Page 36 of Faking I Do
Bodie put a hand on either side of my face and tipped my head back. Tiny pinpricks of awareness swept over my cheeks. “She got you good. You want me to grab some ice?”
I stepped back, more worried about the feel of Bodie’s fingertips on my skin than any bruising that might be forming on my face. “No, I’m fine.”
Shotgun stood in front of me, minus a bit of her previous enthusiasm, her tail no longer thrashing the air. She cocked her head one way, then tilted it the other.
“That’s the universal way of saying I’m sorry in dog talk.” Bodie reached down to ruffle the dog’s ears. “She also says maybe I should have named her Bonehead instead.”
I let out a laugh as I arched a brow. “I had no idea you could communicate with animals like that.”
“It’s a newly developed talent.” Bodie shrugged. “Just one of my superpowers, I guess.”
Bodie was big enough to be a superhero. My inner teenager had always considered his mere presence a superpower in and of itself. The way he could make me laugh no matter what kind of mood I was in, the way he’d resort to desperate and embarrassing lengths to coax a smile. I peered up at him as I squatted next to Shotgun. Yeah, Bodie was all of my favorite superheroes combined.
My breath caught in my chest, making me cough on my own inhale. When did I become such a sap? I shook all cheesy thoughts of Bodie out of my head.
“So you want that checklist?” I gave Shotgun a final pat then stood, brushing stray dog hairs off my shirt.
“Yeah, that would be great. What’s on it?”
I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket and unfolded it as I stepped close to the counter. “Not too much.”
His finger grazed mine as he pointed to the first item on the list. My breath hitched. Since when did being around Bodie incite choking on air? Since he’d stopped looking at me like a bug he’d like to squash and started looking at me as someone hemight want to . . . what? As he ran his finger over the paper, I wondered what might happen if I pressed my hand onto his.
“Moses removal?” His finger stopped on item number three. “Who’s Moses?”
I jerked my finger back as hot prickles raced across my cheeks. What had gotten into me lately?
“Lacey?” Bodie poked me in the arm. The kind of poke he might have given to my twelve-year-old self. The kind intended for someone he didn’t think of as more than an annoying little sister.
“Moses. Yeah, that’s the armadillo Adeline saw.”
“You named him after a biblical figure?”
My shoulders shook as a shiver raced through me. “It was the best I could do at the time.”
“Fill in holes in the yard? Don’t you think we should wait until item one is taken care of to do that?”
“It looks like a fairy garden graveyard out there. Can’t we fill in some of them so people don’t wonder why there are holes all over the place?”
“A fairy garden graveyard?” Bodie’s head dipped. Then it shook from side to side like he’d never heard anything so stupid. But I knew for a fact he had. He and Luke used to make stuff up all the time. They once told me that an old tree in the backyard came alive at night. I was terrified to go in the backyard alone for months.
“Just deal with the armadillos, okay? Everything else can wait until I get back.”
“We’ll have to set live traps. Do you have a budget for that?”
“I don’t have a budget for any of this. We’ve got a little bit left from the warehouse sale.” I noticed the way his shoulders hunched when I mentioned it. “Other than that we’ve almost maxed out the maintenance budget set aside for the house and property.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He folded up the paper and shoved it in his pocket. “Now, do you mind if I look around? I’m pretty sure I dropped my mini flashlight while I was here for the sale.”
“Go ahead. I didn’t see anything up here in the office so it must be in back.” I gestured toward the door to the warehouse.
“Thanks. You want me to take Shotgun with me or leave her out here with you?”
“I have to come back anyway to sort through some more boxes. We can all head out back.” Did Bodie really wince or did I imagine it?
“All right. Lead the way.” He held the door open, letting me pass through first. Shotgun bounded after me, dragging her new green-and-brown-camouflage-print leash behind her.
“I’ll be over here sorting through fake flowers. Let me know if you need anything.” I turned left to head down one aisle while Bodie went to the opposite side of the warehouse.
