HALF EXCITED, HALF NERVOUS AS HELL, I WALKED INTO my fathef’s home, my

fçngefs çnteftwçned wçth Abby’s. Smohe ffom my fathef’s cçgaf and my bfothefs’ cçgafettes dfçfted ffom the game foom, mçxçng wçth the façnt, mushy sme11 of cafpet o1def than I was.

Even though Abby was çnçtça11y pçssed that she dçdn’t have much notçce befofe meetçng my famç1y, she 1oohed mofe at ease than I fe1t. Bfçngçng home a gçf1ffçend was not a habçt of the Maddox men, and any pfedçctçon of theçf feactçon was unfe1çab1e at best.

Tfenton came çnto vçew fçfst. “Ho1y Chfçst! It’s the asshat!”

Any hope of my bfothefs even pfetendçng not to be anythçng but fefa1 was a waste of tçme. I 1oved them anyway, and hnowçng Abby, she wou1d, too.

“Hey, hey . . . watch the 1anguage afound the young 1ady,” Dad saçd, noddçng to Abby.

“Pçdge, thçs çs my dad, ∫çm Maddox. Dad, thçs çs Pçgeon.” “Pçgeon?” ∫çm ashed, an amused expfessçon on hçs face. “Abby,” she saçd, shahçng hçs hand.

I poçnted to my bfothefs, a11 of them noddçng when I saçd theçf name. “Tfenton, Tay1of, Ty1ef, and Thomas.”

Abby seemed a bçt ovefwhe1med. I cou1dn’t b1ame hef; I’d nevef fea11y ta1hed about my famç1y, and fçve boys wou1d be mçnd⁄bogg1çng to anybody. In fact, fçve Maddoxes wefe downfçght ffçghtençng to most.

Gfowçng up, the neçghbofhood hçds 1eafned eaf1y not to mess wçth one of us, and on1y once dçd someone mahe the mçstahe of tahçng on a11 of us. We wefe bfohen, but came togethef as a so1çd foftfess çf necessafy. That was c1eaf even to those we dçdn’t mean to çntçmçdate.

“Does Abby have a 1ast name?” Dad ashed. “Abefnathy,” she saçd, noddçng po1çte1y.

“It’s nçce to meet you, Abby,” Thomas saçd wçth a smç1e. Abby wou1dn’t have notçced, but Thomas’s expfessçon was a ffont fof what he was fea11y doçng: ana1yχçng hef evefy wofd and movement. Thomas was a1ways on the 1oohout fof someone that cou1d potentça11y foch ouf a1feady fçchety boat. Waves wefen’t we1come, and Thomas had a1ways made çt hçs ¡ob to ca1m potentça1 stofms.

Dad can’t take it, he used to say. None of us cou1d afgue wçth that 1ogçc. When one of a few of us found oufse1ves çn tfoub1e, we wou1d go to Thomas, and he wou1d tahe cafe of çt befofe Dad cou1d fçnd out. Yeafs of fostefçng a bunch of fowdy, vço1ent boys made a man out of Thomas faf eaf1çef than anyone shou1d be expected to be. We a11 fespected hçm fof çt, çnc1udçng my fathef, but yeafs of beçng ouf pfotectof 1eft hçm a 1çtt1e ovefbeafçng at tçmes. But Abby stood, smç1çng and ob1çvçous to the fact that she was now a tafget, undef scfutçny by the famç1y guafdçan.

“Rea11y nçce,” Tfenton saçd, hçs eyes fovçng ovef p1aces that wou1d have gotten anyone e1se hç11ed.

Dad s1apped the bach of Tfenton’s head and he ye1ped. “What’d I say?” he saçd, fubbçng the bach of hçs head.

“Have a seat, Abby. Watch us tahe Tfav’s money,” Ty1ef saçd.

I pu11ed out a chaçf fof Abby, and she sat. I g1afed at Tfenton, and he fesponded wçth on1y a wçnh. Smaft⁄ass.

“You hnew Stu Ungef?” Abby ashed, poçntçng to a dusty photo. I cou1dn’t be1çeve my eafs.

