Page 25 of Noble Neighbor
“This” — she unhooked an arm, gesturing around her — “is where we found that. It’s our forever place.” She lowered her arm, placing a hand on his forearm. “My girls think y’all’s the bees knees. And I like you, Oliver. And I’d like to be your friend. Just a friend.” A half-smile tugged at her lips. “No benefits. Is that possible?”
Oliver gave her a long, considering look. The sun shone bright, basking down on Sunny, on her mop of choppy brown curls, accentuating the light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks.
Worried blue eyes stared earnestly at him, a frown creased her forehead, and her lips formed a straight line as she waited for his reply.
He placed his palm over the back of her hand, squeezing in comfort. “I can be your friend, Sunny Jones.”
The relief flooding her features poured the last bit of cold water on the lingering desire in Oliver, and he vowed to do his utter best to be Sunny’s friend because that’s what she needed.
And maybe, he thought as he drove away, she’d one day confide her reason for the boxes of hair coloring he noted in her bathroom cabinet while searching for cloths the other day. It wasn’t to hide premature grey as he’d assumed. No siree. The sun had exposed the root of a secret.
Sunny was not a brunette. She was a blonde.
He’d also picked up a second hint to the secrets Sunny held — she mostly spoke with a neutral accent, but he’d caught a hint of Texas floating in her voice earlier.
She might be Queens born, but she’d certainly spent time in Texas. Maybe that’s where she’d crossed paths with cranky roosters.
8
Just friends
Just friends with Oliver? Yeah, right. The mouthful ofcrumbly coffeecake turned to cardboard, the cinnamonthreatening to choke her. Who was she kidding? She was a liar. There was no way to refute the fact. Her life was one big fat deception.
Which is why Oliver Armstrong can be nothing but a friend, Sunny-girl. You made choices. For your girls. Everything, always, for your girls.
“Stick to the plan,” Sunny muttered and stabbed a finger on the button. The screen refreshed.Thank you for your purchase,it mocked. “Gah!” She slammed the laptop lid down.
“Meow.”
She glared at the cat sauntering into the room. “Don’t you dare judge me, Tabitha. You don’t worry about unmet needs. Me? I’m not so lucky. I have to settle for battery-operated satisfaction.”
Sunny narrowed her eyes and counted the kittens weaving around the mama.
One. Two. Three … “Lucifer!”
She shoved away from the desk.
“Meow.”
“You have no place to criticize, Tabby-girl. You can’t even keep track of your son,” she scolded, sidestepping darting kittens before she stomped from the room. “Lucifer! I swear, whatever you’ve gotten yourself into, you’re on your own this time.”
She found him on the windowsill in the kitchen, staring intently through the glass. It was a rather innocuous place for the troublemaker, and even more puzzling, he sat motionless. Lucifer did not do motionless.
Sunny moved closer. “What’s caught your attention, boy?” she asked, sliding into the eating nook. Stroking a finger across the bony back, she scanned the yard. “Did you see a bird? A squirrel maybe?”
What? Was that a …?
“A dog,” Sunny said, astonished, peering at the medium-sizedhound on the edge of her driveway, partly hidden by the shade of the trees. “You’ve found yourself a dog, Lu.” She scooped the kitten and brought him to her neck for a cuddle. “Well, boy, reckon it’s going to be a while before you can chase one of those.”
The dog moved forward a few steps, limping. Sunny sucked in her breath. Even from the distance, the animal’s ribs were visible under the brown skin. “Oh, you poor thing.” The dog was facing the house, looking toward it. Toward her? And then it sat.
Lucifer bumped her chin with his head. “What? You want me to go outside? That’s not a good idea, Lucifer.I promised Oliver not to be foolish. Confronting a stray, especially an injured and hungry one, is the height of foolishness.”
She turned away from the window to call the vet. “Ouch!” Sunny deposited the cat on the kitchen table and slapped a hand to her neck, covering the new scratches. “That hurt, you little hell-cat.”
Lucifer was back on the windowsill. He batted the glass and let out a pitifulmeow.
Still cursing the cat, Sunny glanced out.
