Max jogged over, his entire backside shaking with his tail.
“See? He’s excited. We’ll have fun, do man things.”
“Like go to the titty bar? Chop some wood, maybe compare ball size after a burping contest?”
“We’ll throw lunch in there, too.”
“Well, that’s something I can help with.” She reached into the bed of her truck and lifted a cooler from the bungalow. “Lunch.”
My brow furrowed with both shock and confusion.
“What?”
“Lunch.”
“… Why?”
“Are you familiar with how lunch works?”
“Not someone bringing it to me.”
“Well, brace yourself then, because this one involves a blanket and three courses.”
My jaw literally dropped as my gaze shifted back and forth from the cooler to the woman holding it. Never, in my life, had anyone brought me lunch.
“I mean, why?” I asked like a blubbering Neanderthal.
She swallowed deeply, quickly, as if nerves had suddenly flustered her. “It’s just my way to say thank you. For the tires, for helping take care of my dogs, for finding me a place to stay… Dammit, fortaking care of me, okay?”
The words, so uncomfortable to her, so consuming to me.
“Okay, then. Lunch sounds good. Where should we sit?”
She smiled, appreciating the drop of emotions. I liked that she wasn’t all emotional. It was becoming one of my favorite things about her.
“There’s a really pretty tree just outside of City Park with a small clearing under it. Just about a football field from here.”
I grinned and bit my tongue at her use of measurement.
“Grab the blanket and leashes and help Brutus. Please.”
My grin widened at her obvious effort. She’d put thought into not only the lunch, but her behavior.
Thiswoman.
After replacing Griggs’ clothes, we took off across the grass, a picnic basket, blanket, and two dogs in tow.
Five minutes later, Sunny spread the blanket under the one and only Voodoo Tree. That’s right—the tree that had once been encased in candles and voodoo dolls was now the site of our picnic.
Irony.
Or was it?
The tree looked completely different in the light of day. Almost magical, like a tree you’d see in Lord of the Rings, with long, outstretched branches covered in lush, green leaves. A blue and black butterfly flittered from branch to branch next to us.
I smoothed out the blanket while Sunny tied the dogs to the tree trunk and gave them water from a portable bowl.
Handy.
