Page 93 of With a Grain of Salt

She sighs when she opens the fridge.

“I forgot the milk,” she whispers.

“I can go get some,” I offer, wanting to help her in any way that I can.

“You don’t have to do that,” she says as she shifts to another cabinet.

“I don’t mind.”

“I’ll use this,” she says, holding up a clear container with what looks like flour in it.

"It's my emergency stash of dry milk."

"Dry milk?" I ask, my throat refusing to swallow down the gag forming.

"Don't look so disgusted," she says, smiling at me.

I swear it makes everything in my life better.

"Larkin won't drink it, but you can't even tell when it's cooked into something."

"What are you making with it?"

I can't think of a single thing that would be good with a powdered form of milk in it.

"Mac and cheese," she says, pointing to the box on the counter as if I'm blind.

It's not that I'm blind, it's that I have a hard time seeing anything else when she's near.

God, that sounded corny even in my head, but since I know it to be true, I simply stand a little taller.

"I want to thank you again for getting my car fixed."

"I didn't fix your car, Boone did."

"And it only cost fifty bucks?"

"Give or take," I tell her with a quick shrug.

She pulls in a sigh, releasing it slowly, but it doesn't have the edge of annoyance that's usually present when she gets frustrated with me or someone else.

"Barrett called me today and insisted I come by the office."

"Did he?" I say, wondering if she can hear the agitation in my voice.

I'll ring that jerk's neck if he told her about the trust he's supposed to be setting up.

"Seems you went and spoke to him about my credit card debt."

My heart stops, missing a handful of beats before it restarts, feeling a little clunky and not working right.

"Listen, what I told—"

"I want to say thank you."

I tilt my head a little to the side. Surely I didn't just hear what I think I heard.

"That look on your face, the shock that I'd thank you for something, kind of makes me feel like I've done nothing but be a jerk to you."

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