Page 17 of Faking I Do
“Fine. Tell your dad and pops that I’d be willing to chat with them.”
He let out a long, drawn-out sigh. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you’d both have something to gain.”
“I know.” My hand passed over his as I gave Shotgun a scratch under the chin. The dog burrowed closer, finally turning circles then settling into my lap. “What are you going to do with her?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure how she’d do home alone so I’ve been taking her with me everywhere. Someone must have worked with her at some point. She knows some basic commands.”
“Did Zina say when she’d be ready for adoption?”
“Nah. She wants to see how she does first. Somebody did wrong by her. I noticed she gets a little nervous around men.”
“But not you,” I said.
“Just when I surprise her.”
“I guess she can tell you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Bodie’s chest puffed out. “What are you talking about? I’m in charge of intimidating bad guys.”
“When’s the last time you had to catch a bad guy around here?”
His mouth screwed up. “Does Kirby Ketchum count?”
I let out a laugh. “No, Kirby doesn’t count. He’s more of a nuisance than a bad guy.” In the few short days I’d been working as mayor, I’d already fielded a couple of complaints about the man. He had an address out west of town—a mobile home that sat in the middle of ten acres of dry land. But he seemed to spend most of his time poking around the center of town.
“Well, I’d catch a bad guy if we had any.”
I caught the way his mouth drew into a line. Would his vow hold if it was one of his kin that turned out to be the bad guy? I’d like to think that Bodie’s sense of honor and duty would win over any family ties, but that was the thing about family. Oftentimes that was the only time exceptions were made to the rules.
“So when will this showdown take place?” I asked.
“Aw, come on, Sweets. It’s not like you’re going into a cage match with them.”
“I’d never agree to that. Your pops might be older than the hills but he’d be able to take down a man twice his size and a quarter of his age.”
That statement earned me a laugh from Bodie. He held out a fist and bumped knuckles with me. “That’s the honest truth. They just want to chat. Maybe over a nice, cold glass of lemonade. Nothing to be afraid of.”
“Fine. They can come to the house.”
“Your place? I figured you’d want a neutral location.”
“You’ll have your family in tow, I want to have some backup of my own.”
“Your dad?”
I shrugged. “I’d prefer to have Luke in my corner but his leave isn’t coming up for another few months.”
“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”
“Too long.” I lifted my gaze to meet Bodie’s. Talk of my older brother was one of the few things that could make me tear up. Didn’t matter that the thought of seeing Luke again made my heart warm. I wouldn’t believe he was okay until I got to wrap my arms around him in a hug. He’d been out of the picture when everything went down with my dad so I’d had to handle it all on my own. Sure, we’d video-chat every once in a while but it wasn’t the same as knowing the one person who’d always had my back would be next to me.
“Can’t wait to see him for myself.” Bodie peered through the fogged-up windshield. “Never did understand why he felt like he had to become such a hero.”
I almost pointed out to him that he’d done the same thing, just stateside instead of overseas. “How about tomorrow afternoon? I’ll make up a pitcher of that strawberry lemonade you like.”
“Might snow tomorrow.”
“You’re kidding.” Even in February, temps never fell below freezing. “Maybe hot cocoa instead?”
