Page 69 of Healed
Daisy laughed, trying to push him away, but he only let her go when he was ready.
“About time you got here! We been out here cooking for at least twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes doesn’t seem that long,” Daisy said.
“Considering I could walk to your house in ten minutes, it’s twice as long as it should have been, and like, five times as long as it should have been since you were driving.”
“I’m profoundly sorry,” Daisy said.
Charlie chuckled at the banter between them.
“Daisy! Look at the iguana!” Carson exclaimed.
Daisy looked over to where Carson and Harley sat with her iguana. “I see him. He’s pretty special isn’t he?”
“He is. I like that he’s orange. Orange is a happy color,” Carson said as he looked at the iguana. Then he focused on Daisy again. “Is Mr. Bane coming, too?”
“No, baby. He’s with his friends today.”
“Oh. Okay. I thought I might show him Harley’s iguana.”
“He’s met Gerald,” Harley said.
“Has he?” Carson asked.
“Yeah. He laughed when I told him that he’s better than a dog. Then he tried to get him to sit, but Gerald only sits when Gerald wants to sit,” Harley said.
Carson nodded thoughtfully. Then without getting up he twisted his little body to face Daisy fully. “This is my friend, Daisy. Her name is Harley.”
Daisy smiled at him. “Harley is my niece.”
“Is she?” Carson asked. He took a few moments to think about it, then nodded his head at whatever had occurred to him. “I should have known. She’s nice like you are.”
“Aww, thank you, Carson.”
About that time Gerald lifted one of his clawed feet and tapped at Carson’s hand to remind him that he was still eating.
“Oh, I have to finish feeding Gerald,” Carson said.
“Do I hear my favorite cousin?” Analise asked, as she came down the stairs leading from her raised front porch to the ground level.
Daisy looked up and waited for her to reach them. When she did, Daisy took one of the platters Analise was holding.
“Could you hand that one to Havoc?” Analise asked.
“Sure,” Daisy said, doing exactly what Analise had asked.
“It’s baked potatoes, well, partially baked. I cooked them halfway in the microwave, then slathered butter and kosher salt on the outside and wrapped them in foil to go on the grill with the steaks,” Analise explained. “They’re gonna get some of that smoky flavor and the skin will get a little crispy. And when we have them, we’ll load them up with all this!” she said, placing a tray of bowls on the outdoor table. It held sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, butter, crumbled bacon, chopped green onions, a bowl of sauteed sweet yellow onion, and even a small bowl of chili.
“We have a baked potato bar?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, we do!” Analise said.
“What’s for dessert?” Havoc asked.
“I brought home made toaster pastries.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at Daisy. “You brought me pop tarts?” he asked.
