Oh. Look at that.
Phoebe’s here too.
She’s hiding behind Teague, who’s basically my height, a few years older, bearded, wider, and perpetually in flannel and occasionally has bouts of the grumpies whenever the rest of us in Tickled Pink do things he doesn’t like.
Like welcoming the Lightlys to town a couple of months ago.
And now he’s dating Tavi’s sister, a slender blonde who could out-steamroll a steamroller on even her worst days. He still objects to the Lightlys overall, but less so now.
Also, watching him mouth off to Estelle is a thing of beauty. We in the Tickled Pink Secret Poker Society have secretly inducted him as a secret member, even though he sucks too much at poker to be a real member.
We also didn’t tell him he’s a secret member of our secret club.
That’s how secret members work.
Phoebe stares at Tavi for a second, and then two Phoebes stare at Tavi. “Yes. Of course,” she says mechanically, and I don’t think I’m hearing her that way because I probably should go rest. I think she’s actually not trying to lie well. “Thank you so much for saving my chocolate from the goat.”
“C’mon, Chester.” Teague grabs the goat by the horn, then gets yanked by the animal as it lunges for the chocolate mess.
“You have to hold him really tight,” Tavi offers. “Hold him really tight, or he’ll eat the chocolate, and he needs to see the vetright now.”
Shit.
There are two of her now too.
“Pretty sure I know how to wrestle my own goats,” Teague mutters.
“You clearly don’t know how to keep him in his pen,” Tavi snipes back while the goat yanks on Teague’s arms again. “And now he mightdie.”
Yeah.
Arms. Like four of them.
Dammit.
I lean against the counter and close my eyes.
“Dylan?” Tavi says softly.
“What’s he doing here?” Teague asks.
“He didn’t want to go home.”
A grunt answers.
I know that grunt.
It means,You’re being a dumbass, because your mom might be a hypochondriac, but you know she’ll take care of you when you’re actually sick or hurt.
I’m thirty-two years old.
I don’t want my mom taking care of me.
I want—
I want something I can’t have.
And I’m starting to want something else that Ishouldn’thave, because that something is complicated and tells lies and will be leaving Tickled Pink as soon as she can, and being attracted to complications and lies and people who will leave is something I left behind in my teenage years.
