Page 94 of The Pushy Pixies Are Going Down
Goliath followed me to the back door, so I let him come out with me, making sure to grab the shed key from the counter on our way out. I walked to the back left corner of my yard where my shed was—it was filled with my lawn mower, a table umbrella, the outdoor chair cushions, and other things I didn’t want left out in the rain, wind, or snow.
Goliath ran around the yard, making me laugh when he started chasing a butterfly and leaping around, looking like a deer again—I loved his goofy hops.
I opened the shed and walked in. It wasn’t very big since I didn’t have a ton of stuff, but I knew what I needed was in the back corner inside a bin.
Once I found the right bin, I took a breath to center myself, then flipped it open with a cringe.
Inside were about twenty or so different-size and colors statues… of gnomes.
They icked me out, so I grabbed the one on top, set it aside, closed up the bin, shoved it back in the corner, and stood. Then I snagged the stupid gnome statue and walked out, locking the shed behind me.
“Come on, Golly!” I yelled, and he practically flew across the yard to me.
I braced myself for the incoming mini-horse even though he was trying to slow down—I’d seen how ridiculous he was when he was excited and tried to stop. He was all limbs and excess energy and never, ever skidded to a stop gracefully.
I knew what was coming.
But knowing it and feeling it were two different things.
Goliath rammed right into my body, knocking the breath from me as I stumbled back a few steps. I almost,almostwent down, but arms wrapped around me from behind, scaring the shit out of me.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” I screamed—and no, I definitely didn’t sound like a twelve-year-old girl, no matter what anyone else said—and whirled on my attacker, ready to pummel them with my gnome statue.
Winter laughed loudly. “It’s just me.”
I lowered my arms and narrowed my eyes at him, willing my heart to stop beating out of my chest. “Where the fuck did you come from?”
He bit his lips, trying to hide his laughter.
“I see you laughing, asshat.”
He laughed out loud, then bent down to pet Goliath since he was jumping in circles around both of us. “I came out a minute after you to see if you needed help. Goliath distracted me on the way to the shed, but I was out here when you called him. I thought you saw me.”
I shook my head. “Nope.” Wow, was I really that freaked out by a stupid gnome statue that I hadn’t even seen him out here? What a dork.
Winter gestured to the statue. “Is that… what I think it is?”
Holding it up, I grimaced. “If you think it’s a disgusting gnome, then you’re right.”
He bit his lips again, clearly trying not to laugh. “Why…” He choked on his own laugh, making me sigh in exasperation. “Why the hell do you have a gnome statue?”
I rolled my eyes. “Some of the guys at the department got wind of my dislike of gnomes, so every few months, I’d come home to one of these things in my yard. It was annoying.”
His laughter died off, and he stepped closer to me, grabbing my hip. “Oh, sugar butt.”
I patted his chest. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.” He leaned in to kiss my forehead. “Why did you keep this one?”
I grimaced again. “I kept them all… I… don’t really know why. I just… felt bad throwing them away or something. I put them all in a bin in the shed, and I meant to drop them off somewhere or give them away, but I honestly forgot they were in there until Ace said something about lawn ornaments.”
He slid one arm behind my back and gently put the other hand on the back of my head so he could give me a long, lingering forehead kiss this time. I closed my eyes and breathed him in for a few seconds.
When he released me, he grabbed the gnome statue from my hands with a wink and headed inside. Goliath leaned against my legs, watching Winter with me for a few seconds.
“Ready to go in, boy?”
He licked my hand and trotted off behind Winter, and I followed after them.
