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"Come on, guys,” Charlie yelled, running toward Clint and the van he'd started via the remote starter. Clint had a nice van converted to suit his needs as a paraplegic, replete with a lift for his chair and altered controls so he could drive. Birdie rose as Clint ordered Biscuit to the front porch. Oftentimes, Clint took the service dog with him but since Jake and Eva would be with him, the dog wasn't necessary.
Eva and Jake walked down the steps. "Why did you come?" Eva asked.
Jake didn't look at her. He didn't want her to see his jealousy. "Because I need that gift."
She stopped halfway down the ramp. Turning back, Jake noted she'd arched one elegant brow. Yes. Elegant. Not that he'd ever noticed before.
"Seriously. I have to get Dad a birthday present."
"We're just friends," she repeated like a mantra.
"Me or Clint?"
"Both."
Jake ignored that and called out, "Shotgun."
"Damn it," Eva shouted after him. "I'm the guest. You're the tagalong. You ride in the back."
Jake smiled all the way to the front seat.
EVA SETHER funnel cake on the table next to Birdie and plopped down. On the stage in front of them, Totally Toad, a Bluegrass revival band, strummed the banjo, making toes tap and hands clap. Eva, however, was focused on digging into the fried, powder-sugared goodness in front of her.
"What's up with you and Uncle Jake?"Birdie asked, taking a slurp of a melted sno-ball.
Eva almost choked, but held it together enough to swallow the confection that suddenly tasted too cloying. "What?"
"He looks at you all the time. Like he wants a bite of you."
"What?"
"I figure you know what I'm talking about. You're weird around him, too. All tip toey.”
"No, I'm not. We're just friends."
"Like my mom was just friends with Leif? Are you two hanging out, too? 'Cause that's what she called it."
"Called what?"
Birdie merely wiggled her eyebrows.
"Birdie," Eva said, her voice rising. Good heavens.
"What? I'm thirteen. I know about s-e-x."
"Your uncle and I aren't having s-e-x." Eva felt silly spelling it out, but she needed to spell that out. What had happened in her bathroom last weekend wasn't sex. Technically it was foreplay. She thought. "We're friends in the true sense of the word. Maybe you're just seeing me different because of Charlie.”
”Why would I do that?" she asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Uh, because I seem more, uh, I don't know..."
Birdie reached over and ripped off a piece of Eva's funnel cake. "You mean like in a motherly way, huh? I guess I can see that. You treat him like my mother treats me. Have you licked your thumb and rubbed something off his face yet?"
Eva shook her head.
"Oh, good. Kids hate that. And it's okay if you do like Uncle Jake. Not a big deal 'cause all the ladies like him. He's that kind, you know?"
"No. I don't."
