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Kurt jabbed at the wings where the devices in question had been. “Sawyer said they were messing with the remote control, and they had to go.”
Sawyer said… His name hit harder than I cared for. I was already over the conversation with Gage yesterday—I understood why he’d done what he did—but that didn’t mean I was over hating Sawyer.
Disliking, maybe. It was hard to think one hundred percent poorly of him if he’d helped Kurt.
I couldn’t believe I’d made a rookie mistake like forgetting that the bombs might interfere with the RF. “What if we used plastic instead of aluminum?” I asked.
“Will plastic still destroy the zombies?”
“Zombies eat brains, right?” Sawyer’s voice came from behind me.
What the fuck was he doing here? Right, I left Terrence in charge this morning, and he didn’t seem capable of stopping Sawyer from wandering through the store.
Kurt was nodding enthusiastically. “They eat brains and they bite people and they invade France.”
“But they can’t bite through plastic,” Sawyer said.
“And they can’t do anything if the bomb blows them up, regardless of what it’s made from.” I kept my voice pleasant but fixed Sawyer with a glare. “Can I help you?” I swore to God if he said just hear me out…
“I’m hoping I can help both of you.” Sawyer’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “This young man suggested that if I tell you I know a little bit about RC vehicles”—
“And robots,” Kurt cut him off.
—“and robots, that you’d let me help with his project today.”
No. Absolutely not. I was not spending the day doing this with Sawyer. I didn’t want him tainting the experience for me.
“Can he please, Evie?” Kurt turned wide eyes on me. “He’s really smart, and he also knows more about zombies than anyone else ever. I bet he’s hunted them.”
“I have.” Sawyer hadn’t moved past the doorway.
And I couldn’t turn down Kurt. Not with such a reasonable request. “As long as Mr. Rawlings behaves, he can stay.”
“I promise to be a good boy, Ms. Young.” The smile Sawyer gave me was all smug, and did wicked things to my insides regardless.
“Kurt—go grab two-quarter inch-by-three PVC elbow joints from aisle seven,” I said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kurt saluted and ran from the room.
I stepped closer to Sawyer, and ignored the idiotic way my body reacted to the scent of his cologne. I crooked a finger, and he bent his head closer to mine. “Truce for him. And then you go away.” My voice was barely a whisper.
Sawyer stepped back. “I agree to the truce.”
I’d take it for now, and kick him out when Kurt was gone.
There was one more thing I needed to do first, though. I called Elaina, to make sure she was okay with it… and possibly to let her be the one to tell Kurt no when she decided she didn’t want Sawyer near her son.
To my surprise, Elaina said, “I heard Sawyer was really good with him at the picnic, and Kurt hasn’t stopped talking about how much he knows about robots and zombies. As long as you’re there with them, I’m fine with it.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I was too stunned to say much else.
Kurt returned quickly with the parts in question and handed them to me. “What are those for?”
“Not sure yet. But we’ll figure it out as we go.” One of the things I was trying to teach him was improvisation. Parts could be made specifically for a project, but they could also frequently be found in the most unexpected places.
“What’s that?” Kurt pointed at the wall.
It was the framed sketch Gage gave me for my birthday, and seeing it hanging above my desk still made me smile. “It’s the first robot I ever designed.”
