Page 64 of The Scout

“Nah. I’m not really into her. She’s cool and all, but not really my type. I mean, she’s gorgeous, but a lot of the guys like her. And have dated her. She’s a bit too outgoing for me if you know what I mean.”

I nodded. “I understand. So who do you like?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Do I need to like just one?”

Shit.How did I answer that? After searching my brain for aWhat would Hannah say?answer I came up with, “No, but you need to be nice to them. You’re a good guy. Don’t let baseball and popularity go to your head.”

“Great advice,” Hannah said, coming down the stairs in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, a lightweight jacket in her hand. “Hi, Cash. Jimmy, do you need money for the diner?”

I was about to reach into my pocket but stopped when he said, “No, I have money, but thanks.”

“Want us to drop you off?”

“Nah, I’ll ride my bike.” He kissed his mom on the cheek before giving me a half hug, including a pat on the back. “See you guys later.”

“Be careful!” Hannah shouted as the door closed behind him.

“I think I need a book,” I blurted out, making her laugh.

“What kind of book?”

“A book of responses to teenage questions.”

“You’re funny. Your answer was perfect. Teenage years scare me, can’t lie about that.”

“Well, you have me here now, so you don’t need to do it on your own. Speaking of, we should get going.”

Once in my car, we drove down the country roads. Hannah rolled down her window, allowing the warm spring breeze to lift the ends of her hair. “I love days like this,” she said, closing her eyes.

“It’s perfect.”

I turned the corner and came upon the street leading to the farm. “Remember when we used to ride our bikes down here?” She sighed. “Life was so easy back then.”

“I remember a lot of things. Remember when we used to sneak onto the farm to pet the goats?”

She giggled. “I remember one of them biting the bottom of your basketball shorts.”

Talk about an embarrassing moment. Not only did that animal bite them, but he also wouldn’t let go. I had to take them off and ride back to my house in my boxer shorts.

“Yes, a moment I’ll never forget. Especially when my mom had her friends over for lunch, and they were all on the porch.”

Her giggles turned into full-blown laughter.

“Keep laughing.”

“I’m sorry, but that was hysterical.”

“Sure, for you maybe. Do you know that Mrs. Mangus asked me out that night?” I glanced over to see Hannah’s nose scrunching up. “Yeah, talk about a cougar. Needless to say, she was never invited over again.”

I pulled onto the property to see Becky’s navy-blue sedan in the driveway. “What are we doing here?”

After I parked the car and turned off the engine, I got out, walked around to her door, and opened it up. Hannah took my hand and stood. I closed the door and explained, “I’m thinking of buying this place.”

Her jaw slackened. “All of it?”

Becky walked up to us. “Hi, Cash. Hey, Hannah.”

“Hi, Becky.”

---