A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(68)

After removing the lid from the tub, he tilted it to show her the strawberries inside with the leaves already plucked off lying among a pile of grapes. After silently offering Jo Ellen her choice of pretzel or fruit, he handed over the strawberries and grapes when she pointed.

She popped a strawberry into her mouth and chewed, eyeing him thoughtfully. “You have to be one of the most intuitive people I know. I think that’s exactly what Grady’s feeling.”

Again, he shrugged off her praise. “Just seemed logical.”

“Hmm.” She ate a grape this time, enjoying the mixture of the two fruits as their flavor burst across her tongue. After screwing off the cap of her water, she took a sip and returned her attention to the man beside her.

He’d opened the bag of pretzels, and as he munched on a handful, he placed more on the smoothed blanket’s surface between them, lining them precisely. Frowning, she studied the design he made. He constructed a perfect square out of four sticks, then placed two more jutting out each corner, creating the number symbol.

When he finished, he grinned up at her. “Want to play tic-tac-toe?”

Her gaze fell back to the pretzels, suddenly realizing what he’d just drawn. But she couldn’t decide if she was tickled by his offer or disappointed.

He obviously didn’t want to dive right into sex, which meant he was interested in more than just her body. Which should be a plus. Then again, he didn’t want to dive right into sex. What man wouldn’t want sex first thing? Did she just not appeal to him enough or what?

Deciding not to over think it, she shook her head. “Not with nine spaces, I don’t.”

He looked up, startled. “But—”

“Nine-space tic-tac-toe is no fun. The first person to take a turn always wins.”

He rolled his eyes and argued, “Only if that person chooses the middle square.”

“What idiot wouldn’t choose the middle square?” she wondered, perplexed.

Cooper grinned and shook his head. “You know, I’d let you go first, right? Ladies always go first.”

With a sniff, she straightened her spine. “Well, I don’t want to win a game by default just because I’m a girl.” Plunging her hand into the bag, she retrieved a handful and placed more pretzel sticks down to make it sixteen-space tic-tac-toe. “There. Now…let’s play. You said I could go first, right?” Before he could answer, she took a grape and set it in a corner square. “I’ll be grapes. You can be strawberries.”

Cooper scratched his head as he studied the faux tic-tac-toe board she had revised. “Well, I’ll be. I never thought to add another line to each side. This might actually be a challenge.” He grinned at her. “You’re a genius, Jo Ellen.”

She flushed. “Actually, it was Emma Leigh’s idea. She always got bored in church when we were little.”

He chuckled and set a strawberry in the space next to her grape. “Sounds like Em. Though I do have to wonder, can anyone actually win at sixteen-space tic-tac-toe?”

Jo Ellen shrugged. “Neither Emma Leigh nor I ever won.” Her grin grew saucy. “But you never know. Maybe I’ll get lucky and you’ll end up being an awful tic-tac-toe competitor.”

He snorted. “Keep dreaming, princess.” He set down a strawberry about as soon as she strategically placed her second grape.

She frowned thoughtfully and made her next move.

“What?” he asked, lifting his attention from the game when she didn’t spit back an immediate rejoinder. “Why are you frowning?”

“Hmm?” She glanced up. “Oh. It’s just…you called me princess.”

His grin faltered, and he immediately apologized. “I’m sorry. I used to hear Em call you that so often it became ingrained in my head. She made it sound like a term of endearment, so…honestly, I didn’t mean any offense.”

She waved her hand, silencing him. “You didn’t offend me. It’s fine. I mean, yeah, at first it irritated me. But after a while, Emma Leigh said it enough it began to grow on me too. But it’s been so long since anyone called me that. Not since…” Her face fell as she realized exactly when she’d last been called princess.

“Not since the miscarriage?” Cooper guessed quietly.

Her eyes lifted. “Yes. No wonder Em stopped; Tainted ol’ me no longer deserved the name.”

“That is not true,” Cooper growled his objection.

Still, a maudlin depression enveloped her. Her shoulders collapsed. “So much changed after that.”

He studied her, looking conflicted and worried as if he wanted to say something to brighten her mood. But just as she hadn’t known what to say about his dad, he remained mute about this.

She opened her mouth to apologize for making him uncomfortable but rustling from behind her made her jump. With a squeak of alarm, she whirled to squint into the dark shadows.

She saw nothing.

“What do you suppose that was?” Her hushed voice quivered, remembering the rope on the ground circling their blanket and praying it did its job.

“Probably just a jackrabbit. They run as thick as thieves in this orchard.”

Jo Ellen nodded but couldn’t take her gaze from the darkness. A shiver passed up her spine. Snakes weren’t the only thing to worry about. Wild boar seemed to multiply by the year in Tommy Creek. What if a pack of feral hogs were out there, watching, waiting—