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“First, there’s this place my daddy used to take us for Sunday afternoon picnics,” she said. “It’s like, five miles down the road here. Is that okay?” She switched her gaze to him but didn’t wait for him to answer.
“Second, baby doll?”
He burst out laughing, and that felt so incredibly good that Mike thought for the first time since he’d woken up in a hospital in Germany that he’d be happy again. “Hey, it worked for that guy onCriminal Minds.”
“I don’t watch that show,” she said.
He reached over and took her hand in his. “You should.”
“We’ve had this conversation before.”
“Yes, we have.” He couldn’t stop grinning about it too, and he didn’t care if that made him look like a fool. He’d likely already sounded like one, and Gerty hadn’t told him to get back in the truck with his father and get on home.
“Tell me about the doctor’s appointment,” she said.
Mike’s smile tapered then. “My momma took notes, but the long and short of it is I need a shoulder replacement. They went over all the risks, what the surgery is like, the recovery, all of that.”
“And?”
“And I’m having a shoulder replacement in three weeks.”
Gerty looked over to him again, this time holding his gaze for a lot longer than a breath of time. Her eyes rounded, and surprise shone deep within. “Really?”
He grinned again, because a shoulder replacement could be a new life for him. A new beginning, one that wasn’t full of pain and scar tissue and endless drugs. “Yeah,” he said. “They had an opening as someone had literally canceled that morning and the surgery scheduler hadn’t had time to call anyone and move them up. So I slid into the spot.”
“Mikey, that’s so great,” she said, her surprise dissolving into a cheerful smile. “I mean, I’m assuming it’s great.”
“It’s great,” he said. “But, Gerty…Mikey?”
“Oops, I’m—”
His laughter cut off her apology, and she dang near swerved them into the ditch on the side of the road as she swatted at his chest.
“Hey, hey,” he said, still laughing. “I’m injured, baby doll. Don’t be driving so crazy.” He grinned at her and then out the windshield, and it just felt so…good to not be worrying about every little thing all the time. “You said I didn’t need to hold on.”
“You don’t.” She settled her fingers between his again, and Mike brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.
“I don’t care if you call me Mike or Mikey,” he said. “Either is fine, but don’t be tellin’ anyone else that.”
“My lips are sealed,” she said. “And I suppose baby doll isn’t so bad…if it’s only you callin’ me that.”
“Deal,” he said.
“Deal,” she repeated, and then she yanked her hand away and applied the brakes in a very hard fashion, once again telling him he should’ve held on to the handle above the window, no matter what she said.
“Sorry, sorry,” she said. “This is just…our…turn.” She made it while he employed all of his abdominal muscles to hold him in his seat, and then added, “It snuck up on me.”
Once they settled back onto four wheels and the world wasn’t so drenched in centrifugal force, Mike said, “You mean you haven’t been out here for a while.”
She glanced over to him, an edge in her eyes. “No…I haven’t.”
“Mm,” he said.
“Mm?” she repeated. “What does that mean?”
“It means your daddy was waiting for me when I got back from my appointment, and he wanted to know how he could get you to talk to him.”
Gerty clamped her mouth shut, her jaw jutting out. Fire danced in her eyes, which she quickly focused back on the road. He wasn’t complaining about that, but Mike had seen this tactic from her before.
