P.S. I Like You(45)

Cade looked at me and I smiled. “It’s a rabbit,” I echoed.

“Of course it is.” Cade nodded to Jonah. “Yes, I see him. Very cool.”

Jonah opened the cage and both Ashley and I said, “Leave him inside.”

“I’m just holding him.” Jonah brought the rabbit out and over to show Mark and Cade.

“Have you ever eaten rabbit?” Mark asked. “It’s actually pretty good.”

Jonah’s mouth fell open and Ashley shoved Mark’s shoulder with a laugh. “He’s just kidding, Jonah,” she said.

A second too late, Mark nodded his head. “Yes. Just a joke. We won’t eat Bugs Bunny.”

“Bugs Rabbit,” Cade said before Jonah could. Cade scratched the rabbit behind the ears and Jonah must’ve taken that to mean he wanted to hold him because he dropped the rabbit in Cade’s lap. Cade let out a grunt, obviously surprised, and couldn’t wrap his arms around the rabbit in time. It hopped up onto the table and somehow managed to step in every plate in under five seconds, each one of us reaching for but missing it.

Finally, I stood and picked it up. This was my first time picking up the evil pet, though, and apparently I didn’t know how because its back legs became like mini saw blades, its nails chewing into my arms. I let out a shriek and dropped the rabbit and it took off across the yard.

I studied my arms. Most of the cuts were surface scratches, but one longer one beaded with a few drops of blood. When I looked up, Cade was chasing Bugs with Jonah on his heels.

“Seriously, rabbit is tasty,” Mark said then chuckled at his own joke. “Just sayin’.”

Cade dove, arms outstretched, and managed to land perfectly, capturing the little pest. Jonah cheered and my two cousins who had joined in the chase jumped up and down, clapping. Cade, on the ground, rolled onto his back, bringing the rabbit onto his chest. The rabbit now looked like a docile kitten as Cade stroked its fur.

“He’s going to pee on you,” I called.

Cade laughed as if this was a joke, now with all three of the kids sitting in the grass at his sides and petting the rabbit. No, it wasn’t the cutest thing ever. I refused to admit that.

Cade picked a few strands of grass and was trying to feed them to the rabbit.

“He doesn’t like grass. He eats carrots and lettuce and pellets,” Jonah informed him.

“What are pellets?” Cade asked.

“I don’t know but they smell gross.”

Cade laughed again, a deep genuine laugh, and all the kids joined in. I was glad he was enjoying himself. The letter about his normal family Thanksgivings was not a happy one. I guess I could be glad for him today. Tomorrow, all bets were off.

Jonah relieved Cade of the bunny and tucked it away in his cage. Ashley and Mark took the contaminated plates inside. My little cousins went back to picking weeds that looked like flowers. Cade stayed on his back on the grass, hands clasped behind his head, ankles crossed. My feet had a mind of their own because they walked to stand next to him.

He squinted up at me. “Your brother’s cute.”

“He knows it, too. Kind of like someone else I know,” I muttered, before I could stop myself.

Cade laughed. “You’re not talking about me, right? Because we have a truce.”

It had been a joke … sort of … but he was right, we had a truce. “You have grass stains on the knees of your pants now.”

He lifted one leg and looked, then put it down and patted the grass next to him. “Sit down.”

I didn’t take kindly to commands but, again, my brain didn’t seem to be in control of my body. I sat. Cade rolled onto his side to face me, propping himself up with one elbow. Then he just stared at me. For so long that I began to squirm under the scrutiny.

I didn’t want to be the first person to say something but I couldn’t help it. “You should look into catching rabbits for a living. You’re not half bad at it.”

He smiled. “That would be almost as manly as becoming a cowboy.”

I laughed. “What are your career plans, anyway?” I asked, realizing we hadn’t ever talked about that in our letters before.

Cade sighed. “You sound like my dad.”

I noticed that he didn’t say stepdad, even though I assumed that’s who he was referring to. “Was that supposed to be an answer?”

“Baseball. Those are my plans for now. Let me know if you hear of any rabbit catcher openings though.”

I knew a non-answer when I heard one. But I was used to Cade sharing with me (in his letters, at least). And, even though it made no sense, it hurt a little that he wasn’t willing to do that now, in person.

But of course he wouldn’t open up to me, Lily. I wasn’t someone he liked. I wasn’t whoever he thought the letter writer was.

“Are you still hungry?” I asked, changing the subject. “There’s probably more food inside.”

“No, I’m good. I actually ate at my house before coming here.”

“Then why did you come?” I asked.

“Because your brother invited me. He’s a good kid.”

I ran a flat hand over the top of the grass, letting the blades tickle my palm. “Is that the only reason?” I wanted him to talk about home. Vent, like he had in the letters. If he’d had a bad morning, I wanted him to talk about it. Maybe I wanted to prove to him that he could talk to me.