Briar: That’s the spirit!
I breathe easier, knowing Birdie has both me and her friends in her corner, and we’d all move mountains for her. Two things I know for certain: she’s not going to jail, and I’m about to wipe that smug grin off Mason’s face once and for all.
Chaos & Cucumbers
Is it cliché to say I feel different now that I’m no longer a virgin? I thought I might be disappointed, since I’d hyped up this moment in my mind far more than I should have, but it exceeded all expectations—and that’s because of Walker. He was patient and respectful yet commanded the situation in a way that left me hanging on his every word. The pain only lasted for a fleeting second, giving way to a surge of heat that rippled through me from head to toe. Even now, after a week has passed, I ache for his touch and fear I may already be hooked on him.
Work has dragged on today, made worse by the fact that Walker couldn’t stop by since he’s pulling a double shift at the sheriff’s office. I didn’t realize how much I’d come to lookforward to his visits until recently, and now his absence hits me harder than expected.
It’s only thirty minutes until closing, and there aren’t any customers in the store, so I’m stocking the front shelves when I get a text.
Backroads & Bad Decisions Group Chat
Briar: SOS
Charlie: Isn’t that Birdie’s code for an emergency animal rescue mission?
Briar: Bingo. And this one is going to be a race against time.
Wren: Ugh! I wish I could be there.
I scrunch my nose as I reread the thread. I’m the one who usually gets notified when animals need rescuing, and as of a minute ago, I haven’t received any messages or emails about this one.
Birdie: Briar, what’s going on?
Briar: That nosy neighbor of yours called the sheriff’s office claiming you’re stashing the donkey and cow from the fair in your shed.
Briar: Mason told her that he and your dad will check it out in the morning.
My pulse spikes and my palms grow clammy. I haven’t been home much these past few days, but that doesn’t mean Mrs. Bixby hasn’t been snooping. Could she have gotten into the shed? There’s a padlock, but with the right tools, it wouldn’t take much to break or force it open.
The problem is I’ve been keeping this particular secret for nearly a year, and even now, I can’t quite bring myself to tell them the truth.
Birdie: Mrs. Bixby is mistaken.
Briar: Birdie, I’d bet my life savings that those animals are at your place. It’s not much but that’s besides the point!
Wren: There’s no one else devoted enough to pull off a solo heist.
Charlie: If we don’t come up with a plan, you’re looking at a one-way trip to the county jail, and they have limited vegetarian options.
Charlie: At least you won’t spend the rest of your life in jail as a virgin… right?
Briar: Don’t answer that!
Charlie: Ignore her.
Birdie: I’ve spent every night with Walker this past week…
That’s about as close as I’ll ever come to admitting outright to Briar that I slept with her brother.
Charlie: Start at the beginning and don’t leave a single detail out! BRB, making popcorn.
Briar: Don’t we have a donkey and a cow to save?
They’ve got me trapped in a corner. If I don’t admit I took the animals, I’ll be left handling this on my own—but if I do, I’m confessing to breaking the law… again.
Birdie: You’re right. Daisy and Peaches do need our help.
