“It’s the principle of it!” I barked at him.
The toddler shrieked like he was being eaten alive. Then the other two started. I clapped my hands over my ears against the high-pitched, eardrum-shredding screeching.
“Stop!” I bellowed. “Stop before someone hears you!”
“Intruder! Intruder!” Davy yelled, pointing.
“Fuck!”
“That’s a bad word! That’s a bad word!” Davy badgered as I turned to gaze at the woman I most wanted in the world but just not right now.
“Deputy Mayor!” I announced, trying to subtly motion my brothers to turn off all the lights and scram.
“Hunter, what on God’s green earth are you all doing out here in the middle of the night?” She surveyed the scene.
Johnny hobbled up to her and held out his hand, showing her a mess of gooey, half-chewed cat food. “Do you want a snack? Is she not an intruder?” he asked me.
“Of course Meg is not an intruder,” I told him through gritted teeth.
“Are you here to play the fence-moving game?” the toddler asked brightly.
Meg raised an eyebrow.
“It’s not what it looks like,” I said in a rush.
“Really? Because it sure looks like you’re practicing a little adverse possession.”
“You can’t prove that.”
“I can have surveyors out here tomorrow,” she told me. “If that fence is not on your property line then, oops, guess you’ll have to move it back.”
“I’m not moving any more fences!” Isaac declared.
“Now, Meg,” I said, turning on the charm, “can’t we just keep this one between us, you know…” I lowered my voice and leaned closer in to her, letting my breath caress her neck. “Like that car you stole.”
“I didn’t steal a car,” she hissed back.
I breathed in the scent of her hair. She always smelled like wildflowers and country air. “And I didn’t move a fence,” I replied. “Nor did I”—I continued my hand-creeping up to rest on her hip then her lower back because I would be damned if Walter was the last man who touched her there tonight—“spend a thrilling evening breaking into your house with you.” My hand came back around, drifting against the line of her panties under the dress. “Though if you want me to come into your house again later, that can be arranged. It seems you’re close by.”
Her eyes were dilated in the dark. If my little brothers weren’t here, I probably would have had her right there against a tree.
She swallowed then looked down and yelped.
“Stop feeding that dog that cat food,” I scolded my little brothers.
* * *
“And on thenext item on my list…” Art said, turning the page in his notebook.
“It’s not the alligators, is it?” I asked, trying to hide my annoyance. I didn’t know how Meg stood it. I could barely go buy a sandwich without people coming up to me to give me their laundry list of complaints that they wanted me to absolutely promise I was going to address or they weren’t voting for me as mayor, and they were going to tell everyone in their bridge club not to vote for me either.
“The alligators?” Art was incensed. “You can’t be listening to those urban myths. Conspiracy theorists are ruining this town. Was it Mr. Boyde?” Art demanded. “He’s been after those imaginary gators for years. He’s constantly throwing food down the storm drains. He’s going to make everyone sick. All he’s doing is feeding the rats. Did I tell you I saw a rat as big as a cat the other day? Huge fat thing crawled out from under Dottie’s car.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t a possum?” I asked wearily.
“It was Mrs. Mantigo’s cat,” Meg said, walking past us with a plate. She had secured her lunch on time. Now there was a line around the bistro.
“Now, Deputy Mayor,” Art began. I used the opportunity to scoot past him. Meg could have her time taken up.
