It’s devoured in under a minute, because for as fancy as Penny looks, deep down, she’s still Penny, and she can clear a dish faster than anyone I know.
As I clean up the basket, Penny lies back, placing her hands on her round stomach. I long to hold it, pressing my ear to her growing dome, but I know how ornery she gets and commit to respecting her personal space.
She extends one leg into the air. “I can’t believe I got into heels for this.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. It was actually kind of fun, and I have to admit, I don’t hate Karmen.”
“Is that surprising?”
“It’s not that I ever disliked her, but we’re so different, I figured she probably didn’t like me.”
“Karmen’s a sweetheart.”
“I see that now. We may even go out for coffee sometime.”
I lay my head next to hers, in the opposite direction, taking in the gorgeous sunset, and for a long while, we just exist in each other’s presence.
“Sometimes, it bothers me that I have no roots,” she finally says.
“What do you mean?”
“Before coming to Crimson Crest Ranch, I was blowing in the wind, and it wasn’t just because of the death of my parents. My siblings left when I was still young, refusing to respond to any of my calls or texts, and my grandparents never tried to get to know me.”
“Life gets busy sometimes.”
“Nah, that’s not it. They just didn’t want to take me in.”
“Then it’s a good thing my family is big enough for the both of us.”
She sighs.
“It’s not just because you’re pregnant, Penny. Each one of my brothers already thinks of you as their kin. You say you have no roots, but the truth is, you set them down almost four years ago, on this ranch.”
“Thanks, Grey. That means a lot to me.”
“Now, are you done relaxing so we can get on with our date?”
She lifts onto her elbows. “On with our date? It’s getting dark.”
I get up and head to the back of my truck, pulling out the entertainment.
She giggles. “Is that a potato gun?”
“It sure is.”
For the next hour, we set the potato gun off at the targets erected decades ago. Penny’s aim is terrible, but that only makes the experience more fun.
With her, it feels like I’m almost a kid again. Like I’m carefree, with my entire life ahead of me.
When the mosquitoes come, we rush back into the truck before we get eaten up.
On the way back to my house, Penny places her hand on my thigh, moving it slowly up. Her touch makes me feral, and it takes everything I have not to pull over onto the side of the road to sate the hungry beast deep within me.
But Penny isn’t like the other women I’ve been with. Penny is important because she’s not just a fun night.
She’s everything.
