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Ryder whistled.
“Seriously, bro. One more word and I’m rearranging your teeth,” Sawyer snapped.
“You’re into her. You never get angry when we needle you about a woman, but you are now.”
Sawyer’s phone buzzed, and glad of the distraction, he answered it.
“What?” he said when he saw the caller ID.
“Where are you two going?” Zoe asked him. “I just saw you drive past Mom’s.”
“Clearly out.”
“Can I come?”
“Turn around. We’re picking up Zoe because she’s bored and nosey,” Sawyer said.
“All true. Cool. I’ll be outside waiting.” His sister cut the call as Ryder U-turned.
“She’s going to want to talk about aesthetics and colors though, Sawyer. You know what Zoe’s like when she gets started.”
“She’s an interior designer. Chances are you’re right. And don’t bring up the Birdie subject.”
“So, there is something to talk about?” Ryder smirked.
“I’ll tell Nancy that it was you who broke that window in the Circle Left.”
“I was ten, bro. I’m sure she’s moved on since then,” Ryder said.
“Nancy’s really not one to forget.”
Zoe was standing outside on the road when they arrived. Denim cutoffs, a ball cap, and a blue tank top. She looked like the teenager who’d caused her brothers some gray hairs in her youth.
Sawyer got out, and she slid into the middle spot because he was not jamming up against Ryder.
“Where are we going?” Zoe said, taking one of the last two donuts in the container.
“Those are mine.”
“You have two in there, and I’m sure you’ve already eaten two. I’m looking out for your waistline,” his sister said.
“My waistline is just fine,” Sawyer muttered.
“We’re going to Limpets Bakery,” Ryder said.
“Why?” Zoe wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t that place infested and just a front for old man Limpet to gossip and play cards all day?”
“I’m pretty sure the infested thing is a front to stop people from visiting him now that I think about it,” Ryder said. “I’ve never seen a rodent of any kind there.”
“And I repeat. Why?” Zoe asked.
That muscle in Ryder’s jaw clenched, a sure sign he was nervous.
“You know I like to bake, right?”
“Well, duh,” Zoe said, licking the caramel off her fingers. “No one can beat you, but don’t tell Mom that, okay? And maybe not anyone who works in food in Lyntacky either.”
“Thanks,” Ryder said.
