Page 7 of Tizzy's Little Thanksgiving

Eddie took her hand in his, leaned in super close, captured her chin between his fingers and tilted her head back so their gazes met right as the cab pulled up to the front gates. “That’s good, Tizzy, because Iwasserious.”

Her eyes grew wide and her whole face conveyed shock combined with a sort of deer in the headlights, what the hell have I gotten myself into look.

Perfect timing, too, because the cab rolled to a stop. “Oh look, we’re here,” Eddie said with a suggestive wink. “Let’s get checked in and then I will demonstrate exactly how serious.”

“Ummm… how are you going to do that?” Tizzy whispered, her eyes never once straying from his.

“How do you think?” he asked instead of giving her an answer.

The cutest shade of pink began to color her cheeks as her mouth opened, then closed, only to open again. Still, not a single word was uttered.

Gone was the defiant woman who’d yanked the hoodie from his hand, and in her place, was a blushing Little whose fingers were fiddling with the zipper of said hoodie as she shifted on the seat. Eddie grinned, willing to bet his next paycheck she knew exactly what to expect. Still, it was simply too tempting not to let her stew just a bit longer. After all, she had been very sassy before she’d fallen asleep.

“Let’s just say I’ve had a month to consider a wide variety of choices,” Eddie teased, brushing a lock of her sleep-tousled hair behind her ear before sitting back against his door. “I’d hate to spoil the sur—”

An ear-piercing shriek accompanied the yanking open of his door, and the next thing he knew, he was falling backward.

“Eddie!”

He wouldn’t be able to swear in a court of law which of them screamed his name, but he didn’t particularly care as he opened his eyes to find Tizzy’s head sticking out of the car door and Georgie staring down at him.

“Whoa, you fell out of the car,” Georgie said.

“You think?” Eddie returned sarcastically.

“Well, youareon the ground,” Georgie pointed out as if he’d asked her to clarify her statement.

Before he could respond, Tizzy practically tumbled out of the car herself as she scrambled from the cab to kneel at his side.

“Don’t touch him!” she yelled, waving her hands over his body a couple of inches above him.

“I’m fin—” Eddie began.

“What’s wrong?” Georgie cut him off as she dropped to her knees across from her bestie.

“I don’t know—”

“Girls, I’m all—” Eddie tried again, only to be ignored.

“How can you not know? You’re the nurse!” Georgie said, her voice going up yet another octave.

“I only meant I haven’t examined all his limbs or—”

“Oh no! What if his back’s broken? We’d have to postpone the wedding.” Georgie urgently tugged on the sleeve of Tizzy’s hoodie. “You have to fix him right now!”

“We need an ambulance!” Tizzy declared, jumping to her feet.

“Teresa, you need—” Eddie attempted.

“To call a doctor!” Georgie interrupted him again as she leapt to hers as well. Only her toes caught on Eddie’s hip as she attempted to jump across him to grab Tizzy’s hand.

“Hey,” Eddie grunted, reaching down to rub the spot where his sister’s sneaker print was outlined in gravel dust against the dark denim of his jeans.

From his position on the ground, all Eddie could see were their feet churning as they took off running. “Unbelievable…”

At the sound of a strangled chuckle, Eddie turned his head to the left to see his best friend looking as if he was about to burst out laughing. Lucas offered his hand and once on his feet, Eddie swept his palms over the seat of his jeans to brush off bits of gravel clinging to them before looking to see the girls racing up the stairs of what he knew was the Ranch’s main building.

“Girls!” Eddie hollered only to be ignored.

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