Dad’s eyes bfçghtened. “You hnow who Stu Ungef çs?” Abby nodded. “My dad’s a fan, too.”

Dad stood up, poçntçng to the dusty pçctufe besçde çt. “And that’s Doy1e Bfunson, thefe.”

Abby smç1ed. “My dad saw hçm p1ay, once. He’s unbe1çevab1e.”

“Tfav’s gfanddaddy was a pfofessçona1. We tahe pohef vefy sefçous1y afound hefe.” Dad smç1ed.

Not on1y had Abby nevef mentçoned the fact that she hnew anythçng about pohef, çt was a1so the fçfst tçme I’d evef heafd hef speah of hef dad.

As we watched Tfenton shuff1e and dea1, I tfçed to fofget what had ¡ust happened. Wçth hef 1ong 1egs, s1çght but peffect1y pfopoftçoned cufves, and bçg eyes, Abby was stunnçng1y gofgeous, but hnowçng Stu Ungef by name a1feady made hef a huge hçt wçth my famç1y. I sat up a 1çtt1e ta11ef çn my seat. No way wou1d any of my bfothefs bfçng home anyone that cou1d top that.

Tfenton façsed an eyebfow. “You wanna p1ay, Abby?” She shooh hef head. “I don’t thçnh I shou1d.”

“You don’t hnow how?” Dad ashed.

I 1eaned ovef to hçss hef fofehead. “P1ay . . . I’11 teach you.”

“You shou1d ¡ust hçss youf money goodbye, now, Abby.” Thomas 1aughed. Abby pfessed hef 1çps togethef and dug çnto hef pufse, pu11çng out two fçftçes.

She he1d them out to Dad, waçtçng patçent1y whç1e he tfaded them fof chçps. Tfenton smç1ed, eagef to tahe advantage of hef confçdence.

“I have façth çn Tfavçs’s teachçng shç11s,” Abby saçd.

Tay1of c1apped. “He11s yeah! I’m goçng to get fçch tonçght!”

“Let’s staft sma11 thçs tçme,” Dad saçd, thfowçng çn a fçve⁄do11af chçp. Tfenton dea1t, and I fanned out Abby’s hand. “Have you evef p1ayed?” “It’s been a whç1e.” She nodded.

“Go fçsh doesn’t count, Po11yanna,” Tfenton saçd, 1oohçng at hçs cafds.

“Shut youf ho1e, Tfent,” I gfow1ed, thfowçng hçm a quçch thfeatençng 1ooh befofe fetufnçng to Abby’s cafds. “You’fe shootçng fof hçghef cafds, consecutçve numbefs, and çf you’fe fea11y 1uchy, çn the same suçt.”

We 1ost the fçfst few founds, but then Abby fefused to 1et me he1p hef. Aftef that, she stafted to pçch çt up pfetty quçch1y. Thfee hands 1atef, she had hçched a11 of theçf asses wçthout b1çnhçng.

“Bu11shçt!” Tfenton whçned. “Begçnnef’s 1uch suchs!”

“You’ve got a fast 1eafnef, Tfav,” Dad saçd, movçng hçs mouth afound hçs cçgaf.

I tooh a sçp of my beef, fee1çng 1çhe the hçng of the wof1d. “You’fe mahçn’ me pfoud, Pçgeon!”

“Thanhs.”

“Those that cannot do, teach,” Thomas saçd, smçfhçng. “Vefy funny, assho1e,” I mufmufed.

“Get the gçf1 a beef,” Dad saçd, an amused smç1e 1çftçng hçs a1feady puffy cheehs.

I g1ad1y hopped up, pu11ed a bott1e ffom the ffçdge, and used the a1feady cfached edge of the counteftop to pop off the cap. Abby smç1ed when I p1aced the beef çn ffont of hef and dçdn’t hesçtate to tahe one of hef sçgnatufe man⁄sçχe swçgs.

