Page 82 of Outside The Wire

“It isnotfine!”

“You don’t want me to meet your family?” I asked, wondering why she was so adamant that I not meet them.

“It’s not that. My family is?—”

“Yes?”

She glanced at Wyatt, then back to me. “They’re a little odd.”

“You don’t say?”

“What’s this I hear about pavement being a topic that’s off-limits? And brain waves? I’m gonna need a list printed out.”

She groaned, flopping down in the chair. “I tried to get here to warn you. Why weren’t you answering your phone?” she asked accusingly. “I called you like fifty times!”

“I was working and we were really busy.”

“It looks like you’re chatting it up in here, being all chummy with your boss.”

“Well, now we are. But that was only after your mom called and gave me that list. We were both a little curious about the wheelbarrow and got sidetracked.”

“It was too good to pass up,” Wyatt shrugged.

“I’m gonna need to know the answer to that, baby.”

“Look,” she glared at me. “We are not going tonight.”

“I’m afraid we’re gonna have to. Your mom already called and didn’t exactly give me a chance to back out. Oh, and I’m also supposed to pick up Noelle on the way. Is there a reason she’s coming?”

“To make you feel less pressure,” she grumbled.

“Well, this ought to be interesting,” I chuckled.

“This is not funny, Asher Stone!”

“I find it perfectly amusing,” I grinned. “In fact, I think tonight will be one for the books.”

“And I want to know about this wheelbarrow tomorrow,” Wyatt added, “or don’t bother coming into work.”

“Asher, you don’t realize what you’re walking into. This isn’t going to be like a normal family dinner.”

“God, I hope not,” I snorted.

If she only knew what the last family dinner I had was like. Jade’s father came to mind, his brutal treatment of his daughter—how he basically sold her off to me. This would be a breath of fresh air by comparison.

I grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. “Now, you should go home and—Is that cocoa in your hair?” I leaned in and sniffed. “Is that peppermint?”

“Yes,” she grumbled.

“Do I want to know why?”

“Noelle,” she retorted.

“That explains a lot.”

“I think I’d like to meet this Noelle,” Wyatt grinned. “She sounds interesting.”

“Oh, she’s a handful,” I laughed. “She might be perfect for you.”

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