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“I will never get your oranges as a gift,” she said. “When’s your birthday?”
“Next month,” he said. “You?”
“It was in July.”
A hot slice went through his chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged, and he didn’t like the sudden apprehension in her expression.
“You didn’t go home, and you didn’t have a party.” He studied her face. “Do not tell me you did nothing. That not a single person wished you happy birthday.”
“My momma called,” she said in a small voice.
“Laura.”
“What?” She lifted her eyes to his, and they held challenge now. “What was I supposed to do? I’d been at the ranch for six or seven weeks. I was still learning where I stood and who I could trust.”
Todd blinked, sure he’d heard her wrong. “You can trust everyone at the ranch.”
She shook her head. “You can’t trust everyone, Todd. That’s ridiculous.”
He tilted his head, trying to see and hear things she wasn’t showing or telling. “That’s…interesting.”
“It was fine,” she said. “Daddy sent me a card, and they called.”
“I would’ve had Gina make you a cake. We could’ve sung to you at breakfast. It wouldn’t have had to be much, but it would’ve been something.”
“I was fine.”
“You’re part of the ranch now,” he said. “Unless…”
“Unless what?”
He stared straight at her. “Unless you don’t want to be.”
Laura opened her mouth, then closed it just as quickly. “I…don’t know what I want.”
Todd understood that well, and he sighed. Glancing around, he noticed the tables nearest to them didn’t have food. “Where’s our server?” he asked. They hadn’t even been greeted yet.
Just his luck. The phenomenal place he wanted to take Laura on their first date was too busy, and this place had terrible service. All he could do was pray they could laugh about it someday, because right now, all the situation caused inside him was dread.
* * *
A few hours later,he said, “We should just go back. Everything’s been a bust.”
“It’s fine,” Laura said, and he noted that she said that a lot.
“Sure,” he said. “Fine. In the amount of time it took us to drive to The Live Oak and then wait literally an hour for our food, we could’ve stayed at The Sunflower Café.” He gripped the wheel at nine and three, pressing a little too hard on the gas pedal. He just wanted to get back to the ranch.
“The food wasn’t even good,” he said. “Then, there were no tours at the gardens. It’s just…dumb.”
Laura didn’t respond, at least verbally. She did reach over and take his hand in hers, and once again, Todd very nearly ran the truck off the road. He looked at her delicate hand in his, his skin cells shooting fire up into his arm.
“It’s fine,” she said again. “We got to spend some time together where we weren’t talking about pinkeye or fungus, so I’m calling that a win.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know that pimento sandwich wasn’t even good. You can admit it.”
She smiled at him, and the heavens could’ve opened and beamed down heavenly light and it wouldn’t have held a candle to that smile. “Fine,” she said. “It wasn’t good.”
