AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You want me to make y’all dinner tonight? I can bring that fried chicken of mine you love so much.” She glances down at Maven with a faker smile than she gave me. “Didn’t you say it was your favorite,honey?”
Maven shakes her head. “My grammy’s fried chicken is myfavorite.”
Dallas glares at Cindy. “As much as I’d love to chat and deny your company, we have places to be. Enjoy ourday.”
“Call me,” she sings out tohim.
This time, she wraps her arm around his, and he pulls out of her grip, narrowing his eyes onher.
“Stop.” He gives her his back and grabs Maven around the waist. “You ready to go,sweetheart?”
I throwCindythe dirtiest look I can manage before getting into thetruck.
She brings him dinner? He said he cooks everynight.
Dallas gets into the truck and leans into my space. “Don’t let your head go there. Give me the benefit of the doubt, and we’ll talk aboutit.”
I nod. My heart aches with jealousy, terror, andbetrayal.
Dallas starts the truck with fire in hiseyes.
* * *
“Walkers! Walkers! Walkers!”Maven chants twenty minutes into the drive home. “Daddy, youpromised!”
Dallas pats my thigh. “Youhungry?”
“The waiters are rude to you at Walkers!” Maven says. “It’sso, so, so, sofunny! They told Daddy he had a nose bigger than a rhino’s horn onetime.”
I laugh and twist in my seat to smile at her. “No way.” I fake lower my voice and place my hand on the side of my mouth. “I totally see what they’re talking aboutthough.”
Maven bursts into a fit oflaughter.
“Hey now,” Dallas cuts in. “That’s supposed to be the part where you stick up for your dad and argue that I don’t have a nose like a rhino.” His hand moves to rest on my leg this time when I turn back around. “You cool withstopping?”
“I’m not passing on this, rhinoman.”
* * *
Maven and Dallassit across from me in thebooth.
Walkers is an old-fashioned diner where the waiters wear ridiculous uniforms with unusual, most likely made-upnames.
The waitress tells me I’m cheap when I order a water. Maven cracksup.
She says Dallas isn’t man enough for real beer when he orders a root beer. Maven cracksup.
She gladly takes Maven’s order for a milkshake without saying a word. Maven still cracksup.
At least they’re nice tokids.
Not only does Maven take over all the conversation, telling us everything she did at camp, but she also takes my mind off what happened withCindy.
Fucking Cindy.I can’t be pissed at Dallas for hanging out with another woman when we’re not officially anything. I can’t call dibs on him just because I’m carrying hisbabies.
Wait … yes, Ican.
I can because, last night, he was in mybed.
