
Jaz chuckled as she moved to join them. "I swear, that lisp is getting worse, not better," she teased, leaning up to kiss Jack's cheek.
Jack beamed a smile at them both. He'd never felt happier in his whole life than he did after this little angel had come into his life. "It's very pretty," he told her. "But not half as pretty as you," he added, rubbing his nose against hers, and smiling at Jaz's kiss. "It's adorable," he scolded her, regarding Noelle's baby lisp.
Laughing, Jaz nipped the end of his nose, glancing up as Milo barked excitedly. The Golden Retriever splashed joyously through the surf, tongue hanging out cheerfully as he made beeline for his humans and their little human, who let rip with a deafening cheer for the doggie. "Brace yourself," Jaz warned, stepping back out of the way, secure in the knowledge that Jack could take it.
"Oh, good grief!" Jack exclaimed, laughing and knowing he was probably about to get a shower as soon as Milo got close and decided to shake the water off his fur. "I had a shower this morning!" he protested with another laugh.
"Hey, Jack! What do you say we close the shop and take the rest of the day off?" Tommy called over from where Nicky was splashing in the surf.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Lena called. She was making her own way over the sand to them, her work already packed away. She shared a grin with Jaz. "You so owe him the chance to dunk you for that," she told her cousin.
Jasmin snorted with laughter. "I'm admitting to nothing."
After all, the surf contest had been a success, and they'd made a tidy profit from all the sales and orders as a result. Why not take a day off to enjoy the fruits of their labors while they had a chance" "Dunk you for what?" Jack echoed curiously, a little confused.
"For hiding behind you when the dog came to say hello," Jaz grinned cheerfully, her avoidance of getting wet utterly undermined by the fact that she had only just been sitting in the sea with Noelle. It was made worse when Lena knelt to receive Luna's joyful greeting herself, and she was dry before the Belgian Shepherd shook out her fur.
"We live on a beach. We should all be used to getting wet by now," Tommy argued as he walked the little boy over to join the group. He had a point. They'd all stopped fighting to keep the sand out of the house a long time ago, especially once they'd adopted the dogs.
"There's wet, and there's splattered with really cold water drops," Jaz pointed out, squealing as Luna did just that to her.
Lena laughed, eyes closed and face turned away from the drying dog briefly before wrapping her arms around the dark neck. "Don't you listen to your crabby Aunty Jaz," she teased, planting a kiss on Luna's muzzle. "She's a warty frog."
"Serves you right," Tommy interjected. "I saw you hiding behind Jack!" Was Tommy actually siding with Jack for once"
"Don't forget the wet dog smell!" Jack pointed out with a grin. "I brought lunch," he added, half turning toward the picnic basket and cooler he'd brought down from the house.
"I love my husband," Jaz smiled in answer to that, brushing a kiss to Jack's lips.
Lena pulled a face from behind her, for the amusement of the children and Tommy, bending to pull the blanket out of the basket and spread it out on the sand. "So, you two not joining us for lunch then?"
Jack smiled, too distracted by the kiss to catch what Lena was alluding to. "Why wouldn't we be joining you?" he asked, stealing another kiss from his wife, only to have Noelle push his face away from her mother's so she could give her Daddy a sloppy kiss of her own.
Lena snorted with laughter at the little girl's possessive demand for a kiss, spreading the blanket securely on the sand. "Well, you seem kinda busy eating each other right now," she pointed out, opening her arms with wriggling fingers to envelop her own son in a warm hug, pressing loud raspberries to his neck as he squealed with laughter.
"You should really save that for the bedroom," Tommy teased, still able to get a blush out of Jack, even though his friend had been married to Jaz for a couple of years now.
"What, like you do, Bum Fluff?" Jaz challenged Tommy, dropping down onto the blanket comfortably. She flashed him a broad grin. "Don't try to lie, I've seen you two mooning the moons out there in the surf."
At least, people couldn't really tell Tommy how to make a surfboard. There were slightly different designs for different people, but no one knew surfboards the way Tommy did, and few dared to argue with him about the design. Decorating them was another matter, but that was up to Lena. At the moment, Tommy had taken a break from all the cutting and sanding to cavort on the beach with their son, who was giggling as the waves rolled up onto the beach to cover his feet, while he wiggled his toes in the sand. Behind him, stood Tommy, holding the little boy's hands, and every now and then, he'd lift the boy into the air to a flurry of giggles before setting him back down on the sand again.
He wasn't alone by the shore. Jaz was sitting in the surf with her daughter, Noelle, the two very seriously contemplating a shiny seashell they had found together while Tommy and Nicky played nearby. And, of course, the ever-present dogs. Between them, Milo and Luna could cause a disaster to become a catastrophe, but they were far too lovable ever to blame for it. Lena glanced up from her painting to look over the sand, smiling as she shaded her eyes. Would it really kill them to shut up shop early for once"
It seemed Jack had the same idea, as he had put the "Out to Lunch" sign on the shop door and was making his way down the beach to join them, a picnic basket in one hand and a water cooler of lemonade in the other. He waved as he got closer, calling over, "Lunch time!"
