Fakers (Licking Thicket 1)

“That’s amazing,” Mal said. “What a cool idea.”

“I hadn’t seen much of your work before today,” Parrish offered, “other than the tables at the restaurants. But I love it. I could use a piece like this for my office.” He picked up a cow sculpture from the table and ran his finger over its tiny football jersey.

Shit. In my haste, I’d put out the sculpture I’d been hoping to buy, and now Parrish was going to grab it.

“Oh, no, wait!” Mal said, pushing past me and advancing on Parrish. “Not that one!”

Parrish instinctively took a step back from Mal just as Diesel wandered into the tent saying, “Mal. I’ve got the wrench you wanted—”

The two men collided with enough force to send Parrish to the ground with Diesel mostly on top of him.

“Shit!” Diesel said, pushing himself to his feet almost instantly and holding out a hand to haul Parrish to his feet. He brushed at the dirt on Parrish’s shirt. “Sorry, man. I—”

“Nah, don’t even worry,” Parrish said, laughing as he dusted off his ass. “It was totally my—”

Both men broke off at the same instant and stared at each other with wide eyes and open mouths.

Parrish swallowed. “I—”

Diesel turned on his heel and left without a word, and Parrish’s shoulders slumped as he watched him walk away.

Well, damn. Did they know each other somehow?

I looked at the General, but he seemed to be as mystified as I was.

Meanwhile, my boyfriend had dropped to his hands and knees on the ground at Parrish’s feet. “Where is it?” he moaned, running his hands over the dirt. “Where, where, where?”

“Mal, baby?” I took a step toward him.

“Stay back, Brooks!” Mal insisted. “Don’t come over here.”

“Mal, I’m so sorry,” Parrish said, cradling the football-cow sculpture protectively. “If it helps, I don’t think anything came off! Just this little door-type thingy came loose.”

Mal didn’t even seem to hear him. “It’s gotta be here. It’s gotta—”

“Oh!” Parrish said, bending down behind Mal and picking up a tiny metal fragment from the ground. “Got it, Mal! Now let’s see, where would a platinum ring fit on here?” He inspected the cow, turning it over in his hands. “Looks more like jewelry than junk metal,” he mused. “It’s even got a…” Parrish cleared his throat. “A little diamond in the center?”

Mal turned around slowly, still crouched on the ground, and looked up at Parrish in disbelief and then swung his gaze to me. He looked absolutely devastated, and my breathing hitched.

Marnie clapped her hands once and said, “Alrighty, then! Who wants some Biscuit Barn?”

“Yep! I sure do love me some Biscuit Barn,” the General agreed, holding baby Beau protectively to his chest as he got to his feet. “Come on, Paul. First round of biscuits on me. Parrish, son… put down the cow now and come along.”

Parrish stood frozen for a second, looking down at the ring and the cow sculpture, and then he set them down on the table. “I’m… my… sorry,” he whispered before bolting from the tent after the others.

Mal sat back on his heels and squeezed his eyes shut. “Brooks?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Did Parrish Partridge just find the engagement ring I hid in the cow sculpture I made for you?”

My stomach clenched at the disappointment in his voice. “Evidence suggests… he did.”

“Thought so.” Mal sighed and got to his feet. He picked the ring up off the table and buffed it against his shirt. “You know, I bought you this ring last fall, and I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to give it to you. I was thinking Miami, but… it wasn’t right. I wanted to do it around here. Someplace we could come back to, year after year. Someplace special.”

“Someplace perfect?” I teased gently. I pulled the ring box from my pocket, removed the gold-and-black band, and crossed the distance between us. “I think I might be rubbing off on you, because I had the same idea.”

“No,” Mal breathed, staring at the band in wonder. “Are you serious right now?”

“I was going to take you out to the sign and propose under the stars.” My voice went hard. “But everyone and their brother—or at least my brother—have been laying bets on when and where I was going to ask you. I wouldn’t put it past this bunch to jump out of the tree line right when you said yes.”

The warm, teasing sparkle was back in Mal’s blue eyes when they met mine. “So you were assuming I’d say yes, then?”

I laughed. “Not assuming, but hoping, yeah. After all, you were the one who taught me that my wildest dreams could come true.”

He closed his eyes and swayed forward slightly, resting his forehead against my chest. I bent to place a kiss against his hair.

Mal took a deep breath, and when he lifted his head, his smile was radiant. “Ask me, then.”