She looked like she’d walked into a bargain Christmas store and come out with everything that was wearable.
“What are you doing here?” I yawned.
She eyed me up and down. “We were supposed to have breakfast and then shopping.”
I winced. “Oh, yeah.”
Because her piece of shit boyfriend who “she loved and loved her back” wasn’t willing to come to Dallas to take her shopping. So she’d asked me.
A truck started up and I turned to see my neighbor coming out of her front door.
“Competition still healthy?” Harlow joked.
I sighed. “Sure is. The only problem is that I’m running out of time to add anymore. I think she’ll win the contest.”
“I think your niece and nephews will be okay with you coming in a close runner up.”
She had a point.
“Plus, I think you get bonus points for cutting all this out of wood and decorating it.” She bumped me with her shoulder. “Can you take me now?”
My gaze once again went to the woman that was idling in the driveway, and an irrational urge to ask her to come with us almost overtook me.
No.
No, I couldn’t.
I couldn’t ask her that.
Not that she’d come.
She was going to work.
She had better things to do than spend any time with us…
Then I remembered what I’d told her last night, and anger started up in my chest.
“Hold on,” I said as I hurried toward the woman who had just bailed out of her car to get a coffee cup that was sitting on her hood.
She picked up the coffee cup, and it was almost comically large as she held it suspended by the handle.
My bare feet hit the cold concrete, and I groaned as I switched over to the grass.
“Calli, what are you doing?” I called out, causing her to look my way.
Her eyes flicked from me to Harlow and back before she said, “Going to work?”
“I told you to leave it in your garage for a bit,” I pointed out, trying to keep my voice calm.
I didn’t like having my orders disobeyed.
Job hazard.
But usually when I gave an order, it was for a damn good reason.
It’s not like I gave them out just to piss them off for the hell of it.
“Well, I’m not really willing to pay twenty-five dollars for a ride share right now,” she grumbled. “I guess I’ll have to see how it goes and hope for the best.”
