Chapter 18
BURTON
“What’s the issue?” I ask as I walk into the house.
I almost kissed Laney. I was ready for it, going in for her lips, well, still several inches away but attempting, when Stack broke the moment.
“We need help with this game,” Finny says, pointing to the table where Talisman is set out.
Irritation wells in my chest, and I shake my head. “You couldn’t have waited two minutes until I came in for that? How did you even know I was out there?”
Stack grins. “You know our front window has a direct view of Jessa and Laney’s driveway, right?”
I turn to look, seeing Laney’s car in the driveway. “Good to know.”
“You two looked like you were getting close,” Finny says, giving me a knowing look. “Anything happen?”
Do I want to talk about the snail-like progress between me and Laney? Then again, we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks. And yet it feels like longer.
“She was just saying thank you for doing yard work at her grandparents’ farm.”
There’s a long beat of silence before Stack says, “How in the world did you get roped into that?”
I wave a hand through the air and say, “It’s a long story, but my sister signed me up for a service project, and it turns out it was to help clean up the farm.”
“Why do you have a black eye?” Finny asks.
I reach up and tenderly touch my nose. “Laney punched me.”
There’s another pause before they laugh.
“Laney punched you?” Stack asks.
I nod and walk over to the fridge to pull out a carton of orange juice.
“It was an accident.”
“Enlighten us,” Jackson says, walking in from the laundry room.
“That’s a big word for you, Jackson,” Finny says, laughing.
What do I say? “I was at the property and saw her over by the goats—”
“It’s a real farm?” Jackson asks.
“Yes, it’s an actual farm, just not hundreds of acres. Anyway, she was there feeding the chickens—”
“You just said she was by the goats,” Jackson cuts in.
“They’re right next to each other,” I say, my voice rising. “Can I finish telling the story?”
They all nod in unison.
“I went to scare her, but one goat butted me in the leg, and it ended up scaring Laney, which caused her to throw up a fist, connecting with my nose.”
“Did she kiss it better?” Stack asks, saying it in a high-pitched voice.
I roll my eyes and shake my head. “No.”
She might not’ve kissed it, but she took care of me, making sure I had everything I needed to help it stop bleeding. That was the most care I’ve had since Connie moved out of the house to get married years ago.
“Did you ask her out?” Finny asks.
“Why are we all worried about my social life right now?” I ask, taking a sip of the juice from the carton.
“Because we want to play this game,” Jackson says, “and we know you won’t play if you’re all uptight about a girl.”
I sit down at the table. “Fine, I’ll play. But you’re going to regret teasing me.”
Four hours later, they were, in fact, sorry.