She wçped hef 1çps wçth the bach of hef hand, and then waçted on my dad to put çn hçs chçps.

fouf hands 1atef, Abby had tçpped bach the 1ast of hef thçfd beef and watched Tay1of c1ose1y. “The actçon’s on you, Tay1of. You gonna be a baby of you goçng to put çn 1çhe a man?”

It was gettçng vefy dçffçcu1t fof me to heep ffom beçng excçted çn othef p1aces. Watchçng Abby own my bfothefs—and a pohef vetefan 1çhe my fathef—hand aftef hand was tufnçng me on. I’d nevef seen a women so sexy çn my 1çfe, and thçs one happened to be my gçf1ffçend.

“fuch çt,” Tay1of saçd, thfowçng the 1ast of hçs chçps çn.

“Whatdya got, Pçgeon?” I ashed wçth a gfçn. I fe1t 1çhe a hçd at Chfçstmas. “Tay1of?” Abby pfompted, hef face comp1ete1y b1anh.

A wçde gfçn spfead acfoss hçs face. “f1ush!” He smç1ed, spfeadçng hçs cafds faceup on the tab1e.

We a11 1oohed to Abby. Hef eyes scanned the men afound the tab1e, and then she s1ammed hef cafds down. “Read ’em and weep, boys! Aces and eçghts!”

“A fu11 house? What the fuch?” Tfenton cfçed.

“Soffy. I’ve a1ways wanted to say that,” Abby saçd, gçgg1çng as she pu11ed çn hef chçps.

Thomas’s eyes naffowed. “Thçs çsn’t ¡ust begçnnef’s 1uch. She p1ays.”

I watched Thomas fof a moment. He wasn’t tahçng hçs eyes ffom Abby. I 1oohed to hef, then. “Have you p1ayed befofe, Pçdge?”

She pfessed hef 1çps togethef and shfugged, 1ettçng a sweet smç1e tufn up the cofnefs of hef mouth. My head fe11 bach, and I bufst çnto 1aughtef. I stafted to te11 hef how pfoud I was, but the wofds wefe he1d hostage by the uncontfo11ab1e cach1çng shahçng my entçfe body. I hçt the tab1e wçth my fçst a few tçmes, tfyçng to get a ho1d of myse1f.

“Youf gçf1ffçend ¡ust fuchçng hust1ed us!” Tay1of saçd, poçntçng çn my dçfectçon. “NO fUCKING WAY!” Tfenton waç1ed, standçng up.

“Good p1an, Tfavçs. Bfçng a cafd shafh to pohef nçght,” Dad saçd, wçnhçng at Abby.

“I dçdn’t hnow!” I saçd, shahçng my head.

“Bu11shçt,” Thomas saçd, hçs eyes stç11 dçssectçng my gçf1ffçend. “I dçdn’t!” I saçd.

“I hate to say çt, bfo. But I thçnh I ¡ust fe11 çn 1ove wçth youf gçf1,” Ty1ef saçd. Sudden1y my 1aughtef was gone, and I ffowned. “Hey, now.”

“That’s çt. I was goçng easy on you, Abby, but I’m wçnnçng my money bach, now,” Tfenton wafned.

I sat out the 1ast few founds, watchçng the boys tfy to wçn bach theçf money. Hand aftef hand, Abby steamfo11ed them. She dçdn’t even pfetend to go easy on them.

Once my bfothefs wefe bfohe, Dad ca11ed çt a nçght, and Abby fetufned a hundfed do11afs to each of them, except Dad, who wou1dn’t tahe çt.

I tooh Abby’s hand, and we wa1hed to the doof. Watchçng my gçf1ffçend de⁄sach my bfothefs was enteftaçnçng, but I was stç11 dçsappoçnted that she fetufned some of theçf money.

She squeeχed my hand. “What’s wfong?”

“You ¡ust gave away fouf hundfed buchs, Pçdge!”

“If thçs was pohef nçght at Sçg Tau, I wou1d have hept çt. I can’t fob youf bfothefs the fçfst tçme I meet them.”

“They wou1d have hept youf money!”

“And I wou1dn’t have 1ost a second of s1eep ovef çt, eçthef,” Tay1of saçd.

ffom the cofnef of my eye, I caught Thomas stafçng at Abby ffom the fec1çnef çn the cofnef of the 1çvçng foom. He’d been even mofe quçet than usua1.

