“Ha!” The short laugh shoots from my mouth like a bullet. This conversation is taking a turn from lighthearted teasing to hitting multiple nerves. They sound like my mom. I press my fingers to my temple. “And that’s a bad thing?”
I stand by my preferences. Between my dad and my brothers, the bar is high. It isn’t unreasonable, though. The fact that no man will ever live up to the other men in my life is unfortunate, but what can a girl do?
And who is Marlow to be critical? She has August. He’s perfect. Diana found Ike, another ideal man. I’m not allowed to have standards, though? Marlow has activated my feisty Irish genes.
“You know what?” My eyes tighten at my annoying friends. I’ll love them again tomorrow when I’ve slept and my head isn’t pounding. Right now I want to fight. “I’ll find a sasquatch—again—before you two find the perfect man for me.” My lip curls. “Not even a perfect man. I’ll make it easy. You can’t find a Good Enough man before I find another sasquatch.”
“Want to put your money where your mouth is?” Marlow grins. “A little wager?”
I laugh. “I’m a public school teacher. I don’t have money.” If I did, I wouldn’t take whatever shifts she’ll give me at the diner during the busy summer months. I’d be hiking in the woods every day.
Marlow gives Diana a knowing look. “Not money, then. Just a friendly bet, because I say you’re wrong.” The corners of her mouth curl. “You can’t find a sasquatch before we find theperfect man for you—and we will find the perfect man. Not just good enough. Let us set you up—”
“No.” I shake my stupid head again, and my brain feels loose, like it’s bumping around in a spiky cage. “No more dates.”
“You’ll never find a man without going on some dates,” Diana cuts in with a snort. “You aren’t going to run into him in the woods, Stevie.”
Shirtless Adam’s face flashes in my mind. It’s an easy image to summon—it’s been popping into my head since we left the preserve. He was even prettier up close with that longish hair, the tan skin, and those huge dark eyes. But I reject the thought immediately. He’s not the one. The One won’t need to be told to wear a shirt in public, and he’ll know not to abduct unconscious women. I didn’t need to date the guy to figure that out—not that Adam would go out with me, anyway. The guy is a hermit.
“She won’t do it, because she knows she’s wrong,” Marlow needles.
I see through her. She knows my Achilles’ heel, and she takes advantage of it. My friends know I hate to be wrong.
The click of keys fills the silence that follows. August, wisely, has worked on his laptop through this whole ridiculous exchange. The gleam in his eyes tells me he’s enjoying every bit of this, but he’s smart enough to keep himself far from the fray.
My friends are nuts. I’m not crazy; they are. Marlow is the one who’s wrong. An irritating ache builds in my Achilles’ heel, and I fear the only way to get rid of it will be to agree to this dumb bet. If I don’t, Marlow will think it’s because I’m doubting myself. I’m not. I know what I saw out there tonight.
They aren’t going to find the mythical Good Enough man, but I can find a sasquatch again. Plus, it’ll be fun to prove I’m right. I need to start that podcast. I already have a catchy premise: Can Stevie Sullivan find a sasquatch before her friends find a Good Enough man?
My wheels are turning.
“I’m in,” I announce. I’m strangely giddy about this. I have an excuse to hunt for Bigfoot all summer. My brothers are going to love this.
August looks up in shock. “You’re doing it? You know they’re going to send you on even more dates.”
I shrug like it’s no big thing. It totally is, but if I don’t think about it, I can’t psych myself out.
Marlow grins like a cat, and I swear a canary feather pokes out between her teeth. “We’ll find you a man before the end of the summer, but you can’t be a pain in the butt about it. You’ll go on dates with an open mind—”
“And you’ll accept my sasquatch evidence with an open mind.”
Marlow and Diana nod.
“Deal,” Marlow adds with a grin. “And if we win, you admit to everyone that you were wrong about Bigfoot.”
There’s an inexplicable tightness in my chest. “And if I win, you admit that I’m right.” That’s all the motivation I need, honestly.
Marlow and Diana nod.
“You know that you women are crazy, right? Like, actually insane. Every one of you.” Lines form between August’s eyebrows. “And I was worried this would be a boring summer.”
Chapter 5
Adam
These dang turkey poachers. Selfish, thoughtless, trashy ...
I mutter my angry thoughts as I snag a wadded purple Takis bag off the forest floor. I know this is theirs. It’s not the first empty Takis bag I’ve found. It’s basically their calling card.
