Fools (Licking Thicket 3)

“You did not.”

“Did too. I wasn’t going to say anything in case it didn’t lead anywhere, but then he emailed this morning to ask for your contact information, so I gave it to him. You could head back to Nashville and leave the Thicket for good.”

The possibility of doing groundbreaking research was freakin’ thrilling… but my gut rejected the idea instantly because leaving the Thicket meant leaving Dunn.

“Uh-huh,” Carter said, seeing the look on my face. “I figured that’s where the wind was blowing. Maybe agree to meet him for lunch anyway, though, if he emails you. Can’t hurt. You don’t have to tell him about your are-they-or-aren’t-they relationship with Dunny-boy.”

I shook my head. “And why is it that you absolutely don’t want a relationship, Carter? What’s got you so commitment phobic? Why not let Cindy Ann set you up? Tell me all your secrets.” I fluttered my eyelashes. “I’m not a heart doctor, but I can pinch hit.”

“Nah nah nah. I am not your patient. And I am not getting involved in any love-based shenanigans here in Licking Thicket.” He looked almost horrified at the idea. “Y’all exchange dead vines as a symbol of affection.”

“Excuse you, you’re talking about the Entwinin’.” I grinned. “That’s a very important day. It’s all about what the vines represent, you understand. The symbolism! Making something new out of something old. Constancy in the midst of change. Taking what is and making it something better.”

“That is some Kool-Aid drinking right there.” He shook his head. “Cindy Ann told me she always gets a daisy vine, and Jenn was thinking this year she might get a—uhm.” Carter’s eyes darted to mine, and he coughed. “Nothing.”

My face fell, but I forced myself to speak lightly. “Dunn best be careful. One year, Victor Proud gave his girl a vine of a Ferris wheel—kind of a circle with a triangle underneath—to symbolize their visit to the county fair… only he handed it to her upside down.” I sketched a diagram in the air. “Everyone thought it was an engagement ring.”

“Oh my God! So what did he do?”

“He married her, of course. He and Emmaline were together forty-six years before he passed.”

“What do you mean, he married her?” This time Carter definitely looked horrified. “What do you mean of course? Why not just explain the mistake?”

I shrugged. “’Cause there are some things you just can’t come back from.”

Carter rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “And there are some things you don’t have to come back from if you’d just talk about them openly.”

“I will! Jesus. I told you I was gonna, and I definitely will. Just not today while everything’s still…” I cleared my throat. “Fresh in my mind, so to speak.”

“So, tomorrow morning, then.”

“Yes.” I hesitated. “Though, you know, tomorrow morning we’re fishing. Might be better to wait for a time when you and Brooks and whoever else aren’t there.”

Carter braced his elbows on the table and gave me a no-nonsense look. “Immediately after fishing.”

“Sure. Except I have patients.” This was a half lie. I didn’t generally schedule patients on Monday mornings, but invariably there were a bunch of folks who’d taken ill over the weekend and needed to be seen. “But I’ll do it as soon as I can after that.”

“Great. And in the meantime, until you find the time to chat with him, I’ll just let the town assume you and I are together, pookie.” Carter stood and dusted his hands, then grabbed his plate to put it in the sink.

“Wait, what?” I scowled as he walked toward the hall. “No way. That’s… that’s blackmail.”

“Tucker, baby doll, you wound me with your rejection, you really do.” Carter stretched his arms to the ceiling. “Now, how would a couple hot young boyfriends spend the afternoon?” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Ew. Absolutely not… whatever you’re thinking. Pick something else.”

“Good call!” Carter made finger guns at me and winked as he pulled the trigger. “More crossword puzzle defacement it is.”

“I hate you!”

“You love me,” Carter called from down the hall. “Or at least you’re gonna pretend to, until you’re ready to cowboy up and talk to your best friend.”

Well, shit.

12

Dunn

6-Down: Behave as though trying to attract someone (5 letters)

Fishing wasn’t supposed to be a party. The more people, the more trouble. And by my count, we were in for a whole lot of trouble and not very many fish.

“Why is it so cold?” Mal grumbled as we walked down the path to the dock behind the cabin.

“How can you be cold when you’re wearing my parka, long underwear, a fleece hat, and three pairs of socks?” Brooks asked.

Diesel chuckled under his breath. I had to admit, I was glad we had the big guy along. He was good at carrying the heavy cooler that Tucker had insisted on bringing. Apparently Tuck’s “friend” Carter was some kind of kitchen savant. He’d spent hours the night before cooking a gourmet breakfast for us to eat on the dock.