“Right. Mostly vegetarian. Will it bother you if I have a steak?”
I shake my head.
“Not that I eat a lot of steak,” she continues. “I’d rather buy a ticket to a Broadway show than blow my grocery budget on a steak.”
The way this doesn’t surprise me in the least has me smiling again. “What would you eat instead of going to a Broadway show?”
“Fruitcake.”
We stare at each other for a split second before we both crack up.
“I’m mostly serious and only a little kidding,” she says through giggles.
“I’ll get you a hookup so you never have to pick again.”
“My hero.”
Her eyes sparkle brighter than the holiday lights hung all over town year-round, and her laugh rings out more merrily than any Christmas bells.
Any doubts I had about lying to my family last night evaporate.
Ending our family’s fight will be worth it, and somehow, I’ll find a solution to her bakery problem at the same time.
It’ll set her free.
It’ll set all of us free.
Chili suddenly bolts to his feet.
My dog unexpectedly leaping up is concerning enough that I set my coffee down. “Chili? What’s up?”
A massivearoooooof!explodes out of his mouth, and then he’s gone, racing through the trees.
“Chili!” Amanda exclaims. “It’s just a squirrel!”
I dash off the porch, chasing after him.
My dog doesn’t run away.
My dog doesn’trun.
Unless he’s going to dinner.
Who knew Michigan squirrels counted as dinner?
And now that he’s running, I don’t know where he’ll end up.
Or how he’ll have the energy to get back.
Chapter 6
Amanda
Taking a dip in the lake wasn’t what I expected this morning, but chasing Chili with Dane all the way out here made it an easy decision.
“Go dry off,” Dane says to Chili as he helps the dog to the shoreline.
Chili grins at him.
