Page 18 of Faking I Do
“Come on, Shotgun.” Bodie tugged on the leash. “We’ve got to make a pit stop at the feed store and pick up a new leash for you.”
“Not a fan of the hearts?” I asked.
“Hearts are fine for her. But I wouldn’t mind something a little less, well, a little less pink.”
“There’s nothing wrong with pink. And you’d better get used to it. I read that it’s one of the most popular wedding colors this year.” I put my hands on either side of Shotgun’s muzzle, careful to avoid the sores left from the tape.
“You’re really going to pursue this, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. The town’s even going to change its name from Idont to Ido. It’s on the agenda for the next council meeting. Don’t you think that will go along better with the whole wedding thing?”
Bodie snorted. “You’re really something, Mayor Cherish. Come on, Shotgun.”
The dog gave me a final look, her big brown eyes staring deep into my soul. Then her tongue swept over my face. I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “She’s a kissing monster.”
“Nah, she just knows you like getting a face full of tongue.” With a gentle tug on the leash, Bodie helped Shotgun scramble out of the truck. “Three o’clock tomorrow sound good?”
I used my sleeve to wipe the remaining doggie spit off my cheeks. “Yeah. I’ll see you then.”
Bodie shut the door, then lingered in the open window. “So . . .”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks. I appreciate you doing this.” The edges of his eyes crinkled, making me wonder how long it had been since he’d offered me a genuine smile.
I smiled back, glad I could help. Maybe I could work something out with the Phillips family. “I’m the mayor, it’s my job to try to work out any kinks with my constituents.” I owed it to myself and Bodie to try.
CHAPTER 9
BODIE
Kinks.Why’d she have to say “kinks” out loud? This business of having to work with Lacey made my stomach churn, made my pants feel a little too tight as well. Up until about a year ago I hadn’t thought of her as anything but the toothy tagalong sister of my best friend. She’d annoyed me, just like she bugged the hell out of her brother growing up. But we’d had some fun times, too.
Luke was a great shot, loved to camp, and could win any kind of race whether on foot or on four wheels. But Lacey was the one who’d engaged me in long conversations. Usually while we sat on the dock of Pappy’s Pond, fishing poles in hand. Luke wasn’t patient enough to wait for the fish to bite. He’d hand his pole over, then spend the rest of the afternoon swinging off the thick rope left over from other kids who’d visited the swimming hole long before us. But Lacey and I would sit for hours with nothing but the sound of crickets and locusts between us. Every once in a while we’d pick up a string of conversation. But comfortable silence worked, too. I’d never felt awkward like I needed to fill the long stretches between us.
But I’d also never thought of her as a girl. Not when she’d dig around in the dirt for night crawlers to use as bait. Not whenshe’d chase snakes with us. And definitely not when she’d jump in the pond in her T-shirt and shorts, her chest flatter than the boards of the dock we’d sit on to dry off.
When I’d left for college, she’d still been in braces. But now, there was no escaping the fact that Lacey Cherish had morphed from the gangly girl I used to know into a confident, good-looking woman.
But business was business. The sooner I figured out a way to salvage the family fortune without rocking the boat, the sooner I could start looking for a job far from the family who always seemed to wedge me in between a rock and a hard place. And far from the woman who could single-handedly ruin me.
I reached over to give Shotgun a pat on the head. At least I had company tonight. With nothing stretching ahead of me but another lonely Friday evening, it would be nice to have a warm body to share the couch with. Even if it was only a dog. For a moment I let myself imagine what it would feel like to curl myself around someone of the two-legged variety. Someone like Lacey Cherish.
“Dammit.” I slapped a palm on the dash before I cranked up the volume on my radio.
Shotgun let out a bark as she wagged her tail.
“That’s right. Time to change the subject. How about we stop in for some takeout on the way home?”
A giant tongue doused my cheek in doggie saliva, signaling Shotgun was most likely on board with that decision.
Fifteen minutes later, I sat on a stool at the counter while Jojo raced around the Burger Bonanza. “Don’t you have any help tonight?”
“Nope. Lacey was scheduled but she called in a bit ago.” Jojo clipped two order tickets to the window between the kitchen and the dining room. “I think that press conference about did her in.”
“You two are close, aren’t you?”
“If by ‘close’ you mean we can carry on a conversation about something beyond what the daily special is, then yeah, I suppose so.” She paused next to me, clamping her hands to her hips. “Why?”
