“Exactly.” I huffed. “That game should be illegal, or at least come with a warning label for cowboys…‘Caution: May damage pride.’”
She laughed outright then and gave the rooster a little jostle in her arm. “Well, I’m sorry about your wounded pride, but Sheriff Cluck Norris here is going to make it up to you with his very important job.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Cluck Norris?”
“Mmmhmm.” She nodded. “He’s my new personal security detail for the chicken coop.”
A surprised laugh bubbled up from my chest. “You’re bringingthatin with you to face off with Chante?”
“You bet your ass I am. I’m gonna look that devil bird right in his beady little eyes and tell him,” she hoisted Cluck Norris up a little higher, “thatthisis what happens to naughty roosters.”
We finally reached the taco booth, and I ordered us each two brisket tacos with extra queso and a pair of bottled sodas. With all of the picnic tables taken up by families and elderly folk, I steered us toward a patch of grass just off the main path. Andi plopped down with Cluck Norris and sat cross-legged, temporarily demoting the stuffed rooster from fearless protector to makeshift tray stand. A grin pulled at my mouth as I settled down beside her.
“They smell good,” Andi said, taking the taco-filled paper boat from my outstretched hand.
“Yeah,” I said, handing her a soda. “But they can’t beat the ones Luke and I get from this little hole-in-the-wall place off Route 39. We always stop there when we’re hauling horses out toward Calverton. Miss Gloria’s brisket tacos are hands down the best in the state.”
Andi eyed me curiously, carefully lifting one of the tacos and trying not to lose any of it. “Is she real, or just one of those mystical food ladies y’all just made up to scare tourists off chain restaurants?” She took a bite and let out a moan that hit me square in the gut. “Okay, this might be the best decision I’ve made all week.”
I tried not to think too hard about whatmybest decision might’ve been.
“See what I mean?” I said. “And, yes, she’s real. Luke loves her cooking so much he proposes to her every time we stop in.”
“Hedoes not.” She took another bite. Gave another moan. Sent my mind to places it had no business going.
“I wish I was lying,” I said, finally tearing into my own food. “But that’s Luke.”
A comfortable silence settled in around us for the next couple of bites, breaking only when Andi unscrewed the cap of her soda and hit me with, “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”
I raised a brow and shifted my jaw, dragging my tongue along the inside of my cheek until I nudged loose the rogue piece of brisket wedged between two of my teeth. “Like what?”
“Something random.” She shrugged and took a drink of her soda. “Don’t overthink it.”
“Uh-uh.” Setting the remaining half of my taco back in the paper boat, I used the crappy napkins they offered us to wipe my hands before shaking my head. “I went first last time we swapped stories.” I broke the seal on my soda and took a swig. “Your turn.”
She worked on chewing another bite of her taco—the tip of her tongue peeking out against the corner of her mouth to sweep away a bit of queso pooled there. “I’ve never been outside of Louisiana until now.”
I capped my soda and set it in the grass next to me. “Never? Not even on vacation or anything?”
She shook her head, diving into her second taco. “My parents weren’t big on travel. Said it was too expensive and preferred to spend their hard-earned money on things they’d get to enjoy more than once.” She took another bite and chewed. “And after they passed, I moved into a penthouse suite with my ex, so there wasn’t much ‘need’ to go anywhere else. He’d always say,‘Whyleave paradise?’And I guess I just…started thinking that was normal.” Her eyes fell to her lap as she paused, but a second later she perked back up and looked my way. “Have you ever been outside of Texas?”
I nodded, quietly cataloging what she’d just said as I crumpled up my used napkins and tossed them into my now empty paper boat. “Yeah, but it’s always been for things related to the ranch. Auctions. Equipment. Picking up horses here and dropping them off there.”
She mimicked my nod. “Okay, your turn. Let’s hear your something random.”
“I just told you.”
She stopped mid-chew and shot me a side-eyed glare. “You can’t piggyback off my random fact. It has to be authentically yours.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, stretching out into a lounging position and propping myself up on my elbow. “I got kicked out of this very fair once for climbing the Ferris wheel.”
Her eyes lit up. “No, you did not.”
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck with my free hand, “I did.”
Finishing the rest of her taco in one big bite, she dropped her trash into the paper boat and turned her body so she was facing me—adjusting Cluck Norris in her lap so he was no longer a table but an active listener in our conversation. “I need to knoweverything. Spill.”
A wide smile pulled at my mouth from her excitement. “It’s really not much of a story. I was fifteen and did it on a dare.”
