“Nothing at all,” I say, rubbing her back.“I’m just really happy.”
I’m not lying, but I’m not telling the whole truth.For the first time in my life, a picture of my own children pops into my mind.Children I love.Children I don’t fear for because I know they are safe and secure.
Could it be that easy?Could I have simply answered an ad, walked into a wedding, and found myself a happily ever after?
Blinking back tears, I swallow my emotion.I’m not about to ruin Jasmine’s last day of school with a case of baby fever.
The thought makes me laugh.Jasmine’s head pops off my shoulder, and she looks at me questioningly.“Happy again?”
“Very.”
“See?”Summer says.“It’s my truck.It’s a love truck.You have to squeeze together, and then it reminds you that you love each other.”
“It’s a love truck,” Jasmine says, and we all laugh together.
Summer stops in front of the school, and I get out to see that Jasmine gets inside.
“Give ’em hell, kid!”Summer shouts.
I crouch down and hug Jasmine.“What she said.”
“What she said,” Jasmine repeats.“Are you picking me up after school?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”Jasmine kisses me on the cheek.
I watch her run into the school.Summer honks her horn, and I get back in the truck.
“Breakfast on me?”she says.
“Is that a question or an offer?Either way, I say yes.”
“I’m going to eat three orders of sausage patties.Oh!Also pancakes.And eggs benedict.”
“Summer, how do you stay so slim?”I ask.“You’re thin as a rail with boobs and an ass.”
“I work fourteen hours a day.I’m strong as an ox.I lift hundred-pound bags of feed like they’re nothing.My boobs come in handy in the lake after a long day.Flotation devices.”
“I have the same flotation devices,” I say.“In case you aren’t aware, they can be fun in a whole bunch of situations.”
I’m asking if she’s using her boobs for extracurricular activities besides swimming, but Summer isn’t into hints and innuendo.I think I’ll have to be more blunt the next time I broach the subject.
She parks on the street in front of the diner.Inside, the restaurant is doing a bang-up business.Summer and I hover over a booth where a couple of ranch hands are just finishing up.
“There’s two at the counter!”one of the waitresses shouts, but Summer insists on the booth.
The second the two men stand up, we slip in.“Don’t go anywhere,” Summer tells the waitress when she hands us the menus.“We know what we want.”
“We’re out of sausage patties,” the waitress tells Summer before she can order.
“What asshole ate my sausage patties!”
“You can have mine,” a young woman calls.I recognize her from the fair.If I remember correctly, her name’s Phoebe Travis and she lives on the neighboring ranch.
She picks up her plate and brings it to Summer.She’s wearing pink scrubs, and her long hair is tied back in a high ponytail.She’s even cuter in the daylight.“I gotta go anyway.I’m on a double shift.”
“Gee, thanks, Phoebe!”Summer exclaims, obviously thrilled.“Do you know Emma?”
“Sure.We met at the fair when…”
