Page 18 of Who Pissed Off Ivy Dell?

Cujo’s screen door slams, and I suddenly want one of those. I’m going to ask Jensen if there are any in his shop. I’d love to be able to open my door in the evenings without having to worry about an animal wandering in.

“Why are you over here getting these rats all riled up?” he asks. His voice is as gruff as usual, but I know he’s not mad. I actually don’t ever want to see him mad.

“They’re trying to warn you about me.”

“I think they’re at the wrong casita.”

“It’s too late to warn him about me.”

Cujo laughs, and it’s so loud the prairie dogs all freeze. He walks toward his bike.

“Hey, before you take off, can I ask you something?” I pick up my pace to catch him before he cranks up his bike and can’t hear me.

His head turns toward me, but he’s not smiling. “Why do I feel like I’m about to be ambushed?”

“No ambush, I promise. I was just wondering if you’ve ever thought about asking Josephine to give you a tattoo.”

“That’s a hell of a random thing to walk around wondering about.”

“Okay, listen. If you don’t think she’s good enough, you can tell me, and I’ll drop it. I’ll never tell her that she’s right about why you haven’t asked. But if that’s not it, maybe you could bring it up to her sometime.”

“Does she want to give me a tattoo?”

“I can’t speak for her. But as her friend, I don’t think she’d say no if you asked.”

“Don’t do this shit. I need direct communication. Does she want me to ask her to do that?”

I nod.

“Are you refusing to speak now because you promised her you wouldn’t tell me this?”

I nod again. “But maybe don’t bring it up right away.”

“How long should I wait?”

“Just whenever it feels natural.”

“When do you suppose that should be?”

“In a few days, maybe? But don’t make it abrupt. You know, just nuance it into the conversation.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m all about nuance. Known for it.” He straddles his bike and walks it back. I jump aside when it rumbles to life. He nods at me when he turns the handlebars, and then he smiles. I know that look. He’s not smiling to be friendly; he’s happy, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with me.

Easiest nudge ever. Can’t wait to tell Jensen how badly he underestimated me.

When I reach the rock-lined path that I helped clear, I step onto it to walk out to the circle. I don’t know why, but I want to take a look and see if anything might need to be done out here.

The breeze blows through my hair, and a hawk circles in the clear blue sky. Such a perfect afternoon. More prairie dogs play to my left, making a sound I’ve never heard. Some of them are jumping and chirping as they run, but I hear a weird little drumroll sound, too. Like it’s coming from farther back in their throat. Or maybe they do it with their tongues. It’s not as loud as their other noises, but I know I heard some sort of vibration mixed in.

They’ve stopped making any sounds at all. I glance over my shoulder to see that they’ve all vanished. They must have a burrow close by, but that was a quick disappearing act.

I see a few furry heads pop up. Their warning chirps sounds off again. And then the drumroll again, more isolated. I stop walking. It’s not coming from behind me, which is where all the prairie dogs have gone. It’s not a throat vibration.

That’s a rattle. Fuck.

My eyes scan the dirt and scrub ahead. It camouflages so well, but I see the movement. It’s not slithering toward me, but it’s coiled and its head is moving. I hear Cujo’s bike coming back. He must’ve forgotten something.

Please see me. Notice me standing still out here.

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