“Of course he was, Ari!” Ellie said.
I smiled. A real genuine smile. “Yes, I was being serious. Let’s all go grab something to eat and then hit up a movie.”
The smile that spread across Ari’s face nearly brought me to my knees. She deserved a guy so much better than me.
“Let me go change my shirt, and then I’ll be ready!”
“Hurry! I’m starving!” Ellie cried out to Ari, who had retreated back into her house.
“That was nice of you to invite her. Are you calling a truce finally?” Ellie asked.
I chuckled. “Hell no. I love seeing her get all mad. It’s the highlight of my day.”
The corner of Ellie’s mouth rose into a smirk. “Seeing her is the highlight of your day, or making her hate you is the highlight of your day?”
There was no way I could admit it was the first one, so I didn’t. I acted like the dick I was.
“Ha. The second option, please.”
“Right,” Ellie stated, not believing me for one second.
It was time to steer this in another direction. “Where do y’all want to go eat?”
Ellie looked up in thought for a few minutes. “How about Shady Grove? They’ll have live music there tonight.”
“Sounds good to me. I could go for one of their hamburgers.”
Ari came bouncing back down the stairs of her front porch. “Ready! Where are we going?”
“Shady Grove,” I said, opening the front and back door of my truck for them to both get in.
“Oh, mother of Mary, I want a hamburger with cheese and their fries!”
I couldn’t help but smile. Ari wasn’t like other girls. She didn’t pick at a salad and pass on dessert. She was the type of girl who ate what she wanted. I knew she ran and worked out a lot, and her body showed it. She wasn’t stick-thin and had sexy curves. It was enough to drive
any man insane. It certainly drove me mad.
“A girl after my own heart.”
Ari paused for a second and looked back at me. For one brief second, I swore she smiled. Then with her lip snarled up in disgust, she shot me a yeah, right look.
“You wish, dickwad.”
Shutting the door, I smiled and mumbled under my breath, “Yeah, I wish.”
Chapter Twenty-One – Jeff
Reaching over, I hit the play button and brought my favorite song to life.
“Really, Jeff?” Gunner asked, his voice laced with frustration. All I did was smile back to him. I knew the song drove both him and Ellie crazy, but it was my jam.
“What are you wanting to get at McBride’s?” I asked as Gunner turned the music down some.
“Remington Model 870.”
I nodded. “Nice. We going to plan a trip to the ranch on opening day of dove season?”
“Yeah, if you want. I know Gramps would love to get him some birds. Grams makes the best bacon-wrapped doves you’ll ever have.”