Crazy Girl(61)

“Listen, I’m with my friend right now. Can we talk later?”

“You gonna call me back?” he asked.

“Sure, Brigham. Later.”

I hung up and chucked my cell in my purse with a huff.

“Who was that?” Deanna asked before sipping her water.

“That was…” I paused and wondered for a moment…who was Brigham? What would I tell her? Brigham was a guy I barely knew who told me his life’s secrets and wasn’t attracted to me at all. Even I knew, though I was in the thick of it, nothing about the “associate friendship” Brigham and I had formed would make sense to anyone else. I knew it was easier to tell perfect strangers your struggles than to admit them to your loved ones. I decided to compartmentalize him as much as possible. When appropriate, or desperate, I would speak with him. But outside of that, I wouldn’t let him become part of my people. I wouldn’t let myself worry about him. I had enough to worry about already. Besides, my brother was the only guy friend I had.

“That’s a long story,” I finally replied to Deanna just as the waiter arrived at the table to take our orders.





I got you, Brother.





The morning sessions on the range had taken longer than we’d expected. The group of students we were teaching didn’t know their ass from their elbows, and by the time we got everyone through the whole damned thing, it was one in the afternoon. I thought I’d get off by noon. Hannah was coming down, and we planned to go fishing since it was supposed to be such a nice day. But as work always seemed to, it got in the way. When I realized I was going to be late, I’d texted her and asked her if she minded waiting in the lobby for me, figuring we could grab lunch before we went to my house.

When I finally got done and met her in the lobby, she was sitting with her head propped on her hand, her eyes closed.

“Hey,” I said softly as I sat beside her.

Cracking her eyes open, she grinned sleepily.

“Damn, Hannah. I’m sorry. If you were so tired, you could’ve just gone to my house and slept until I got there. I would have given you my key, no problem.” I felt bad I’d made her meet me at work. I’d just wanted to feed her, and the food in our chow hall was actually pretty good.

“No, I’m good,” she rasped as she rested her hand on my thigh.

“Late night?”

Sitting up, she twisted her long hair behind her neck. “Little. Stayed up late writing.” A soft smile captured her features.

“I’m guessing by the smile on your face, that makes you happy?”

“Incandescently happy.”

“Why, that’s a real fancy word you used there,” I teased.

Laughing, she smacked my leg. “I gotta teach you a thing or two.”

“Hungry?”

“Always.”

Kegs, Duke, Hannah and I hunkered down in the chow hall, seated at the table farthest from the entrance. Duke had just returned to his seat after going for a second helping. This time he came back with nothing on his plate but a heaping pile of tater tots. When he plopped his tray on the table, Kegs swiped a few.

“Dude,” Duke griped. “Go get your own.”

Shoving the handful of crisped potatoes in his mouth, Kegs responded around them, “You got enough to feed a third-world country there.”

“Tough. I ain’t sharing,” he asserted before jerking his tray out of Kegs’s reach. Then looking to Hannah, he softened his voice and added, “I’ll share with Hannah, of course.”

She grinned. “I’m good. Thanks, Duke.”

“You’ll give her some, but not me?” Kegs mocked offense.

“Yes. Because I’m a gentleman.”

“Okay, let’s make a deal,” Kegs began. “Toss ’em and I’ll catch them in my mouth, and you keep tossing them until I miss. I only get what I catch.”

I snorted and Hannah chuckled, humored by my friends as I shoved the last bite of burger in my mouth. Leave it to a bunch of knuckle draggers to turn tater tots into a challenge.

“I’m guessing if I offered to go get him some it really wouldn’t matter, right?” Hannah whispered to me while Kegs and Duke debated.

“No. It’s more fun this way.” I kissed the side of her head and she sighed. I liked making her sigh like that.

“But Hannah throws ’em instead of you because you’ll try to make me miss,” Kegs insisted.

“I would never,” Duke scoffed as he laughed before shoving the tray toward Hannah. She hadn’t even agreed to participate in this little game, but Kegs was already standing and moving toward the end of the table.

“You don’t have to do this,” I told her.

She smiled as she pushed her hair behind her ears. “I got this.”

“This is serious shit here, Hannah,” Kegs announced as he bounced like he was about to enter a boxing ring. “Don’t let me down, woman.”

“I got you, brother,” Hannah informed him in her best manly falsetto as she grabbed the first tot. “Stay focused.”

Hannah moved in front of me and tossed the first tot. Kegs caught it with little effort. Hannah had good aim. By the time she’d grabbed the tenth tot, some of the other instructors and students had gathered around and were counting. Every time Kegs caught a tot, he’d do a tiny victory lap as he chewed, earning cheers from every one.