Page 26 of Crossing the Line
There were two things that should get her up off of her butt.
She told Samantha she'd double check the box she'd set up for the chicks, but that was just busy work.
She'd done it the night before.
People might think she was a little obsessed.
She rolled her eyes at the idea, because she was.
She'd read a lot about chickens since she'd talked to Samantha about the idea.
It was just that she was about to put it all into practice.
The other thing she should do was pick up the phone and let Bixby know that he didn't have to leave the house to avoid the noise.
Since there wasn't going to be any.
The back door opened just on the other side of the fence, and she heard Bixby's soft steps on the porch.
Smiling at herself, she imagined him standing there, looking out over his half of the yard and listening for noise.
It made her laugh and her shoulders shook. "I was just going to call you."
She knew if she stood up, she'd see him as their fence was about five feet tall, not enough to hide him from her completely, or her from him for that matter, but where she was sitting, she had her back to the fence.
"Janice?"
She smiled and shook her head. "Yes, Bixby?"
"Are you talking to me?"
Yeah.
There was something to be said for face-to-face communication.
She just didn't want to see pity in his expression.
Failure was not something she liked.
Who did?
But it was one thing to have someone like 'Hammerhead' the contractor make her into a fool. She just didn't want to see Bixby's expression when she explained it.
She stood up and swallowed her pride, both in her psyche and her physical body.
She saw him standing on the other side of the fence and had to catch her breath.
He was always well dressed in market, but it had been a while since she'd seen him in a more casual setting.
He was wearing a button-down cambric shirt, and his hair was a little damp as if he'd just finished showering.
"Hi," he smiled at her.
Janice lifted a hand and gave him awkward little wave. "Hi."
He looked down, a smile on his face. His shoulders started to move and she imagined he was rolling up his sleeves.
Wow.
