“Twice,” Nora muttered, shaking her head as they bumped over the track to the security gate that had begun opening the moment they’d exited the garage.
“Oh geez.”
“Exactly.” Nora smiled. “But at least it was the same cop both times, and she was a fan of dogs, so…”
“Oh my god,” Quinn sniggered. “Did you flirt with a cop to get out of a ticket?!”
“I didn’t.” Nora shook her head and hiked a thumb toward the back seat. “Fort did.”
Fort barked and puffed his chest out proudly.
“God, I wish I could’ve seen that,” Quinn chortled.
“It was embarrassing,” Nora admitted as she turned onto a busy, four-lane street. “But admittedly effective.”
Quinn shook her head. “I wouldn’t have thought you had it in you.”
“Neither did I,” Nora confessed, shaking her head wryly. “So, what about you? You ever do something morally questionable to get out of a ticket?”
“Nope. I accept my slap on the wrist like a responsible adult.”
“Wimp,” Nora teased.
“Hey!”
Still giggling, Nora flicked a hand toward the windshield. “I think we should manage this trip just fine, though. It’s only another couple minutes to the hardware store.”
“I’m glad you have such faith in us,” Quinn teased.
Fort agreed with a boisterous, “Woof!”
Sure enough, it was just a few minutes later that they were climbing out of the car, and Quinn told Nora, “I’ve got him,” as she reached for Fort’s door.
“Better you than me,” Nora replied as she waited for them at the back of the car. Once they’d made their way inside, she waved at the rows of orange shopping carts and asked, “Do you need one?”
“Um…” Quinn looked down at Fort as if he knew the answer to Nora’s question. She wasn’t planning on going overboard, but…
Fort tilted his head and wagged his tail.
“Good point,” Quinn told him, ruffling his ears as she looked back at Nora. “Yeah, why not?”
“What, exactly, are you looking for?” Nora asked as she went to pull a cart from the corral.
“Oh, you know…” Quinn’s voice trailed off as she spotted her intended target the moment they turned down the main aisle that ran along the front of the store. She pursed her lips in an ineffectual attempt to hide her smile as she tilted her head toward the expansive decoration display.
Nora stopped and stared at the collection of artificial trees, miscellaneous lighted creatures, and inflatables. “Quinn. No.”
Quinn flashed the same grin that had gotten Nora to cave back at the house. “Quinn, yes.”
“Quinn,” Nora laughed and shook her head as she waved a hand at the garish display. “No.”
“Honey, if she won’t let you decorate her house, you can do whatever you want at mine,” a new voice chimed in.
Quinn's cheeks flamed as she met the amused gaze of an older woman who bore a startling resemblance to Blanche Devereaux. “Oh?”
“She’s busy, I’m afraid,” Nora replied, looping a possessive hand around Quinn’s arm.
“Never hurts to try,” the Blanche look-alike replied, her brown eyes twinkling with laughter as she sent a playful wink Quinn’s way before wandering off.
