“Was it a peace offering?”I asked Moxie.
I was sure she cared about the state of play between me and Hutch, but she was more interested in my turkey sandwich.
I broke off a piece of turkey and put it on the counter in front of her kitty face.
She got up on her paws on the counter, sniffed the meat, sniffed it again, gave it a cautious lick, then took hold of it in her teeth, jumped off the stool and dashed somewhere she could eat in privacy.
I pulled a whole slice off the pile and tossed it to Tonks.
Whereas Moxie would make the treat last, Tonks caught it mid-air and swallowed it whole.
“I wanna be a Moxie with food,” I told Tonks.“But I’m a Tonks.”
Tonks woo-wooed her approval.
I finished making my sandwich, put the stuff away, and went with my plate and my phone to the couch.
Tonks came with me, giving meyou know I’m starvingeyes.
“You got yours, this is for me,” I told her.Then ordered, “Down.”
She didn’t hesitate.She lay down but put her head on the couch seat in front of me so she could continue to assert that she wasstarving.
“So, if that was a peace offering from Hutch, I should accept, right?”I asked my dog.
At the sound of the word “Hutch,” hear ears cocked, and when I was done talking, she woo-wooed softly.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” I said.“And I know what that was, what started us.That was then.This is now.If he wanted something more, he’s had ample opportunity to communicate that to me.And I’m far from looking for any romantic entanglements.We know where we stand.But that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?”
That got a stronger woo-woo.
“Right,” I agreed.
I took a bite of sandwich, and while chewing, I grabbed my phone.
I then texted Hutch,Right, Larry Bird.What gives?
I put my phone down and went after my sandwich, not expecting an immediate response.
But I got one…ish.It didn’t come immediately, but a few minutes later a text from Mr.Grouch (how I’d programmed him in, but if recent circumstances held strong, I might want to change that, and yeah, I was considering Larry Bird) showed on my screen.
I snatched it up, half expecting him to tell me he didn’t appreciate getting texts from clients on a Sunday (not that I was paying him, but still).
He didn’t tell me that.
He told me,Basketball scholarship.Purdue.Point guard.And I didn’t let myself get rusty.
I knew I had turkey and Swiss teeth as I grinned at my phone.
I swallowed that, took another bite, and while chewing, texted back,Color a girl impressed.Or three of them, Emma, Abigail and me.Also the entire town of Misted Pines.
I got back,A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.A pink teddy bear was on the line.
Oh yeah.
Yesterday was a peace offering.
This was a whole new man.