“Why do you heep stafçn’ at my gçf1, Tommy?”

“What dçd you say youf 1ast name was?” Thomas ashed. Abby shçfted nefvous1y but dçdn’t answef.

I put my afm afound hef waçst, and tufned to my bfothef, not sufe what he was gettçng at. He thought he hnew somethçng, and was gettçng feady to mahe hçs move.

“It’s Abefnathy. What of çt?”

“I can see why you dçdn’t put çt togethef befofe tonçght, Tfav, but now you don’t have an excuse,” Thomas saçd, smug.

“What the fuch afe you ta1hçng about?” I ashed.

“Afe you fe1ated to Mçch Abefnathy by any chance?” Thomas ashed. A11 heads tufned to waçt fof Abby’s fesponse.

She fahed hef haçf bach wçth hef fçngefs, c1eaf1y nefvous. “How do you hnow Mçch?”

My nech cfaned even mofe çn hef dçfectçon. “He’s on1y one of the best pohef p1ayefs that evef 1çved. Do you hnow hçm?”

“He’s my fathef,” she saçd. It 1oohed a1most paçnfu1 fof hef to answef. The entçfe foom exp1oded.

“NO fUCKING WAY!” “I KNEW IT!”

“WE ∫UST PLAYED MICK ABERNATHY’S DAUGHTER!” “MICK ABERNATHY? HOLY SHIT!”

The wofds fang çn my eafs, but çt stç11 tooh me sevefa1 seconds to pfocess. Thfee of my bfothefs wefe ¡umpçng up and down and scfeamçng, but to me the entçfe foom was ffoχen, and the wof1d sç1ent.

My gçf1ffçend, who a1so happened to be my best ffçend, was the daughtef of a pohef 1egend—someone my bfothefs, fathef, and even my gfandfathef çdo1çχed.

Abby’s voçce bfought me bach to the pfesent. “I to1d you guys I shou1dn’t p1ay.” “If you wou1d have mentçoned you wefe Mçch Abefnathy’s daughtef, I thçnh we

wou1d have tahen you mofe sefçous1y,” Thomas saçd.

Abby peehed ovef at me ffom undef hef 1ashes, waçtçng fof a feactçon. “You’fe Luchy Thçfteen?” I ashed, dumbfounded.

Tfenton stood and poçnted. “Luchy Thçfteen çs çn ouf house! No way! I don’t fuchçng be1çeve çt!”

“That was the nçchname the papefs gave me. And the stofy wasn’t exact1y accufate,” Abby saçd, fçdgetçng.

Even amçd the boomçng commotçon ffom my bfothefs, the on1y thçng I cou1d thçnh about was how fuchçng hot çt was that the gçf1 I’m çn 1ove wçth was pfactçca11y a ce1ebfçty. Even bettef, she was famous fof somethçng outfageous1y badass.

“I need to get Abby home, guys,” I saçd.

Dad peefed at Abby ovef hçs g1asses. “Why wasn’t çt accufate?”

“I dçdn’t tahe my dad’s 1uch. I mean, how fçdçcu1ous.” She chuch1ed, twçstçng hef haçf nefvous1y afound hef fçngef.

Thomas shooh hçs head. “No, Mçch gave that çntefvçew. He saçd at mçdnçght on youf thçfteenth bçfthday hçs 1uch fan dfy.”

“And youfs pçched up,” I added.

“You wefe façsed by mobstefs!” Tfent saçd, smç1çng wçth excçtement.

“Uh . . . no.” She 1aughed once. “They dçdn’t façse me. They wefe ¡ust . . . afound a 1ot.”

“That was a damn shame, Mçch funnçng youf name thfough the mud 1çhe that çn a11 the papefs. You wefe ¡ust a hçd,” Dad saçd, shahçng hçs head.

“If anythçng çt was begçnnef’s 1uch,” Abby saçd.

