“Girl. You went all out. Homemade butter? Tuttle’s honey?”
“I just wanted to treat you guys.”
“Your biscuits are enough of a treat.” She smiles. “Scratch that. Seeing you is the biggest gift. How long can you hang out this morning?”
The taste of my secrets leaves a bitterness in my mouth. I’ve never kept anything from McKenna and she’s always been the first person I wanted to talk to or see on any given day.
We walk up the porch steps arm in arm. Cody’s in the kitchen, looking more scrumptious than my warm biscuits, leaned back against the counter in a Waterford Rodeo T-shirt, jeans and socks. His eyes move slowly between me and McKenna, our linked arms, the broad smile on her face, the more reluctant one on mine.
“Carli!” Mrs. Lawson says.
“Ooooh. Marry me, Carli,” Luke teases. “I need a good farm girl who makes a mean biscuit in my life.”
Cody’s smile drops to a near scowl and my grin widens at his obvious reaction.
“She’s all mine,” McKenna announces. “And so are her biscuits. Find your own farm girl.”
“I second that, Luke,” Mrs. Lawson says. “I’d like some grandbabies around here before I’m too old to recognize them.”
We all laugh. I set the pan of biscuits on the island.
Cody saunters over. His voice is low and directed at me. “Good morning, Chuck.”
“Morning,” I manage to eek the word out without melting into a puddle at his feet.
Why does he have to be so … Cody?
The Lawson family buzzes around us, bringing down plates, pulling the butter and honey out of the bag—which brings on a whole other round of praise and teasing about how I’m marriage material. Fruit salad shows up from out of the fridge. Someone else plops the platter of bacon that was fresh off the stove next to the biscuits.
The flurry of hands and arms serving up our spontaneous feast separates me from Cody, but his eyes are on me as if he’s physically touching me.
“Carli?” he asks.
“Yeah?”
“Your dad mentioned he needed an extra livestock panel. We’ve got one in the barn. I’ll haul it into your truck bed for you.”
“Can’t it wait?” Mrs. Lawson asks. “She just got here. Ifyou’re in a rush to shower from work, I can have Luke get it after we all have a chance to eat.”
“No. Yeah.” Cody looks at me and then his mom. “You’re right. We should eat. It can wait.”
Mrs. Lawson smiles.
“I’ll just get it after breakfast,” I say, quietly assuring him I’m still on board.
“How long do you have?” McKenna asks.
“For?” I’m so distracted and off my game. I’m not used to being on guard and sneaking around the Lawsons.
“To sit and eat—to hang out,” McKenna says hopefully. “Do you work today?”
“Yeah. I do. I can stay for breakfast, but then I have to go.”
“Awww.” McKenna pouts. “Well, something’s better than nothing, I guess.”
Cody’s quiet, but his eyes barely leave me the rest of breakfast. McKenna talks about her upcoming wedding. My attention drifts, even when I try to rein it in. I take a breath and fix my eyes on McKenna.
“... and the arch,” she says. “We’ll need you to make something we can stand in front of. I’ve got a Pinterest board full of ideas.”
