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“Yes, me,” Lenny said with outrage in his voice. “You don’t think I could protect her? I took two years of Judo.”
“When? Back in Junior High?” Ammo asked.
“Well, yes, actually. Where is she? I’d like to speak to her.”
“Are those for her?” Ammo asked.
Oh, God. What had Lenny brought her now?
“Yes, these flowers are for her,” Lenny replied.
“Funeral’s not till Sunday. You’re early.”
“These aren’t funeral flowers,” Lenny replied. “These are just for Aimee. Now, I want to see her so I can give them to her in person.”
“No,” Ammo said.
As usual, he was typically short in his reply.
“No?” Lenny asked. “Well, why not? Is she not here? Should you be here if she’s not? If you’re her bodyguard, aren’t you supposed to stick close to her?”
“She’s here. You just can’t see her.”
“You can’t stop me from seeing her,” Lenny complained.
“I can, but also, she doesn’t want to see you.”
“You can’t know that. You haven’t even told her I’m here. Aimee? Aimee!”
Maybe the mature thing would have been to go out there and talk to Lenny herself, to tell him that she wasn’t interested in any sort of relationship. But once again, she was hiding from her problems. And today just didn’t feel like the day to find her courage.
Aimee peeked back around the corner just as Ammo took a step back from the door and slammed it in Lenny’s face. Then he turned and walked toward her, taking a sip of beer.
“That was rude,” she said, but there was no condemnation in her voice.
He’d gotten rid of Lenny, and frankly, that was what mattered.
“Why is he bringing you flowers?”
She sighed. “There aren’t that many single women in town between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-five.”
Ammo raised his eyebrows. “He’s seriously trying to get you to date him? Your husband just died.”
She shrugged. “People here move fast. Besides, I’m pretty sure that everyone knew Charlie and I didn’t have a great relationship.”
“How many men have you had turn up here wanting to date you?” he asked.
“I think Lenny makes number five. I was actually surprised no one came yesterday.”
Ammo muttered something to himself as he moved toward the oven, pulling out the lasagna and garlic bread.
They got to work plating it up, then sat and ate at the small table in the kitchen.
“Anyone ever try that while Charlie was still alive?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Well, you won’t be dating any of them,” he informed her.