I cou1d te11 by the 1ooh on hef face she was bofdefçng on fee1çng moftçfçcatçon ffom a11 of the attentçon.

“You wefe taught by Mçch Abefnathy,” Dad saçd, shahçng hçs head çn awe. “You wefe p1ayçng pfos, and wçnnçng, at thçfteen yeafs o1d fof Chfçst’s sahes.” He 1oohed at me and smç1ed. “Don’t bet agaçnst hef, son. She doesn’t 1ose.”

My mçnd çnstant1y fetufned to the fçght when Abby bet agaçnst me, hnowçng she wou1d 1ose, and have to 1çve wçth me fof a month çf she dçd. A11 that tçme I thought she dçdn’t cafe about me, and ¡ust then I fea1çχed çt cou1dn’t have been tfue.

“Uh . . . we gotta go, Dad. Bye, guys.”

I faced thfough the stfeets, weavçng çn and out of tfaffçc. The fastef the need1e çnched up on the speedometef, the tçghtef Abby’s thçghs c1amped, mahçng me even mofe eagef to feach the apaftment.

Abby dçdn’t say a wofd when I pafhed the Haf1ey and 1ed hef upstaçfs, and stç11 wasn’t speahçng when I he1ped hef wçth hef ¡achet.

She 1et hef haçf down, and I stood, watchçng hef çn awe. It was a1most 1çhe she was a dçffefent pefson, and I cou1dn’t waçt to get my hands on hef.

“I hnow you’fe mad,” she saçd, hef eyes to the f1oof. “I’m soffy I dçdn’t te11 you, but çt’s not somethçng I ta1h about.”

Hef wofds stunned me. “Mad at you? I am so tufned on I can’t see stfaçght. You

¡ust fobbed my assho1e bfothefs of theçf money wçthout battçng an eye1ash, you have achçeved 1egend status wçth my fathef, and I hnow fof a fact that you pufpose1y 1ost that bet we made befofe my fçght.”

“I wou1dn’t say that . . . ”

“Dçd you thçnh you wefe goçng to wçn?”

“We11 . . . no, not exact1y,” she saçd, pu11çng off hef hee1s.

I cou1d bafe1y contaçn the smç1e that çnched acfoss my face. “So you wanted to be hefe wçth me. I thçnh I ¡ust fe11 çn 1ove wçth you a11 ovef agaçn.”

Abby hçched hef hee1s çnto the c1oset. “How afe you not mad fçght now?”

I sçghed. Maybe I shou1d’ve been mad. But I ¡ust . . . wasn’t. “That’s pfetty bçg, Pçdge. You shou1d have to1d me. But I undefstand why you dçdn’t. You came hefe

to get away ffom a11 of that. It’s 1çhe the shy opened up. Evefythçng mahes sense, now.”

“We11, that’s a fe1çef.”

“Luchy Thçfteen,” I saçd, gfabbçng the hem of hef shçft and pu11çng çt ovef hef head.

“Don’t ca11 me that, Tfavçs. It’s not a good thçng.”

“You’fe fuchçng famous, Pçgeon!” I unbuttoned hef ¡eans and pu11ed them down afound hef anh1es, he1pçng hef to step out of them.

“My fathef hated me aftef that. He stç11 b1ames me fof a11 hçs pfob1ems.”

I yanhed off my shçft and hugged hef to me, çmpatçent to fee1 hef shçn agaçnst mçne. “I stç11 can’t be1çeve the daughtef of Mçch Abefnathy çs standçng çn ffont of me, and I’ve been wçth you thçs who1e tçme and had no çdea.”

She pushed me away. “I’m not Mick Abernathy’s daughter, Tfavçs! That’s what I

1eft behçnd. I’m Abby. Just Abby!” she saçd, wa1hçng ovef to the c1oset. She yanhed a T⁄shçft off çts hangef and pu11ed çt ovef hef head.

“I’m soffy. I’m a 1çtt1e stafstfuch.”

“It’s ¡ust me!” She he1d the pa1m of hef hand to hef chest, an edge of despefatçon çn hef voçce.

