“Ask who what?” I said.
“Chase is asking Lee to move in,” Cash said in an undertone, “and he’s scared he’ll say no.”
Chase glared at him. “Fuck you. I am not.”
“Not asking or not scared?” Danny said, grinning. “Because you know he’ll say yes.”
Chase shoved the rest of his hot dog in his mouth and didn’t answer, but his face spoke volumes. He was definitely freaking out.
“Just ask him,” Cash said quietly. He bumped shoulders with Chase. “When you want something, you gottaask.”
Chase rolled his eyes and muttered, “Fine.”
Then he stalked across the lawn to where Lee was standing, looking for all the world like he was about to whip out a pistol and challenge him to a duel. Or just punch him in the face, which honestly might be more Chase’s style.
I took my hot dog off Danny and put my spare arm around Cash. “You guys are very different people, aren’t you?”
Cash snorted.
And Lee was a very different person from me, because if I’d seen Chase charging at me with a murderous glare on his face, I would have backed off. Lee didn’t. He just waited, a patient expression on his face, as Chase approached him. His body language changed step by step. By the time he got to Lee, he looked less homicidal and more just belligerent. They were too far away for us to hear what was said, but Lee listened and then nodded and smiled and pulled Chase into what looked like an unwilling hug. It was one he wasn’tactuallyfighting, though.
“I’m guessing that went well?” Danny asked.
Cash nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah.”
“It’s gonna be pretty crowded at your place now,” I said.
Cash darted a sideways look at me and opened his mouth. Then closed it again. His brows tugged together the way they did when he was thinking hard about what to say and wondering if the words would come.
“Danny!” Bobby called, approaching with Lucille at his side. We all took a few steps back. “Where’s that boyfriend of yours? I need to ask him about the Special Event permits for Goose Pride.”
“You’re the mayor, aren’t you?” Danny asked. “Don’t you just sign those?”
“That’s what I said!” Bobby exclaimed. “But some of the church folks have got bees in their bonnets over the noise levels. Least, that’s what they say they’re complaining about, but we all know it’s not about that. Assholes.” He bent down to pick Lucille up. “Anyhow, I thought I’d run it by Miller, just to see if there was something I was missing. It’s been more than a few years since I studied law. I remember you gotta cross all your i’s and dot your t’s, or something like that, though!”
He let out a burst of laughter and strode away. Lucille honked in chorus with him.
“Bobby studied law?” I asked, blinking.
“Nothing would surprise me, honestly.” Danny held out a hot dog to Cash. “Regular boring, just as ordered, sir.”
Cash snorted. He took the hot dog, then grasped me by the hand again and led me toward a dark corner of the yard, away from the people and the noise. Hopefully away from the alpaca pursuit as well. He tilted his head back and looked at the stars. It was still light enough that there weren’t too many visible, but a few were beginning to show as the sky darkened.
We ate our hot dogs quietly, listening to the chirping and clicking of katydids and crickets, and I waited. Whatever Cash had to say, he’d get to it in his own time.
A small black cat wound itself around Cash’s ankles, and he bent down and scooped it up into his lap. It was one of the litter of strays, and it had found a home with Bobby. Cash focused on stroking its fur as he said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Always,” I said, and meant it. I’d do anything I could do to make Cash happy, because he brightened my world just by being in it.
“Just, with Lee and Miller living at the house, that’s five people,” he said, gaze still fixed on the cat. He drew in a shaky breath. “And I’d rather live with just one person. And a dog.” He lifted his head and looked at me then, and just like the first time I met him, I was helpless against those wide, hopeful eyes.
“Are you saying you’d like to move in with me?” I asked.
Cash nodded silently. When he was dealing with big feelings, his words still tended to run away from him, but that was okay. I understood him anyway.
I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “I’d love it if you moved in officially. I’ll even buy you a box of Lucky Charms to celebrate. But you realize you basically live with me already, right?”
His brow creased for a second while he processed that before his face lit up with a wide smile. “I do, don’t I?”
