Much Ado about Barbecue by Sally Kilpatrick

Author:Sally Kilpatrick [Kilpatrick, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781641972130

24

Ben

Why in heaven’s name was I going out of my way to help Emma Sutton?

Because Grammy Ruth raised you to be a good person.

She also really loved that parable about the Good Samaritan. For years I thought helping your enemy might get you some kind of celestial extra credit.

After the conversation you overheard, you like being her white knight. Admit it.

I’d admit that I enjoyed knowing she owed me another favor, the way she almost pouted when she said please. I didn’t know where or when, but just knowing I could one day walk up to Emma and say, “Remember that time I jumped your car, I’d sure appreciate it if you would…” gave me great joy.

I followed her to Dave’s shop and waited for her to park the car and leave the keys in the night deposit box. I couldn’t fault her taste in mechanics—another thing we had in common in spite of ourselves.

Once she’d dropped the keys into the box, she squared her shoulders. Did she need to steel herself to come sit in a truck with me?

Maybe she did.

Maybe all these years I’d interpreted those little motions as hatred when she really was pining for me.

Yeah, right.

Courage acquired, she pivoted on the heel of her cowboy boots and strode to my truck with a jut of her chin and a flip of her dress. She opened the door and hopped inside. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Not a problem,” I said. Her thank you was pleasant. Maybe Shero and Claudia knew what they were talking about after all. Maybe I’d been blind, looking for trouble where there wasn’t any.

Or maybe she’s a snake about to strike.

Now that we were in such close quarters, her musky perfume wafted my way. I sneaked a glance and caught her profile since she sat staring straight ahead. She really was a pretty woman.

I put the truck in reverse and started heading out of town. “Same house?”

“Same one you let the goats loose at, yes.”

She wanted to laugh. I could feel it. I wanted to laugh at the thought of all those confused goats milling around her front yard. “At least I used that plastic fencing stuff so they wouldn’t wander out into the road or something. Old Mr. Ledbetter almost had my hide as it was.”

“Are you kidding? There was goat poop for days in the front yard. And they chewed up Mom’s crape myrtles.”

“I paid for those.” I clamped my mouth shut, but my words had already come out defensive.

Then she did laugh.

I laughed, too.

It was a beautiful laugh. It was a beautiful night, too, cool air with a full moon. Just the sort of night I would’ve loved to be taking a date home, getting at least a kiss if not convincing her to let me spend the night.

No kiss would come at the end of this ride.

I felt her gaze before I found the courage to glance at her and confirm it.

“Ben, why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you.

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