Page 61 of Captivating Anika

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

“And tell her I’ll be by after my shift to check on her.”

I’m sure that’ll go over well, but it seems he’s suddenly over my presence in his sister’s life. I could give him a hard time about it—he’s been a burr up my ass and deserves it—but I opt against it. Mostly for his sister’s sake.

“You bet,” I tell him instead.

“What are you doing?”

I turn around to find her leaning up against the railing of her deck, grinning down at me. I’m glad to see she’s changed out of the shirt with the bloodstains. It looks like she’s had a shower, her hair is wet.

How long have I been out here?

“Are you gardening?”

I look at the piles of weeds I pulled from the neglected, raised vegetable beds along the back fence.

“Gardening is for girls.”

She laughs, coming down the stairs toward me.

“Ahh, okay. So, what is it called when a guy does it?”

I take in her smiling face, noting she looks a lot better than she did earlier. The nap must’ve done her good.

“Small-scale farming?” I suggest to her hilarity.

It’s that my hands are dirty, otherwise I’d have grabbed her face to kiss her.

These are the kinds of moments I’d like a lifetime full of.

“I figure the beds are here, you may as well use them. There’s plenty of planting season left. You could have your own supply of vegetables.”

She does what I wanted to do to her two seconds ago, and lays a kiss on me.

“That’s sweet. Thank you.”

“How did you sleep?” I quickly change the subject.

“Good, although I can’t remember coming home at all, and I have no idea how I ended up on the couch.”

“You were out. I ended up talking to your brother.”

I share my conversation with him and warn her he plans on stopping in tomorrow.

“Did you tell him I’m fine?”

“I did, but he’s going to want to see for himself. Let him.”

“Fine. Not like I can stop him anyway.” She runs her fingers through the dirt I just churned up. “What should I plant?”

We discuss options and eventually make our way back inside.

“Beer?” she asks, opening the fridge while I wash my hands.

“Yeah, sure.”

She hands me one and grabs a water bottle for herself.