“Oh, no. Babbity.” She’d forgotten about the rabbit, who was probably long gone. She turned and looked at the hedges, trying to remember if she’d heard any rustling during her freak out.
“You have some interesting swear words. Shitzu puppies? Babbity?”
“Shh.” Elinor pointed at the hedge. “Greta’s rabbit came back here. Babbity the rabbit.”
“Ohhh. The pet emergency.” He slowly moved to the right while she took the left, both of them stalking the hedge. He picked up her flashlight out of the grass and flipped it on. As soon as he shined it across the hedge, Babbity scrambled out. Elinor dove and caught her just before she scampered off. The rabbit fought to get away, scratching up Elinor’s arms in the process.
“Shh. Babbity. It’s okay.” She carefully stood and continued to murmur to the rabbit until she calmed. “I have to call my mom and sister so they don’t continue to search the neighborhood.”
“Where’s your phone?”
“My back pocket.”
Edward reached out before pulling his hand back. “Do you want me to… um…?”
“No. No. Sorry. I was not implying you should….”Stick your hand in the pocket of my jeans and try to wedge my phone out. Kill me now.
There was an embarrassing silence, and Elinor scrambled to fill it. “I’ll just walk home with her. Good to see you, Edward.” She turned to go, wondering if she could possibly teleport herself into another dimension, one where she and Edward got a do-over. He could keep the flashlight. For the first time ever, the darkness didn’t seem so bad.
“Wait, I’ll walk with you.” He shined the flashlight ahead, falling in step next to her. His chivalry apparently extended to escorting trespassers safely home. “So, we’re neighbors?”
“Yeah, we’re right across from you. I’m surprised you didn’t see us coming in and out all day.”
“I was at work. The appointment at the bowling alley was my last one.”
“Of course.” Elinor’s arms were on fire from the scratches, but she didn’t dare adjust her hold on Babbity.
They were halfway across the street when Elinor spied Marianne’s flashlight sweeping the side yard and heading for the front. Elinor knew the moment she spotted them because her flashlight pointed up and began to bob, matching her run. “Elinor? Is that you?”
Marianne only had eyes for the rabbit in Elinor’s arms. “You found her! Oh, I had no hope. Don’t tell Greta I said that. She’s going to be so happy.” She looked up and started in surprise when she recognized Edward. “And how did you get roped into the search, old friend?”
“He lives here.” Elinor pointed behind them, trying to convey with her eyes that Marianne should calm down her delight in seeing him. A pointless effort. Marianne had never felt a need to hide anything about herself, especially her delight.
Marianne bobbed on her feet, looking like an eagerPrice is Rightcontestant. “For reals? He’s our neighbor? Here, I’ll take Babbity and bring her to Greta for you.”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid she’ll scratch me again if we try to do a hand-off.”
Marianne shined her flashlight down at Elinor’s arms and gasped. Several of the cuts were bleeding. “I’ll be so careful. Here, I’ve got this.”
Tucking her flashlight into her pocket, Marianne eased Babbity from Elinor’s arms and put her against her shoulder like a baby. She was the only one Babbity let hold her like that. “We’re trimming your nails, you little fur beast, first thing tomorrow. Edward, do you have a first aid kit for Elinor? I bet ours is still packed away.” She walked off without waiting for an answer, obviously more concerned about Elinor’s love life than she was about her health.
Edward used Elinor’s flashlight to do his own inspection of her arms, his warm fingers touching the spots unmarred by rabbit nails as he turned her hands over. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.” He paused and looked up into her eyes. “If that’s okay with you.”
Elinor nodded. They had a first aid kit in the car, but it was a little one, and she was pretty sure Greta had used up all the bandages in it with all the scrapes she continued to get into. There was no valid reason to turn him down except for the fact that the butterflies in her stomach had started doing backflips.
Shining the flashlight ahead of them once more, he led the way back to his yard and up the front porch before pulling out keys from his pocket and unlocking the front door.
“I think you left your back door open a crack,” Elinor said, suddenly remembering.
“Oh, right.” He went to close it, and Elinor took the opportunity to look around with unconcealed curiosity.
His front room was filled with comfortable-looking furniture and a surprisingly small flat-screen TV, which was still tuned to ESPN, though the volume was down low. On the coffee table in front of the couch were two well-leafed financial magazines and a set of coasters. One coaster was in use, supporting a perspiring glass of something bubbly and slightly pink-tinged. Cherry 7-Up if she wasn’t mistaken.
She suddenly realized how thirsty she was after all that ice cream and chasing, but she would not steal a sip of his drink.
It was a good call. He came back right then, the first aid kit held out like a gift. “I hope it has everything we need.”
“I should be fine with a Band-Aid or two, but I should probably wash my arms first.”
