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Hayley stepped off to the side as he strode into the living room. “What are you doing? What’s that?”
“I forgot the stereo,” he told her, setting it down on the couch. “When I re-did the paint and the carpet, I took everything out and stuck it in the garage and when I put everything back, I forgot the radio.”
She frowned at the box. “It has tape on it.”
He glanced back at her. “Huh?”
“Tape,” she said, nodding at the box. “It’s taped.”
Chris looked at the box. “Well, of course it has tape on it. I didn’t want anything like dust or spiders or whatnot to get into it,” he said in a slightly irritated tone. He took out a pocket knife and slit the tape on the top. He opened the flaps and lifted out the packing.
“It’s in Styrofoam,” she pointed out, smiling.
“Damn it, Slick. Yes. It’s in Styrofoam. That shit is not biodegradable and I happen to be very Eco-conscious, okay? So I just put it back in the box.”
Hayley nodded. “Also so it wouldn’t get damaged. Sitting in your garage.”
“Exactly,” he snapped. He picked up the stereo and walked into the kitchen. Hayley followed him and watched as he set the radio on the counter and leaned down underneath the cabinet to plug it in next to the coffee maker.
“There’s tape on the stereo, too,” she pointed out.
“What?”
He looked as she pointed to the red manufacturer’s tape holding the CD door closed. He growled. “Slick, are you gonna bust my god damn balls every time I-” He didn’t finish his thought because she hugged him. An honest to God hug. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, breathing in her delicate scent.
“Thank you,” she said into his chest.
“Nothin’ to thank me for,” he insisted. “It was in the garage.” His hand fingered one of her silky locks of hair. “And I know how much you like music. Always dancing at the bar like you do.”
“Don’t look at my butt.”
“Yeah, I’m not gonna lie. That’s not a possibility, Slick.”
********************
A week later, Hayley was sweeping the front porch when Chris came out for work. She smiled at him. “Got an extra for tonight,” he called to her from his driveway.
“What?”
“Convinced Jimmy to come to Poker Night tonight. We’re knocking off early to go get him and bring him down,” he told her, pleased as hell that he was finally making some progress with the sour bastard.
Hayley nearly dropped the broom. “What? Why did you you tell me?!”
He frowned. “I just did,” he pointed out.
“I mean before now!” she shouted. Chris looked around to see if she’d woken any neighbors with her harpy-like shrieking.
“I- look, Slick, it’s not a big deal. It’s-”
“Not a big deal!” she protested. She tossed the broom against the door and marched down the stairs. “Shooter Sullivan, it’s a very big deal that your brother is coming to town. And you should have told me before now so I could plan something special. Now I’ve got to go to the store after work and I may not have enough time to get everything ready by the time you get back. In the future, I need more notice when your family comes to town!”
Chris grinned and half saluted her. “Yes, Ma’am.” Then his face softened. “Hayley do you need any money for this extravaganza you’re planning?” he asked, already reaching for his wallet.
Hayley shook her head and waved him off. “No. No, no, no. I’ll be fine. You just remember that I need advanced notice for special occaisions,” she admonished.
“Will do,” he promised.
Hayley was half-distracted at work all day, quizzing Maria and Milo on the ins and outs of New Orleans. She’d never been there personally. Maria admitted she’d been there once for Mardi Gras 15 years ago, but all she remembered of the trip was a whiskey drink called Sazerac and a hot jazz player and somehow ending up with about three dozen strings of beads. Hayley didn’t comment. She clocked out half an hour early with Maria’s permission and practically ran to the grocery store.
At a little after 7, the sound of the Hummer pulling into Chris’ driveway brought Hayley out of the kitchen and peeking out the blinds for a glimpse of Easy Turnbull. He appeared shorter than Chris, but not by much. He did have a bit of a limp, she was sorry to notice, and made a mental note to ignore it. She packed everything up in bags and headed out the front door.
“Hi!” she called out, not really able to wave to Jimmy with her arms full.
He looked taken aback at her. And mumbled something she didn’t really hear. Hawk and Tex took some of the bags from her and she continued on toward Chris’ front porch.
“Hi, I’m Hayley!” she gushed.
