“Yeah, we, uh… agreed to sleep in the bed together upstairs.”
Rhett glances at our linked hands, then back at Gus.
“Right,” he says carefully. “I’m going to get working on the fence outside.” He hooks his thumb over his shoulder. “Wade is going to help, so maybe you should come help too.”
“Definitely,” Gus says with a smile.
Rhett watches him for a moment longer, then goes through the kitchen to go out the front door.
“Are you sure it’s not the house?” I ask.
“Positive,” he says, getting to his feet. “Do you think you could work on the safe today?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” I get to my feet.
“Thank you.” Gus smiles and takes a step forward, his hand going to my hip. He leans down to kiss me softly. “Is this okay?”
“Absolutely,” I say.
He does it again, then turns to leave with a smile on his face.
I head upstairs and into Grannie’s bedroom. Crossing my arms, I look around the room, trying to figure out where the heck she could have hidden the code for this safe—and if I ever find it, what’s going to be inside.
As I search through Grannie’s drawers, under her bed, and behind the curtains, I can’t stop thinking about last night. Well, early this morning, I suppose. What happened with Gus.
It’s so unlike me.
Sure, I’ve had sex before, a few times, but it was never with someone random. It was someone I dated for a while, and my first time was with my friend from high school. We were friends, we knew each other for years, and we planned it.
Last night was… amazing. Fun. Exciting. Everything about it felt right, and if I’m honest, I’m hoping it happens again tonight. Which it may… considering he’s sleeping in bed with me.
I find nothing that tells me or even hints at what the code for the safe is. So, I start all over again. I do it three more times before I give up and take a shower. When I’m done, it’s lunch time. And since I’m still trying to kill—not literally—them with kindness, I make a mix of sandwiches and a pitcher of lemonade to take out to them. It’s hot today, and they shouldstay hydrated.
Grannie has this old picnic basket we used to put lunch in to sit on the hill and eat. I smile as I find it in the same spot it was always in, in the cabinet under the sink. I pull it out and put everything inside, then carefully carry it out.
I spot the boys working on the fence off to the left, and I wave when Rhett looks my way. He holds his hand up in acknowledgment. Gus looks next, waving happily when he sees me. It pulls Wade’s attention, and he looks too, only he doesn’t wave. I lift the basket a little, gesturing to it. Gus holds two thumbs up, then says something to them and starts to walk over. Rhett and Wade share some kind of conversation, and then Rhett hurries after Gus.
I settle at the bottom of the hill, not too far from the road. I’d have gone closer, but the grass isn’t so lush on that side, and there’s more rocks and dirt. It’s nicer over here. The perfect spot for a picnic lunch.
Chapter Fourteen
Wade
Replacingthewoodenfenceis a two-man job minimum. I need someone to hold the posts steady while I add the pieces and bang them in. It’s impossible to do alone, so because Rhett and Gus are off eating lunch with Daisy, giggling like school girls, I measure the pieces to make sure they’re what we need.
When I’m done with that, I do it again… until my stomach starts to rumble.
I glance over at them, sitting on a pink blanket with a picnic basket opened, laughing and smiling with each other.
My stomach rumbles again.
I could shift into chicken form and dig around for worms, but those sandwiches look much more appetizing than worms do.
At least, while in human form. When I’m a chicken, worms are scrumptious.
Daisy’s head falls back and lets out a laugh that carries on the wind, and something in me stirs. My lips turn up in the corner, but I shake it off.
“Wade, you have to see this!” Gus calls out, waving me over.