Glancing over her shoulder, Jaz grinned, pointing to Jack for Noelle's benefit. The eighteen-month-old girl tottered out of the surf, running awkwardly over the sand to her father, waving her shiny seashell for him as her mother rose to her feet. "Daddy!"
"Hello, angel!" Jack greeted his daughter, meeting her more than halfway. He set the picnic basket and cooler down on the sand before scooping her up into his arms. "What have you got there?" he asked, having noticed the shiny something she'd been waving at him.
"Sthee sthell," she informed him, showing off the pearlescent shell in her pudgy hands as he held her up off the sand. "Mama wash inna sthee."
Jaz chuckled as she moved to join them. "I swear, that lisp is getting worse, not better," she teased, leaning up to kiss Jack's cheek.
Jack beamed a smile at them both. He'd never felt happier in his whole life than he did after this little angel had come into his life. "It's very pretty," he told her. "But not half as pretty as you," he added, rubbing his nose against hers, and smiling at Jaz's kiss. "It's adorable," he scolded her, regarding Noelle's baby lisp.
Laughing, Jaz nipped the end of his nose, glancing up as Milo barked excitedly. The Golden Retriever splashed joyously through the surf, tongue hanging out cheerfully as he made beeline for his humans and their little human, who let rip with a deafening cheer for the doggie. "Brace yourself," Jaz warned, stepping back out of the way, secure in the knowledge that Jack could take it.
"Oh, good grief!" Jack exclaimed, laughing and knowing he was probably about to get a shower as soon as Milo got close and decided to shake the water off his fur. "I had a shower this morning!" he protested with another laugh.
"Hey, Jack! What do you say we close the shop and take the rest of the day off?" Tommy called over from where Nicky was splashing in the surf.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Lena called. She was making her own way over the sand to them, her work already packed away. She shared a grin with Jaz. "You so owe him the chance to dunk you for that," she told her cousin.
Jasmin snorted with laughter. "I'm admitting to nothing."
After all, the surf contest had been a success, and they'd made a tidy profit from all the sales and orders as a result. Why not take a day off to enjoy the fruits of their labors while they had a chance" "Dunk you for what?" Jack echoed curiously, a little confused.
"For hiding behind you when the dog came to say hello," Jaz grinned cheerfully, her avoidance of getting wet utterly undermined by the fact that she had only just been sitting in the sea with Noelle. It was made worse when Lena knelt to receive Luna's joyful greeting herself, and she was dry before the Belgian Shepherd shook out her fur.
"We live on a beach. We should all be used to getting wet by now," Tommy argued as he walked the little boy over to join the group. He had a point. They'd all stopped fighting to keep the sand out of the house a long time ago, especially once they'd adopted the dogs.
"There's wet, and there's splattered with really cold water drops," Jaz pointed out, squealing as Luna did just that to her.
Lena laughed, eyes closed and face turned away from the drying dog briefly before wrapping her arms around the dark neck. "Don't you listen to your crabby Aunty Jaz," she teased, planting a kiss on Luna's muzzle. "She's a warty frog."
"Serves you right," Tommy interjected. "I saw you hiding behind Jack!" Was Tommy actually siding with Jack for once"
"Don't forget the wet dog smell!" Jack pointed out with a grin. "I brought lunch," he added, half turning toward the picnic basket and cooler he'd brought down from the house.
"I love my husband," Jaz smiled in answer to that, brushing a kiss to Jack's lips.
Lena pulled a face from behind her, for the amusement of the children and Tommy, bending to pull the blanket out of the basket and spread it out on the sand. "So, you two not joining us for lunch then?"
Jack smiled, too distracted by the kiss to catch what Lena was alluding to. "Why wouldn't we be joining you?" he asked, stealing another kiss from his wife, only to have Noelle push his face away from her mother's so she could give her Daddy a sloppy kiss of her own.
Lena snorted with laughter at the little girl's possessive demand for a kiss, spreading the blanket securely on the sand. "Well, you seem kinda busy eating each other right now," she pointed out, opening her arms with wriggling fingers to envelop her own son in a warm hug, pressing loud raspberries to his neck as he squealed with laughter.
"You should really save that for the bedroom," Tommy teased, still able to get a blush out of Jack, even though his friend had been married to Jaz for a couple of years now.
"What, like you do, Bum Fluff?" Jaz challenged Tommy, dropping down onto the blanket comfortably. She flashed him a broad grin. "Don't try to lie, I've seen you two mooning the moons out there in the surf."