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“I’d like to see you try.”
He stares at me for another moment, and then he goes back to moving bales,
and I guide each one into position. I hadn’t realized how much of the work Junior had been doing yesterday, because by the time we’re done my shoulders are screaming in pain and I can feel a headache brewing behind my eyes.
“You okay?” Grady asks.
“Fine.” I knock the last bale over a few inches with my knee.
Grady parks the tractor a little distance away from the maze. He walks up to me and together we appraise our work. “I think we’re done.”
“We should take a quick run through it.” I turn to face him. “You up for it?”
He looks at me hard. “Are you up for it?”
I nod and hold out my hand. He stares at it for a moment, and then he places his palm against mine. We walk into the maze. The daylight is almost gone, but we can still see.
“This is where you freaked out,” Grady says as we stop at one of the turns. “You scared the hell out of me.” He shakes his head and blows out a harsh breath.
“I’m sorry I scared you.”
He huffs out a laugh and runs his free hand, the one that’s not tightly clutching mine, through his hair. “I’m sorry I made you do it.”
“I didn’t pee my pants, did I?” I suddenly ask. The very thought of that makes me anxious.
Grady grins and pretends to zip his lips closed. “I’ll never tell.”
I squeeze his hand, and he squeezes back. “You suck, Grady Parker,” I say quietly.
“You do too, Clifford,” he says.
When we walk out of the maze, we’re both startled to find Mr. Jacobson sitting at the exit in his little red golf cart. I let Grady’s hand go. He stares down at where our hands were just joined for a long moment, then he looks up.
“You two do good work,” Mr. Jacobson says.
Grady smiles at me and I smile back. “Next, we’ll have to paint that barn,” Grady says.
Mr. Jacobson shakes his head. “Not yet. Friday night is movie night. We’re going to play an old horror film.” I shiver, and Grady grins at me. “I’ll need you both to help with popcorn and candied apples and setting up chairs before the movie.
Grady scrubs a frustrated hand against his forehead. “What time?” he asks, his words clipped.
“Come when you get off work.”
Mr. Jacobson putters away on his cart and Grady swears out loud. “That old man is going to ride this for all its worth.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “It’s been kind of fun.”
Grady grins at me, and then he wraps my head in his arm and gives me a noogie. I squeal and shove him away, but all I can think is that I wish he’d hold me for real.
11
Grady
I don’t know why, but my heart starts to beat a little faster when I pull up at Ms. Markie’s house on Thursday afternoon. I park in the street like I normally do, but now I have a long metal trailer behind my Jeep. It has all my grass cutting equipment on it—my big mower, my little mower, my leaf blower, shovels, rakes, pruning shears, hedge clippers, all the tools I’d ever need while doing a yard maintenance job. I’d cut Ms. Markie’s grass last week, and since it’s the middle of October she won’t need it cut again for a while, but I noticed the last time I was here that she had some leaves on her porch. I bet her gutters are full too.
I get out my leaf blower and lift the backpack so it rests on my shoulders. The noise of it is deafening if I don’t wear ear protection, so I have a pair of noise cancelling work headphones on my ears. I walk around the corner and start in the backyard, blowing leaves away from around the house first. Ms. Markie smiles at me and waves from the back door, but I don’t see Evie. Her truck is here, so I’m assuming she’s here.
It might seem mighty presumptuous of me, but I plan to see her while I’m here. I haven’t seen or heard from her even once since Sunday. I’d kind of hoped she would have used that number I put in her phone to text me. I was only joking about wanting naked pictures, even though I wouldn’t be opposed to such a photo. I’d never truly ask for one, though, because things like that could come back to haunt you. I’d never send a picture of my junk to anybody, so I couldn’t blame a woman for wanting to keep her shit private too.
