“Dillon is deep in thought,” Lina said, giving Dillon a little nudge.
Dillon turned to look at her. She’d been studying him. Maybe she’d been doing that the whole time.
“Just concentrating on my driving,” he said. But as he looked at the stoplight up ahead, he panicked, realizing that wasn’t true. He had no recollection of how they’d gotten from the left turn out of the parking garage to this intersection.
“What’d you bring?” Dillon asked, feeling like he needed to get a normal conversation going. He gripped the steering wheel and checked his mirrors before glancing at the Tupperware in Lina’s hands.
“Cornbread. I called and asked. Brenda’s making stew so I figured this would be a good side dish.”
“Did you put jalapeños in it?” Trent asked, sounding hopeful.
“Nooo. Does that disappoint you?”
“Only a little.”
“It doesn’t disappoint me.” Dillon turned onto the lane that would take them up to the house. The dogs came running, their tails wagging in excitement.
Trent was not a dog person and gallantly offered to escort Lina up to the door while Dillon corralled them. It was more effort to argue, so Dillon took care of the dogs and came in a few minutes later, stopping to look at the big tree they’d decorated the week before. He noticed his ugly elementary school ornaments were now front and center, though he wasn’t sure if that was Josie’s doing or Lina’s.
In the kitchen, his stepdad was crooning an old Frank Sinatra song. Mom’s laugh sounded delighted. She was so much happier when Rick was here.
Dillon stepped into the kitchen and slid in next to Lina, who was busy chopping up vegetables for a salad.
“Wash your hands,” she murmured, bumping him with her hip.
“What, you don’t like dog hair in your food?” He moved to the sink and put a dollop of soap on his hands before scrubbing them under the water.
Lina rolled her eyes. “Men.”
Maybe it was all the teasing she dished out on a regular basis rubbing off on him, but it was a natural reaction to flick the water from his hands onto her neck.
She scrunched her shoulders and shot him a look. “Here, peel this carrot for me, will ya?”
He was happy to have something to do, and happy to have an excuse to stay near her. This time, he ignored all the sets of eyes watching them interact. Whether she was here as a real girlfriend or not, getting stuck in the same panicked mind rut would not help them.
At dinner, Rick monopolized the conversation, which was typical, but his stories about flying were pretty good, and Lina had never heard any of them. Just as Dillon was beginning to zone out, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text from Lina.
Not all math puns are terrible. Just sum.
He glanced over at her, but she was resting her chin on her palm, paying perfect attention to Rick’s story. It was a terrible joke but she must be an amazing stealth-texter.
He started to type out a joke in response, when a new one from her popped up.People are usually shocked when they find out I’m not a very good electrician.It took him a second to get it, and then he snorted, causing Rick to pause mid-sentence and look over at him. Dillon put his phone away and elbowed Lina instead. She elbowed him back.
Yep, he was definitely going after Lina when this whole stupid favor was over. He just needed to be patient.
After dinner, Lina suggested a walk again, though she invited everyone else to come with this time. Ever the matchmaker, Mom told them to run along and have some alone time. As if they never got that.
“Lead the way,” Lina offered.
Dillon thought for a minute before heading toward the gigantic mesquite tree near the road. They had a ways to walk, but it was his favorite landmark on the property. The branches were as thick as barrels and grew out in every direction. Dillon had a feeling Lina was a tree climbing kind of person, and this one offered the extra benefit of being low enough to the ground that you could hop from branch to branch, with no fear of falling.
Once she realized where he was going, Lina outpaced him and reached the tree first. It wasn’t nearly as pretty at this time of year, with its tiny leaves a dull brown rather than the vibrant green of spring. But it was still an impressive sight.
She pulled herself up first and walked across the branch to the trunk, before turning and resting her back against it.
Dillon hopped up on the same branch before working his way around the tree, branch by branch. There was one section too far apart for him to jump, but he walked to the next one and climbed back up.
He looked back to see Lina smiling at him. “What?”
