Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
“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.”
He laughed. “You’re killing me. Between the monkey bread this morning and now this, I’m going to have to hit the gym a little harder next week.”
“Oh God. Don’t remind me. I don’t even want to think about weight. I’ve been on a junk food tear since my wedding debacle.”
Merrick’s eyes raked down my torso, stopping to linger on my breasts. “Trust me, junk food works for you.”
• • •
“Do you mind waiting out here a second?” Merrick unlocked Kitty’s front door and pushed it open halfway.
“Umm, sure?”
He held out the fast-food bag to me. “I’ll just be a minute.”
“Alright, but I’m going to eat your dinner if you take too long.”
“You already ate most of the fries we were supposed to share.”
Two minutes later, he came back outside, carrying two familiar mugs. My eyes lit up. “Oh my God! The Waffle House mugs they used to drink their spiked tea from. You know they stole those from the restaurant.”
Merrick smiled. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
I sighed. “Those bring back such great memories.” I pointed over to what had been my grandmother’s house. “They would sit on that porch for hours every night getting loaded, and all the neighbors saw were two little old ladies drinking hot tea.”
He smiled. “I know. Guess what’s in here?”
“Don’t tell me it’s spiked sweet tea?”
“Yep.” He nodded toward the house next door. “The neighbors who bought your grandmother’s house are away. I met them earlier this week. When they mentioned they were going out of town, I asked if they would mind if the old owner’s granddaughter sat on their porch. You said you’d give anything to bring back the sweet-tea days. I know it’s not the same, but I figured we can eat on the rocking chairs and drink the spiked stuff.”
My heart swelled. “I can’t believe you did that for me.”
He nodded toward the porch. “Come on. Let’s go over.”
At first it was strange to sit on my grandmother’s porch without her here. But when we were done eating and sat on the rocking chairs, doing nothing but sipping out of our Waffle House mugs, I felt a warmth in my chest.
“How did you know they drank out of these particular mugs? I don’t think I mentioned it the other day.”
“You didn’t. My grandmother did.”
“Oh.”
“She’s pretty much talked about you or your grandmother all week. I think having you down here brought up a lot of memories for her, too.” He held up his mug. “She must really love you, because she gave me her spiked sweet tea recipe when I said I wanted to make it for you. You know southern women hold their tea recipes just below the Bible when it comes to sacred things.”
I smiled. “Well, the feeling is mutual.”
We sat side by side, rocking and sipping quietly for a few minutes. Eventually, I pointed to a house a few doors down and across the street. “Remember the story I told you about when I almost fell from my treehouse in the rain? That I thought a boy named Cooper saved me?”
Merrick nodded. “I remember.”
“That was his house. He had a dog with three legs named Woody.”
Merrick squinted down the dark street. “I remember the dog. He used to walk on his back two legs like a human, right?”
“That’s the one.”
“Yeah, I remember the dog. But I don’t remember the kid.”
“I definitely do. He was also my first kiss.”
“Really?”
“Yep. I’m sure he remembers me, too. Because aside from being his first kiss, I also caused his first dental procedure.”
“Did he go in for the kiss too fast and your teeth clashed or something?”
“Worse. But let me stop my story and give you a little background. When I was fifteen, we were living in Chicago. All of my friends had kissed boys before, but I wasn’t anxious to start down that road because I already had trust issues because of my dad. Anyway, a cute boy in my school asked me out, and we went to a movie. He had the absolute worst breath. I mean, I was sitting in the theatre and could smell it next to me, even when he wasn’t facing my way.” I shook my head. “I don’t know if it was the braces or what, but it was horrendous, and I was dying for the movie to be over. Long story short, he tried to kiss me at the end of the night, and I stopped him. He accused me of being a prude. So to defend myself, I told him the truth—that his breath smelled like ass.”