Ruby's Slippers by Leanna Ellis

Author:Leanna Ellis [Ellis, Leanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2009-09-11T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

We drive up the coast and further into Oregon. With every minute, my irritation tightens into knots along my spine. Every time Leo looks over at me or moves, bumping into my arm or leg or hip, I jerk away. I can’t help it. He just rubs me the wrong way. At another little town we drive through, Sophia pulls into a parking lot outside an appliance store. “What are we doing?” Tim lifts his head as if he nodded off a ways back. “I need a microwave.” She waves a plastic-covered packet of popcorn then grabs an extra out of her bag. She’s out of the Jeep in half a second, sliding the packets into her skirt pockets. While avoiding Leo, looking anywhere but in his direction, I notice another Wizard of Oz advertisement posted in the window of a novelty shop. The picture is of the famous director in charge of the production and says, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

“You a fan?” Leo leans close, following my gaze with his golden eyes.

“No, not really.” Not anymore. I’m getting annoyed by the way Oz keeps intruding in my life.

Two minutes and forty-five seconds later, Sophia walks out, her arms carrying two bags of popped corn. Behind her, a couple of surprised faces watch from inside the giant-paned glass window that advertises a twenty-percent-off sale.

“You borrowed their microwave oven?” I ask.

“They weren’t using them. I bet it’ll lead to a sale.”

“How do you figure that, my dear?” Tim takes one of the bags from her and pulls apart the top, hissing at the heat, then handing it back to Leo and me.

Leo scoops out a handful and says as he chews, “The smell.” He offers me the bag, but I decline. He takes another handful but pauses before shoving it in his mouth. “The smell entices customers.” He raises his eyebrows with what I’m guessing is some kind of message. A piece of popcorn pops out of his mouth as he talks and sticks to his untamed beard. “Haven’t you ever heard of baking bread when you’re trying to sell your house? It makes the house smell homey—like the buyer has come home. Same as wearing cologne on a date.” He leans close and sniffs, then makes an approving (or so I think) growling sound in his throat. “It’s all marketing.”

He could use a little PR work. But I have a feeling he never has to advertise for dates. I imagine plenty of women are enticed by him.

“Chocolate chip cookies work too,” Sophia adds. “I did that once.”

The buttery odor fills the inside of the Jeep and makes my mouth water, but I’m not tempted to share with Leo. Out of principle. If I take even one bite, then it would prove Leo’s theory of marketing, and I don’t want to agree with anything he says.

Otto doesn’t have the same qualms. Where once my little dog was afraid of this mangy-looking man, Otto is now his new best friend.

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