Feels like Trouble (Lake Fisher 4)

“I’m fine,” I reply. “But I came over to Junior and Bee-Cee’s, and Junior and I had a couple of beers making it so that I can’t drive, and then Bee-Cee reminded us that Sophie and Clara have a softball game tonight.”

“Well, if you were there, why didn’t you ride with them?” I can hear her chewing.

“I didn’t want to sit in Junior’s lap.”

“Are you drunk?”

I can almost see her rolling her eyes.

“Clifford, would you come and pick me up already?”

She heaves a sigh. “Fine. I’ll be right there.” She hangs up on me.

Five minutes later, she pulls to the side of the street in front of the house and rolls her window down. I’m sitting on the top step of the front porch, having just finished that last beer, and I hop up to jog to the street. I get in and immediately am assaulted by the scent of one of my favorite things in the whole wide world.

I sniff the air. “What’s that smell?” I grin at her, mainly because I already know what it is. I start to look around the car.

“You may not have any, Grady!” she says sternly as she waggles her index finger at me. But she’s grinning at the same time. I see a take-away container over by her knee, where she has tried to shove it down next to her so I can’t get to it. It’s clear blue plastic, the kind you get to take food to parties. “That’s mine,” she says as she lifts her knee to hide it so I can’t see it. She preplanned not sharing with me. Huh.

“If you think you’re not sharing those salmon cakes with me, Clifford, you got another think coming.” I glare at her and try to grab the container. “How many did you bring?”

She laughs and bats my hand away. I reach out with one hand and tickle her ribs while with the other hand I reach across her for the container. I snag it and pull it across her lap.

“Not fair! If you eat them all, I’m not going to forgive you,” she warns. “I had just sat down for supper when you called. I haven’t eaten yet.”

But I can’t talk to her because I already have one of Ms. Markie’s fresh homemade biscuits in my hand and I’m splitting it open so I can slip one of Ms. Markie’s salmon cakes inside and then it’s in my mouth. I lean my head back against the headrest and chew, moaning with pleasure. “Oh my God, I could kiss you right now,” I say around my mouthful.

She grins and shakes her head. “You don’t want to kiss me, Grady.”

“I don’t?” I say, still chewing. “Why not?”

“You tell me,” she says, shooting a furtive glance at me.

I point to my lips. “I would totally kiss you right now, Clifford, if my mouth wasn’t full.”

She rolls her eyes.

We pull into a parking spot at the ball field and she turns off the ignition. “Give me one of those,” she says. I open the lid, and she makes a salmon patty biscuit just like I did. Then she makes a second one.

“What are you doing?”

“Well, I’m not taking my container of food out there.” She jabs a finger toward the bleachers. “If I take the whole thing, everybody will want one.” She takes a bite and talks around her full mouth. “Then I won’t have any left.”

“True.” I stare down at the container. “But I don’t want to be done yet.” I close

the lid and stick it under my arm. “Come on. I’ll protect them.”

“Grady,” she gripes as I get out of the car. She walks with me to the stands, fussing all the while. “Grady!” she whisper-hisses at me. “I’m serious. I don’t want to share them.”

I can’t speak because my mouth is full again.

I climb up the bleachers to where Barbara-Claire and Junior are sitting with little Marcy. Evie follows and plops down next to me. She has one stuffed biscuit in each hand. I set the container by my feet.

Junior starts to sniff the air. He turns around, the vee between his eyebrows deepening as he searches for the source of the smell. “I smell…salmon.” His brow furrows more. “And biscuits.” His concerned look turns into a frown. “Did you bring some of Ms. Markie’s biscuits?” He rubs his hands together like he’s sitting in front of a campfire.

“No,” Evie says. “I brought my supper. Since I didn’t get to finish it.”

He looks from the container to her and back. “You’re too little to eat that many biscuits. No way you can eat all those by yourself.”