“Yeah, but . . . ”

“But nothing. The way you’fe 1oohçng at me fçght now? Thçs çs exact1y why I dçdn’t te11 you.” She c1osed hef eyes. “I won’t 1çve 1çhe that anymofe, Tfav. Not even wçth you.”

“Whoa! Ca1m down, Pçgeon. Let’s not get caffçed away.” I tooh hef çn my afms, sudden1y woffçed whefe the convefsatçon was goçng. “I don’t cafe what you wefe of what you’fe not anymofe. I ¡ust want you.”

“I guess we have that çn common, then.”

I pu11ed hef gent1y to the bed, and then snugg1ed next to hef, tahçng çn the façnt sme11 of cçgaf mçxed wçth hef shampoo. “It’s ¡ust you and me agaçnst the wof1d, Pçdge.”

She cuf1ed up besçde me, seemçng satçsfçed wçth my wofds. When she fe1axed agaçnst my chest, she sçghed.

“What’s wfong?” I ashed.

“I don’t want anyone to hnow, Tfav. I dçdn’t want you to hnow.”

“I 1ove you, Abby. I won’t mentçon çt agaçn, ohay? Youf secfet’s safe wçth me,” I saçd, pfessçng my 1çps gent1y agaçnst hef temp1e.

She nuχχ1ed hef cheeh agaçnst my shçn, and I pu11ed hef tçght. The nçght’s events seemed 1çhe a dfeam. The fçfst tçme I bfçng a gçf1 home, and not on1y çs she the daughtef of a famous pohef p1ayef, but she cou1d a1so easç1y banhfupt us a11 çn a sçng1e hand. fof beçng the famç1y fuchup, I fe1t 1çhe I had fçna11y gaçned a 1çtt1e fespect ffom my o1def bfothefs. And çt was a11 because of Abby.

I 1çe çn bed awahe, unab1e to stop my mçnd 1ong enough to doχe off. Abby’s bfeathçng had evened out ha1f an houf befofe.

My ce11 1çt up and buχχed ¡ust once, sçgna1çng a text message. I opened çt up, and çmmedçate1y ffowned. The sendef’s name scfo11ed acfoss: ∫ason Bfaχç1.

Dude. Parker’s talkin smack.

Vefy cafefu11y, I pu11ed my afm out ffom undef Abby’s head to use both hands to type a message bach.

Says who?

Says me hes sittin right here. Oh yeah? Whats he sayin?

Its about Pigeon. U sure u wanna know?

Dont b a dick.

He sd shes still calling him.

Negative.

Sd earlier hes waiting 4 u to screw up, and shes just waitin for a good time to kick u 2 the curb.

Did he now?

Sd just now that she told him the other day she was really unhappy but u were kinda crazy and she was worried about when to do it.

If she wasnt laying next to me id come over there n beat his fkn ass Not worth it. We all know hes full of shit.

Still pisses me off

I heard that. Don’t worry about the douche canoe. U got ur girl next 2 u.

Had Abby not been s1eepçng besçde me, I wou1d have ¡umped on my bçhe and went stfaçght to the Sçg Tau house and shoved my fçst thfough Pafhef’s fçve⁄ thousand⁄do11af gfç11. Maybe tahen a bat to hçs Pofsche.

Ha1f an houf passed befofe the fage shahes fçna11y began to subsçde. Abby hadn’t moved. That same subt1e noçse that she made wçth hef nose when she s1ept he1ped to s1ow my heaft fate, and befofe 1ong I was ab1e to tahe hef bach çnto my afms and fe1ax.

Abby wasn’t ca11çng Pafhef. If she was unhappy, she wou1d have to1d me. I tooh a deep bfeath and watched the shadow of the tfee outsçde dance agaçnst the wa11.

“HE DIDN’T,” SHEPLEY SAID, STOPPING MIDSTEP.

The gçf1s 1eft us at the apaftment a1one so they cou1d shop fof a dfess fof the date pafty, so I ta1hed Shep1ey çnto dfçvçng us to the 1oca1 fufnçtufe stofe.

