“Me?” he wheezed between guffaws. “You jumped on that bed like it was home base. You do know raccoons climb trees, right?”
“Did you see the way it came after me?”
“Well, you did light its house on fire, so...”
She could hardly talk she was laughing so hard. “I thought it was kindling.”
“Never took you for an arsonist.”
More laughter. The nest was currently an impressive conflagration. “Stop. Stop, I feel bad enough already.” Plus her stomach hurt from laughing.
“Do you now? I seem to remember you cheering for its demise—something about rabies.”
“It was like a room-sized edition of Whac-A-Mole.” That only brought more laughter.
Allie’s gaze drifted to Walter, still lying in the corner, only deigning to raise his head through the whole ruckus. “Some guard dog you are. Seriously, where did you get him?”
“At the pound. I wanted a laid-back dog.”
“Mission accomplished.”
They laughed again. Allie’s eyes burned and teared up. Shewiped them. Man, it had been a long time since she’d laughed that hard. Her laughter gradually slowed, as did Luke’s.
Allie sank onto the bed. “Jeez Louise, that was exhausting.”
Luke gave her a playful look. “You didn’t do anything.”
“I opened the door,” Allie said defensively, then looked at the burning nest. “At least we have a fire.”
“There’s that.” Luke set the broom back in the corner. “I don’t suppose you packed some food. I’ve worked up an appetite.”
As soon as he finished the sentence, an offensive smell began spreading through the shack, growing stronger by the second.
Allie wrinkled her nose at Walter. “You are a disgusting animal.”
The dog rolled his bulging eyes her way, heaved a sigh, then closed his eyes again.
“Ugh!” As the smell permeated the room, she grabbed her pillow and buried her face in it. Luke’s laughter floated in the air like music, and she couldn’t stop her own from following.
Chapter 8
“Ho Hos? M&M’s? Twizzlers?” Luke gave Allie a wry look. They’d settled in front of the fire with a grocery sack full of food. “What are you, twelve?”
“I only planned for snacks, not meals.”
Since the raccoon fiasco, there was a lightness to the mood, to their exchanges. Allie seemed to have let go—at least temporarily—of The Grudge.
He was grateful for the reprieve. He surveyed the snacks and opted for the M&M’s—at least they had peanuts.
“I’m so hungry.” Allie bit into a Ho Ho, eyes closing as she relished the treat. She’d always had a sweet tooth.
The rain still pounded the roof, and it had grown dark. As if by mutual silent agreement, they’d settled in for the night. It wouldn’t be safe to navigate these flooded mountain roads at night.
Allie had changed from her wet clothes while he faced the corner and pretended not to think about what she was doing. She did the same for him—minus the pretending, he was sure.Their clothes now hung on a fishing line he’d found spooled in the corner.
They ate in congenial silence. He wasn’t sure what Allie was thinking about, but he was afraid to ruin their truce by saying the wrong thing. Truth was, that whole raccoon debacle had made him miss the old Allie.
He’d fallen for her so quickly. Those secret kisses they exchanged kept him warm during the lonely months at college. He thought of her constantly.
