Page 99 of Truck Me
“That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?”
“Yep, but sadly, it’s true.”
I grab a few more of the containers and start laying the individually wrapped cookies out on a platter. I thought baking the cookies was a lot of work. That was nothing compared to wrapping them up. At least I had Garret’s help. In fact, he did most of this while he insisted I rest. At one point, I fell asleep in his lap. When I woke up, he’d had two-thirds of them done.
Thinking about Garret causes a wave of guilt to wash over me. I doubt Lia cares about my connection to Garret, but I don’t want to inadvertently cause her problems with her brothers.
I should tell her, so she’s not blindsided when he stops by later. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth while I debate on what to do. Garret and I didn’t discuss telling anyone else outside our families. Would he be okay with me telling her too?
“Are you okay?” Lia places a hand on my arm. When I look up at her, I’m surprised by the worried look on her face.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“You have a pained look on your face. Like something terrible just happened or is about to happen.”
My shoulders sag and I let out a deep breath. “Here’s the thing. I feel like I need to tell you something. But it isn’t something that anyone else knows about. Not yet, at least. So it needs to stay a secret.”
A wide smile covers her face. She lowers her voice to a whisper as she steps closer to me. “Does this something have anything to do with Garret Mutter?”
I gasp and feel my eyes bug out of my head. “Why would you ask me that?”
Her head falls back in laughter. “Oh my God. It’s true.”
Grabbing her arm, I pull her around the back of the table as far away from others as we can get. “Tell me what you’ve heard.”
“Relax.” She’s still laughing, and that only makes me more anxious.
“I can’t relax until you tell me what you’ve heard.”
“Okay, okay!” She holds her hands up in surrender. “Not much. It’s just that we all saw you follow Garret out of Posey’s a few weeks ago. It started some talk, but I think it’s all speculation. Unless …” She waggles her brows with a hopeful gaze.
“Oh God.” I pinch the bridge of my nose and take a few deep breaths, hoping it will make me feel better. It doesn’t.
“So … Does that mean there is something going on between you and Garret?”
“Lia, you can’t say anything. Please. It’s new, and I have no idea where it’s going. But I like him, and he likes me. He’ll be here later with Rayne, and I don’t want things to be awkward between you and me when he shows up. Can you just … Not say anything and play it cool? Put the feud aside for one night.”
“Hey, you can trust me.” Her smile is gone, and her teasing voice is replaced by one that is kind and caring. “I don’t play into that stupid feud like my brothers. I think the whole thing is silly and dumb.”
“Really? You’re not mad at me?”
“Why on earth would I be mad? We can’t help who we fall for, Char. Mutter or not, Garret is a good man. And so freaking tall.” She steps closer to me and drops her voice even lower. “Is he … Big?”
“What?” I furrow my brows.
Her teasing smile returns. “He’s so tall and broad. We’ve all wondered about the size of his … You know.” She points toward her crotch. “Is it as big as the rest of him?”
I can’t help but laugh at her question. “I am not answering that.”
I turn to walk back toward the front table to finish setting up.
“But you know the answer,” she says in amazement.
Glancing over my shoulder, I toss her a wink. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
* * *
Walking the halls of my old school, I’m amazed at how many activities are set up for the kids. This fundraiser isn’t just a bake sale. It’s more like a carnival night with the best home baked treats of all time.