Page 68 of Operation Protector
“I haven’t had one, yet. Sure have heard about them, though.”
“Then you’d better have one of these, or Grace’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
She chuckled, and he felt his tension ease a bit. Or maybe it was just that he loved the sound of her so much he couldn’t stay tense in the face of it. He grabbed the stack of napkins that had come with the rolls, then dug into the bag and got out the delectable treats.
At her first bite, Ali closed her eyes. “Mmm. They are sonotoverrated.”
“They really are good.”
“Lucky for me they’re a bit of a drive, or I’d weigh a ton.”
“I was thinking if I ran there and back, it might be a wash.”
This time it was a full burst of laughter, and everything, even his situation, seemed lighter. When they’d finished, and he’d gathered up the debris, wondering if licking the last of the frosting off his fingers would be too tacky, he almost reluctantly asked the obvious question.
“Did you need something? The Foxworths already left, but I could call them and see if—”
“I need you,” she said. He froze. Stared at her, unable to quite believe he’d heard her right. “Well, that, too,” she said, her cheeks pink now. “But I need some plants for my wonderful new greenhouse, and I thought who better to go plant shopping with me than the man who built it?”
He felt as if he were scrambling to keep up, after the shock of that “I need you.” He seized on the one thing he thought safe. “You want me to go plant shopping with you?”
“I just thought you might like to get out a bit. We have a few hours while Grace is in school. Unless you think the mother is likely to frequent plant nurseries.”
“Uh…no. Not likely.”
“Good. Anyway, Irene is at the house, so I thought we should start from here.” When he just stared at her, her expression changed. “If you’d rather not, that’s fine, I just—”
“No!”Get it together, Kendrick. Chance of a lifetime here…“I want to go. I was just…surprised.”
“No warning, I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Let’s go.” He glanced at Cutter, who had settled into what was obviously his bed here, seemingly content to stay in the familiar place while the humans went about their silly business. But then it struck him. “Where’s Ziggy?”
She smiled, as if pleased he’d remembered the squiggly pup. “He’s with Teague’s wife, Laney, getting introduced to actual grooming. She offered, said it’s good to start them young. So, everything kind of fell together this morning.” Her voice softened. “I thought maybe a couple of hours of not worrying might be nice for you.”
He was smiling himself now. “You have—” He stopped himself, then started again. “I was going to say you have no idea, but obviously you do.”
It was Ali who thought—of course—to leave a note of explanation for the Foxworths, should they arrive while they were gone. Then they were in her car, since whatever she bought had to go home that way, and on their way to the biggest local nursery. They were out on the main highway—which here meant a full lane and a bike lane each direction—when she spoke again.
“You’re really doing all right, not working for this long?”
His gut knotted, and he fought back memories of Liz’s denigration of the work he loved. “Yes. I’m not rich enough for Liz, of course, but plenty for me. I’ve got a nice cushion, so I can do this without going broke.”
“Probably just as well it’s not enough for her, because I have the feeling she’d go after it,” Ali said dryly.
He couldn’t explain why that made him smile, but it did. “I see you’ve got her number.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to keep it hidden,” she admitted. “But I know I have to, for Grace.”
She said it as if it were a given. As if she’d do anything for Grace. Just as he would. His throat jammed up again, as it did so often around her.
“Have I mentioned,” he said when he could speak again, which wasn’t until they were pulling in to park at the nursery, “how glad I am that it was you who moved in next door?”
“You might have, once or twice.”
“Not enough. Thank you, Ali.”
“Now that, you’ve done more than enough of. So come on, help me pick out some plants that will live happily in that new greenhouse until they’re big enough to move outside.”