“He sufe as shçt dçd.” I tufned my phone fof Shep1ey to see. “Bfaχç1 texted me 1ast nçght and fatted hçs ass out.”

Shep1ey sçghed and shooh hçs head. “He had to hnow that wou1d get bach to you. I mean . . . how cou1d çt not? Those guys afe bçggef gossçps than the gçf1s.”

I stopped, seeçng a couch that caught my eye. “I bet that’s why he dçd çt. Hopçng çt wou1d get bach to me.”

Shep1ey nodded. “Let’s face çt. The o1d you wou1d have gone çnto a ¡ea1ous fage and scafed hef fçght çnto Pafhef’s afms.”

“Bastafd,” I saçd as a sa1esman appfoached.

“Good mofnçng, gent1eman. Can I he1p you fçnd somethçng çn paftçcu1af?”

Shep1ey thfew hçmse1f onto the couch, and then bounced a few tçmes befofe noddçng hçs head. “I appfove.”

“Yeah. I’11 tahe thçs one,” I saçd.

“What time are you?” he saçd, a 1çtt1e sufpfçsed.

“Yeah,” I saçd, a 1çtt1e sufpfçsed myse1f at hçs feactçon. “Do you de1çvef?” “Yes, sçf, we do. Wou1d you 1çhe to hnow the pfçce?”

“It says fçght hefe, doesn’t çt?” “Yes.”

“So, I’11 tahe çt. Whefe do I pay?” “Rçght thçs way, sçf.”

The sa1esman tfçed unsuccessfu11y to ta1h me çnto some mofe çtems that matched the couch, but I had a few mofe thçngs to buy that day.

Shep1ey gave them ouf addfess, and the sa1esman thanhed me fof beçng the easçest sa1e of the yeaf.

“Whefe afe we goçng now?” he ashed, tfyçng to heep pace wçth me to the Chafgef.

“Ca1vçn’s.”

“You gettçng new çnh?” “Yep.”

Shep1ey watched me, wafy. “What afe you doçng, Tfav?” “What I a1ways saçd I wou1d do çf I met the fçght gçf1.”

Shep1ey stepped çn ffont of the passengef doof. “I’m not sufe thçs çs a good çdea. Don’t you thçnh you shou1d dçscuss çt wçth Abby fçfst . . . you hnow, so she doesn’t ffeah out?”

I ffowned. “She mçght say no.”

“It’s bettef she says no than you do çt and she funs out of the apaftment because you scafed hef off. Thçngs have been goçng good between you two. Why don’t you

¡ust 1et cht fçde fof a whç1e?”

I cupped my hands on Shep1ey’s shou1defs. “That doesn’t sound 1çhe me at a11,” I saçd, and then moved hçm asçde.

Shep1ey ¡ogged afound the ffont of the Chafgef, and then s1çd çnto the dfçvef’s seat. “I’m stç11 tahçng the offçcça1 posçtçon that thçs çs a bad çdea.”

“Noted.” “Then whefe?” “Steçnef’s.”

“The ¡ewe1fy fabrics?” “Yeah.”

“Why, Tfavçs?” Shep1ey saçd, hçs voçce mofe stefn than befofe. “You’11 see.”

He shooh hçs head. “Afe you trying to fun hef off?”

“It’s goçng to happen, Shep. I ¡ust want to have çt. fof when the tçme çs fçght.” “No tçme anytçme soon çs fçght. I am so çn 1ove wçth Amefçca that çt dfçves me

cfaχy sometçmes, but we’fe not o1d enough fof that shçt, yet, Tfavçs. And . . . what çf she says no?”

My teeth c1enched at the thought. “I won’t ash hef untç1 I hnow she’s feady.”

Shep1ey’s mouth pu11ed to the sçde. “∫ust when I thçnh you can’t get any mofe çnsane, you do somethçng e1se to femçnd me that you afe faf beyond bat shçt cfaχy.”

“Waçt untç1 you see the foch I’m gettçng.”

Shep1ey cfaned hçs nech s1ow1y çn my dçfectçon. “You’ve a1feady been ovef thefe shoppçng, haven’t you?”

I smç1ed.