“She’s not going to hurt us.” I laughed. “How are you afraid of a little bunny? She weighs three pounds.”
“I’m not afraid,” he claimed, tugging me faster around the end of the kitchen island. “I just wasn’t expecting you to have a pet. Especially not one with such big teeth.”
Shaking my head in amused disbelief, I reached down and plucked the rabbit off the floor. Jack straightened away from me and crossed his arms.
“See, she’s friendly,” I said.
He eyed the animal in my arms as I stroked her soft fur and smiled encouragingly.
“Are you pet-sitting or something?” he asked. “What do you mean she’s not yours?”
Sighing, I said, “Oreo is a classroom pet.”
“You have a class pet in your art room?”
“No. Not exactly,” I admitted. “She’s the pet in one of the second-grade classrooms, but the teacher doesn’t like her very much. She leaves her at school on the weekends, and I just hate the thought of her being scared and alone. Rabbits are actually very social animals. Oreo loves the children.”
Jack’s brows furrowed in confusion. “So you what? Told the teacher you’d watch the rabbit on the weekends for her?”
I swallowed awkwardly and looked down at the sweet little baby in my arms. “Not ... exactly.”
A beat passed and then, “Bonnie, do you steal that rabbit every Friday and return it on Monday?”
I peeked at his incredulous expression. “Yes. But I’m going to talk to Morris—the second-grade teacher—about it. I really am.”
Jack’s attention dropped to Oreo before returning to my face. He still looked confused, but his gaze had warmed, amusement threatening as his lips twitched. “Wow, Clyde. I guess the nickname fits. You really are done living the good-girl life.”
I smirked and took a step closer.
Jack jolted backward. “What are you doing?”
“Come on, Jack. Pet her. She’s so sweet.”
Another step followed by another retreat.
“Why can’t you have a dog like a normal person?”
I shrugged. “She needed me. What was I supposed to do?”
He sighed but stopped running away. Tentatively, Jack reached out with a knuckle and stroked the top of Oreo’s head.
The rabbit’s nose twitched, but she stayed calm in my arms.
I resisted the urge to smile triumphantly. “She’s soft, right?”
“I suppose,” he half agreed.
“She has her own little bunny hut in the other bedroom, where she sleeps at night or stays when I’m out. Her food is in there, too. She’s house-trained. She has a fuzzy blanket that she likes to hide under, and she hangs out with me while I’m watching TV. You’ll barely notice her. And if she takes a chunk out of your leg or something, I’ll put her up.”
Jack shot me an unamused glare. I grinned.
“Pizza will be here soon,” I said. Then I let my gaze slide down his denim-covered thighs. “Where are your sweatpants? I thought you were committed to doing panda mode tonight?” I teased.
“I am. I have a bag in my truck.”
The November weather had taken a turn. It was currently cold and rainy, and was supposed to stay that way through tomorrow. Jack had left his motorcycle at home as a result.
When Jack returned, he had pizza boxes in his hands and a duffel slung over one shoulder. “Met the delivery guy in the driveway.”
