“Broke the box open.”
“Wow. That’s quite an effort for a wild raccoon.”
“We’re quite good guys.”
She laughed again before shaking her head. “And you know it.”
“So…Indie asked about you.” Noah sipped his coffee.
“Really?” Her pulse sped up. “I asked to meet but she said she still wasn’t feeling great and doesn’t want to be throwing up when we see each other.”
“Well, good news, her doctor’s got her on some new medication to help with the nausea, so I think she’ll feel up to an outing soon.”
Nerves tickled her spine. “I’d love to see her. I’ve been too nervous to ask since my last text.”
“You? Nervous?”
“I know, shocker. Fifteen-year-old me was fearless. Remember when I jumped on the back of old man Jim’s pickup truck because I didn’t want to walk to school?”
“You jumped on while it wasmoving. I was so pissed at you.”
“So was he. When he finally saw me, he slammed on the brakes and got out to yell at me, but I jumped off and ran before he could.”
“Mom and Dad got quite the earful. But I think they were also kind of impressed by your fearlessness.”
Her smile slipped. “Guess I’m not the person I used to be.”
“Hey. There’s nothing wrong with realizing that jumping on the back of a moving vehicle is a bad idea. There’s also nothing wrong with warming up to things with Indie by texting for a while before you see each other. Why don’t I ask her about tomorrow morning? It’s your day off, right?”
“I actually have plans tomorrow morning.” She nibbled her bottom lip.
“Who could possibly be more important than me and Indie?”
“Not more important, just planned first. Zane and I are getting a coffee together.”
Noah frowned. “You’re hanging out with Zane?”
“Well, tomorrow I am. We’re trying for friends. I like him. And after our…” She hadn’t told anyone she’d kissed Zane. She hadn’t had anyone to tell.
“After your what?” he asked carefully.
“We, uh, kissed.”
His brows shot up. “Really?”
“Yeah.” She shot a glance at her brother, who was now frowning again. “What?”
“Nothing. It’s just that the other night, Jesse and I were passing The Pit and he had some guy up against the wall and looked like he was going to punch him.”
She frowned. “What guy?”
“I don’t know. Neither of them would tell us what was going on.”
“Okay. It’s strange but I don’t think he would have done that without a good reason. Some people in this town can be pretty painful.” She kicked a rock, a few less than desirable moments coming to mind.
“Yeah, just…be careful.”
One side of her mouth lifted. “You being my protective big brother?”
