“Actually, no.” Ava shrugged. “She was far too mad at you to recount any second. It was annoying, actually. There was something about a horny raccoon I didn’t understand.”
“I can help with that.” I got my phone from the table and opened our messages from the previous night, scrolling until I found the video she’d sent me. “Here.”
Reagan took the phone from me, and Ava leaned over her shoulder to watch. It was only a short video, literally seconds long, but it took probably only two for them both to respond.
They burst out laughing with my sister almost dropping my phone in the process. I leaned over and took it back before she smashed the screen and I had to pay a small fortune to fix it.
Reagan brushed tears from her cheeks. “Is that a stuffed raccoon its humping?”
“Yep. The one I won for her at the stupid milk bottle stall.”
“I bet it was Boris,” Ava said. “He’s a horny little bastard.”
“Even you know their names?”
“Well, yeah.” Her eyebrows went up. “They’re important to Halley, which means they’re important to us. If she’s on vacation, we take it in turns to go over and feed them. That’s what you do when you care about someone. You care about the things that matter to them.”
“I don’t need a lecture on being a good person.” I rested my elbows on my knees and clasped my hands together in front of me. “I didn’t know they were that important to her. I guess I’m struggling to get my head around it—they’re wild animals. I always thought it was cute, but she really cares about them, doesn’t she?”
Reagan and Ava shared a look.
“She does,” my sister said with a nod. “It started out as a joke, but over time, it just became a part of her routine, and the raccoons became a part of her life. We call her the crazy raccoon lady because she is, but it’s something she embraces.”
“So you’re telling me that some people enter a relationship with kids, but Halley comes with raccoons.”
“Pretty much,” Ava said brightly. “And you’ve not only pissed off Halley, but you’ve pissed off the part of her that loves those little dirtbags.”
Reagan nodded her head. “If I were you, I’d make some sandwiches.”
***
I wasn’t going to make sandwiches.
I told myself that a thousand times. I wasn’t going to do it. It was ridiculous. I wasn’t going to feed wild animals, and that was that.
Which was exactly why I was walking toward the kissing booth with my backpack filled with peanut butter damn sandwiches.
That’s right.
I’d given in and made the sandwiches. If this was how I had to prove to Halley that I wasn’t a total ass and I did care, then this was how I had to do it.
I’d never considered for a second that she didn’t have any self-confidence. The more I thought about what Reagan and Ava had said, the more it sunk in. Everyone in town knew about her family relationships, thanks to her dad being who he was, so the fact that her relationship with her mom was strained wasn’t all that surprising.
I guess I lived in a perfect world where my parents were married and happy, so I’d never experienced that pain.
Much less constant weddings.
It wouldn’t surprise me if her, Reagan, and Ava had a bet on her mom’s upcoming marriage to Stephen.
I wanted to know more about how she felt. It was the first time I’d honestly felt like I really cared about someone. Last night was the first date I’d been on since college where I could see a future with the other person.
There was something about Halley Dawson.
And whatever it was, it was fucking captivating.
The rope that signaled the booth was closed was open, dragging on the floor. One end was in a bit of mud, so I gave it a tug until it was out of it. It was heavy enough without being soaked in mud, too.
Pushing the curtain open, I readied myself for the onslaught of anger that I was sure I was going to get.
“Sorry, we’re not—” Halley turned and stopped when she saw me. “Oh, hey, it’s you.”
She smiled.
She fucking smiled.
I faltered for a moment. “Hey,” I responded. “Can we talk?”
“Sure.” She went back to straightening up the stage. “What’s up?”
Was she being serious? “What do you mean, what’s up? Isn’t it obvious?”
“If it was, I wouldn’t have asked.”
I put down my backpack and leaned on the edge of the stage. “All right, cut the crap. I already had a visit from Tweedledum and Tweedledee and know that you’re pissed at me.”
She jerked her head around. “I’m not pissed. It’s fine. We went on one date, Preston. It’s not the end of the world.”
I slid my bag across the wood toward her. “Open that.”