Page 18 of Chasing Home

“Put a goddamn shirt on first, Magic Mike.”

“Was that a stripper joke?” I ask while grabbing my shirt. Shaking it in the air, I clear it of dirt before slipping it on. “Poppy would flick you in the nose for making that.”

“No, she wouldn’t. She loves that movie.”

I burst out in laughter. Garrison curses beneath his breath and shoves me enough to have me stumbling forward.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry, I’m just picturing you sitting down watching Magic Mike,” I wheeze.

“You can stay here while I go to the house, actually. Keep stacking bales. Preferably until your arms fall off,” he grunts, leaving me behind.

I chase after him, laughing loud enough to grab the attention of the construction crew. They watch us until Garrison pins them with a dark look, and they busy themselves again.

“Oh, don’t act all tough and mean, Garry. I’m sorry. I’ve watched Magic Mike before, and it wasn’t half-bad,” I say.

“It was terrible. But Poppy wanted to watch it, so I sat my ass down and kept my mouth shut.”

“Good man,” I tell him, reaching his side once we both cross the road.

The ranch house is exactly what you’d expect. Old but well-kept, with a large porch, screen door, and endless flowerpots outside. The windows are big, with wood shutters on either side of each one that are solely for decoration. It was the biggest house on the land until Brody and Anna built theirs last year further out, away from everyone else but still close enough to pop up every day.

Eliza, Poppy, and Anna are sitting on the porch when we get close enough to grab a view of them. The oldest woman of them all is rocking on her chair, its yellow cushions bright against the soft pink of her shirt. Poppy’s dyed her hair again, this time to a deep brown a few shades darker than Anna’s. It’s a habit of hers that I often take bets on with Eliza. From the brown today, I know I’ve just won twenty bucks.

Eliza looks over at Garrison and me as we approach and smiles. “Hello, boys. You’re just on time.”

“For what?” I ask at the same time the sound of gravel crunching becomes audible.

“For our guest,” Eliza sings.

Closer and closer, an old sedan crawls toward us. My heart gallops, excitement having me damn near bouncing on my toes when I make out the driver.

“The show makes sense now,” Garrison mumbles.

Yeah, it does.

I’m the scheduled performer, and I’m not the least bit ashamed of that.

Tucking my hands in my pockets, I let my lips tug into a grin and wink when Aurora spots me, her eyes bugging out. The curse she so obviously mutters before parking in front of the house is adorable. I want her to say it again for me to hear this time.

Garrison barks a laugh, and I flip him the bird over my shoulder, not bothering to tear my eyes from Aurora to look at him.

“You did this on purpose, Eliza,” I say while we wait for the ranch guest to step out of her car.

“Me? Would I do that?”

Both the girls answer for me. “Yes.”

Eliza laughs her loud, warm laugh, and I take a few steps closer to the porch. Aurora opens the car door, and it creaks so damn loud she cringes, her cheeks flaming red. When she darts her stare from her door to the house and then to Garrison behind me, it’s obvious she’s purposefully avoiding me.

“How long has your door been creaking like that? I’m going to have Brody take a look before he heads off again. He’ll get it all right as rain,” Eliza says, a firm nod following her words.

Aurora stares at her, cheeks still pink. I roll my lips to hide my amusement. She doesn’t know what to do with the offer, and fuck me if that doesn’t make me wanna give her another one. Like an offer to help fix up that shack of a rental she’s gotten herself.

It should be wrapped in caution tape and demolished. There’s no way there was an inspection done prior to her moving in, and if there was, it definitely didn’t pass.

After learning that that’s where she’s been living, I’ve had to fight the urge to get to work on it every time I drive by. The only thing that’s kept me from doing so this far is knowing that she’d take my own hammer and hit me upside the head with it if she caught me there.

---