Page 50 of Stray

“Fuck, right uhmmm…. It’s a surprise.” I give her my best confident smirk that I guarantee in no way delivers. She giggles lightly and shakes her head while standing up to clear her plate.

“Yes, to both of us, evidently.”

* * *

“Ladies love picnics,” Carter says while spinning his squealing son around over his shoulder. “Guaranteed to get you puss-”

“Your son is right there.” Theo smacks him in the forehead before looking at me. “But yes, a picnic. Plus, you can do it on the ranch. Go over to the tree line and have the woods to look at and shit.” My heart drops. I can’t do that to her. She would be in a panic the whole time. Sighing, I get in my truck and wave them goodbye. I need to go into town to grab food and stuff for this picnic thing. I could drag the outside table back out from the shed, and we could eat there. That constitutes a picnic, right?

Placing my bud into my ear, I hit Indy’s contact on my phone. I need to know what kind of food to get Ozzy without asking her straight out.

“The fuck you calling my girl for?” Derek greets me, and I roll my eyes.

“Jealousy is not attractive, brother,” I hear him scoff.

“Shows what you know. Women eat that possessive shit u– Oh hey, Darlin’.” He laughs nervously, and there is rustling before Indy’s voice comes on.

“It’s a shame I’m going to have to murder your brother.” She mutters, and I snicker at her remark. “So what can I do for you, Jackson?”

“I’m taking Ozzy on a date,” Indy nearly blows my eardrum with her squeals of happiness.

“I knew it! Derek! You owe me five dollars!”

“Ha ha, very funny. Anyway, I wanted to take her on a picnic and needed to know what she likes on her sandwiches because all I’ve ever seen is peanut butter and chips, which is disgusting.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it, and why are you making sandwiches? That’s soooo boring. Oh! I know! You could do a charcuterie board with some meats, cheeses, and fruits. Pair that with a good wine… well, she doesn’t drink, so scratch the wine, but a good fancy dessert! What’s the location for the picnic?”

Pulling into the store’s parking lot, I furrow my brows. “A char-what? What happened to bologna or ham? Also, I was going to pull the table out of storage and do it in the back ya–”

“Oh. My. God. Jackson Rowe, if you subject my friend to that crap, I will forbid you from ever dating her again. Am I making myself clear? I’m not even waiting for an answer because I know I’m making myself clear. Now, here is what we are going to do. You are going to keep me on the phone with you, and you will buy everything I tell you, and we will give her the best picnic date ever.

Ozzy

“I don’t care,” Dorothy hollers as she paces back and forth in the living room, her phone pressed to her ear. “Your family and I have done business together despite the horrendous actions with your daughter! You can’t just–” She shakes her head and hangs the phone up.

“What’s going on?” Morris asks, weakly looking up from watching Wyatt play toy cars on the floor with me.

“The Anders are doubling the price of feed on us.” She sighs, dropping her head into her hands. “They say that they’ve given us a break long enough over the Justine thing, and they can’t keep paying for her sins, especially with her not working there, unless she’s hurting for money.”

“Can’t you get feed somewhere else?” I ask, standing up from Wyatt. “Surely they aren’t the only feed distributors.”

“They’re the closest,” Morris sighs, “And were the most reasonably priced. This has nothing to do with them giving us a break. It has to do with the Barnett’s selling off their ranch and the Lionel’s not far behind. They’re hurting and are gonna squeeze us for it.” I frown as I look between the two, wishing like hell I knew what to say to help them.

Dorothy, sensing my unease, smiles at me. “It’ll all work itself out. We wanted to leave after what Justine did to Derek, but Derek insisted it didn’t bother him, and that girl was never a part of her parent’s business like our kids, so we stayed because it was convenient. We’ll figure something out. Now, don’t you have a date to get ready for?”

* * *

Staring at myself in the mirror, I frown. I look so stupid in this outfit. Curled hair in a high pony, nearly no makeup, jeans, and a plaid flannel with a white tank underneath. When I googled “Country winter date clothes,” this was the vibe. Well, it may be their vibe, but I am so uncomfortable I want to cry.

A knock at my door pulls me out of my thoughts as I clasp my necklace on my neck. The first few times I wore it, it only lasted a second. Now I can go a couple of hours, and I find it’s actually really comforting. I like rubbing my thumb over the seal grooves.

Opening my door, I find Theo standing there looking… well, sweaty.

“If someone don’t get fucked tonight after the horseshit I just got roped into, I’m gonna be pissed.” She looks me up and down, and her lip curls. “The fuck are you wearing?”

Stamping my foot, I storm back into my room. “I-I can’t go! I don’t have the right clothes!”

“Oz, it’s casual. Actually, I think you’re wearing something similar to Jackson, which is weird.” She chuckles, and I whine as I flop onto my bed.

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