Jay stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "I will."
We stared at each other for a long moment before he removed his hands from his pockets. "I'd better get the rest of the stuff out of the car. I left the back door open."
I nodded and went into my bedroom. I was just about to unzip my dress when I heard the scream.
Heart pounding, I ran faster than I had since I competed in track in high school. I dashed down the hall, flew through the kitchen, out the side door, and found J.J. standing at the end of the carport, staring inside his car.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Stay back," he commanded, raising a hand. "There's a raccoon in my car and they carry rabies."
I pressed my lips together so I wouldn't laugh when I glanced in the car and saw the enormous raccoon sitting in the backseat as if he was ready to go for a ride.
"Rascal!" I said, putting my hands on my hips. "You get out of that car this instant."
A few seconds later, tiny black paws touched the concrete, followed by the hefty belly. Rascal emerged from the car, his head down, as he lumbered past me.
"Lee—" J.J. said, taking several steps toward me as though he were going to pull me away from the animal.
Rascal stopped near my feet and turned back toward my new husband. He rose up on his hind legs, baring his teeth as he hissed.
J.J. stopped in his tracks. "Crap." He shot me a quick look. "Go inside while I keep him distracted."
I sighed. "J.J., this is Rascal. He's sort of a fixture around here." I looked down at the raccoon. "Stop being mean to J.J. He's a new friend."
Rascal lifted his head to look at me, heaved a heavy sigh, and dropped back down to all fours before trudging around to the back of the house to the patio where I kept his food bowl.
When I looked back at J.J., he was staring at me with his mouth open.
"Are you telling me that raccoon is your pet? Don't you know how dangerous that is? They carry diseases. And fleas. That carry more diseases."
"He's been coming around for a while now, since he was young."
J.J. cocked his head and said, "He looks just like the one that comes around my sister's place, but that's over a mile away."
"I don't think raccoons travel that far," I said with a shrug.
"You do know it's not a good idea to feed wild animals, right?"
"Yes, dear," I replied.
J.J. made a sound that was part laugh, part sigh. "And so it begins."
It was my turn to laugh as I approached the car. There were still a few small wedding gifts in the backseat, so I grabbed the bags and carried them into the house.
A few moments later, J.J. followed me inside, two suitcases and a box in tow.
"That can't be all of your stuff," I said, putting the gifts on the kitchen table next to the other bags.
"It's not. I figured I'd go get the rest over the next couple of days. I haven't been back in town long enough to really settle into my new place, so I don't have a lot of furniture."
"You didn't have furniture at your old place in Dallas?" I asked.
He grinned. "When I put my house on the market, the guy buying it threw in extra money for the furniture. He liked what I had and didn't want to go shopping."
I smiled back. "Did you tell him your mom picked it out?" I asked.
He clapped a hand to his chest and stumbled back. "You wound me. You don't think I'm capable of picking out my own furniture?"
