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She smiled in response and played with her sleeves. She was picking nervously at her clothes again while she considered his offer. “What about your momma?” she asked, not contradicting him that he’d messed up. “I told Lily that I’d say ‘hi.’”
“And she says, ‘hi,’ too,” he said quickly, “and most importantly, I have the best part of her peanut butter bar batch with me in the truck.”
“You didn’t!” she scolded.
“…with her blessing,” he added, trying not to show his amusement. He hadn’t suspected that Angel would make this so hard. “My mother’s fine with it,morethan fine with it. In fact, I think she’d rather I wasn’t there to start any trouble.”
Whatever charm he had, he summoned it all for this very moment, watching her with a look that he hoped was persuasive. He couldn’t have Angel go to that barbecue. She needed to hear his confession from his own lips, and not like it was an accident or torn from him, and not with witnesses, so that she couldn’t say what was on her mind. He’d already practiced his declaration of guilt. He’d tried to run the lengthy apology past Cole this morning, who’d ducked quickly away, citing business elsewhere, and smirking at what an idiot Porter had become.
“I packed a picnic basket, too,” Porter told Angel.
“You…?” She gaped. Her mouth formed an “O.” Was it so surprising that he’d bethatthoughtful? “If you’re teasing me…?”
“I’m absolutely sincere. And I promise…” He slid his fingers through her glistening curly hair, unable to keep from touching it any longer. “There won’t be any painting of cabins or Funches involved. It’ll be nice and peaceful.”
And romantic.
Her shoulders relaxed. “That hadbetterbe a promise.” She pushed her wet hair out of her face. “Let me change first, and… I think I have something for our picnic too. I was going to bring it to the barbecue, but…”
“What are you waiting for?” he said. “Let’s do this.”
***
The way to the waterfall wasn’t as bumpy a ride as the country roads bordering the land between the Slades and Funches (and now Grey’s). Mostly these were paved, though very windy. The teens all came to the waterfalls, so that they could scare their friends with stories of the Southern Run ghost, and steal a few kisses from their girlfriends, too.
That wasn’t too far off from Porter’s plans… if Angel didn’t slap him and leave him to be devoured by the ghosts, or worse, the teenagers.
Angel had changed into a summer dress, though he could see the pink bow at the back of her neck from her swimming suit. He really hoped that she forgave him in time for them to have some real fun.
A picnic basket sat between them. He and Nash had used this same basket when they’d “accidentally” locked their older brother Hudson in the barn cellar with Mimi overnight. They’d mostly been joking with their matchmaking, but when it had actually worked, Nash dubbed the basket the “love basket” and tried to use it whenever he needed a little extra luck on a date. Porter thought that was stupid, but… well, his eyes had skimmed over his mother’s baskets and his hand had landed on this one without a second thought.
He needed all the help that he could get.
Angel’s hand went to the strap at the top of his car as they hit the potholes closer to the falls. “This is how my car got its flat,” she said. “I feel like I’d have to spend a fortune on some real heavy duty wheels to get anywhere in this town.”
He felt his smile tickle at his lips as he thought of what he could do to her car to make it handle this terrain, but maybe he shouldn’t do anything else to invite her displeasure. He glanced over at Angel. “Don’t worry. I can take you anywhere you need to go.”
She quirked a brow at him, showing him that sassy side of her that he loved. “Is that your way of saying that you can’t get the spare out of the trunk?”
He laughed. That spare was useless. “I promise you that you will be very happy with your car. It’ll be ready tomorrow.”
No matter how tonight ended.
“Oh.” She seemed shocked. Had she really not believed him capable of going through with his promise, or had no one else offered up their own two hands to serve her before? The thought disturbed him. She was amazing in every way. How had no one else in her life bothered to show her a mirror of her worth?
He would change that. Hopefully.
Porter swallowed the lump of worry trying to choke him as he parked near the clearing beside some logs. It was a ten-minute hike from here with a group of pools and small waterfalls at the end, but that had never been the main attraction for him, strangely. He’d had his share of laughs with Nash tricking their friends into believing in the Water Ghost. It was almost as good as hunting Snipes.
He winced. He probably could’ve ticked off a few friends that way, but they knew who he was, so it was less about them looking gullible and more about how he loved a good laugh.
Angel pulled out of his truck before he could get to her door, and he stifled a grin. She was jumpy since their kiss, but not because she hadn’t liked it. No, he’d decided against that being the case on their trip over. She’d been leaning towards him the whole way and watching him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.
Joke was on her… he wasalwayspaying attention when she was around.
Porter heaved the picnic basket into his arms, thinking of how he’d scrounged up their food this morning. Nash would’ve just put Kylee Morningstar on the job with his charming words like he’d done before, but Porter wanted this to be special. Already, Angel had added a pie to the mix. It was one of those chocolate cream ones, and it looked mouthwatering. The dessert would go perfectly with everything else that Porter had planned. He’d actually put as much thought into packing as he had for what they were doing today.
Normally, the Water Ghost was a great ice breaker… but this time, he was only trying to show Angel who he was, and why he might’ve taken things a step too far.
