The Boss Project

CHAPTER 21

Evie

“You two should go,” Kitty said. “You’ve been here all day.”

Merrick looked up from the newspaper he’d been reading. “Visiting hours end in fifteen minutes.”

Kitty pointed to her iPad on the hospital tray next to her bed. “Oh, that’s plenty of time for me to show you the updated family tree…”

Merrick shut the paper and stood. “On second thought, we probably shouldn’t wait for them to kick us out.”

I chuckled at Kitty’s smirk. She certainly knew how to push her grandson’s buttons.

I stood. “I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon, but I’ll be back in the morning. My flight isn’t until four.”

“Don’t rush back early, sweetheart. Get some sleep. I appreciate you coming at all.”

I bent and hugged her, then stepped aside so Merrick could say goodnight.

Outside, it was a beautiful evening. The air was warm and unusually dry for late summer in Atlanta. When we approached Kitty’s hot rod, I got an idea. “Can we put the top down on the car? I’ve never been in a convertible.”

“Really?” Merrick said.

“Nope, never.”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

I was surprised that folding away the ragtop was as easy as pushing a button. Before we were even out of the parking lot, I was in love with the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair. I held my hands in the air. “This is ahhmazing.”

Merrick looked over. “You’re not very hard to please.”

He made a left and a right and then we were on the highway, going pretty fast. I let my head fall back and stared up at the dark sky as my hair whipped all around me.

“You hungry?” Merrick yelled over the wind.

“Starving! Can we get junk food?”

He smiled. “Whatever you want. Did you have something particular in mind?”

“How about Wendy’s?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Cute.”

I laughed. “Any chance you know a place called Mix’D Up Burgers? It’s not exactly on the way back to the house. It’s more on the way to my Airbnbs. I stumbled on it one night when I was trying to find gas.”

“I don’t know it, but I’m sure I can put it in the GPS.”

“I’d be your best friend if you did.”

He handed me his phone. “Here, type it into Waze and see if it comes up.”

It did, and I spent the rest of the drive enjoying the warm breeze while salivating at the thought of what I was going to order. When we arrived, Merrick pulled into the parking lot. “You want to go inside to eat or take it home?”

“Can we order a meal and eat the fries on the way home?”

He smiled. “Good plan. “Do you know what you want?”

“I do. I want The Pile. It’s a burger loaded with cheesy fries. But you also get a side order of fries.”