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I pull it open and read through the list. Case is right. There’s a lot of the typical bucket list stuff. Also plenty of things Case has already crossed off, including, I note with a snicker,Jump into a pool naked (at a party). Well, that makes sense. Still stupid, but makes sense. I skim my eyes over the remaining items until I get hung up on the last.
Befriend Winnie Sutton.My breath catches in my throat, and hot tears surge to the corners of my eyes. “Gah.”
“Yeah.”
“He wanted you to be my friend.”
“Correction: he wantedusto be friends. There’s an important difference. He was already your friend. He put that on there for me. He knew you and liked you, I know that. I can’t tell you how many times you do something or put me in my place, and I think,Walker would love this shit.”
I stare at the list, blinking but not seeing.
“Winnie? Say something, please.”
“I’ve always wanted to learn French.”
“Huh?”
“It says here,Learn a language other than English. Spanish would be more practical, especially in Texas, but I don’t care. I like how French sounds. It’s sexy. Want to learn it with me?”
“Winnie…,” he says warningly.
“Look. It’s fine. Do I feel extra pathetic your dead best friendbasically assigned you the task of being my friend? Sure. It’s pretty mortifying. But I know he meant well, and he likely never counted on you being so honest and showing me the list… so.”
“It was for me,” he cuts in quickly. “All of this stuff is for me. To survive losing him. After the bull, I kinda figured it all out. He was trying to give me directions. A contingency plan or whatever. I like plans. And maps and lists. Formulas, equations. He knew that about me and knew I was going to need a friend who could put me in my place. Please don’t be embarrassed. I’m glad he did it, and I’m glad we’re friends.”
I take a deep breath, releasing it slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
“So, French?”
A single dimple pops. “Oui.”
I pass the list back to him. “No more stupid, reckless stuff?”
He tosses the paper on the desk behind him. “You mean more reckless than facing down a bull? It’s all gravy from here.”
EighteenWINNIE
CASE
Qu’est-ce que le grille-pain a dit à la tranche de pain?
I open my phone and squint at the text, huffing a quiet laugh from where I’m riding in the back seat of Camilla’s pickup truck. It’s been two weeks since the big List Revelation, and I’m officially on my way out of town for the first time in, well, ever. Camilla invited Maria and me to tag along on her day trip down to a ranch outside Fort Worth to check out potential horses.
It’s also been two weeks since I offered to learn French with Case. Of course, I wasn’t aware Case had taken four years of French in high school and apparently specialized in dirty jokes. I’ve downloaded Duolingo onto my phone in an effort to catch up, but it’s been slow going.
Thank goodness for Google Translate.
I study the foreign words again, identifyingpain, which I know is bread, andle grille-pain, which is presumably a toaster?Which makes no sense. I give up, copying the words into translate.
What did the toaster say to the loaf of bread?
After a minute, I cave.
WINNIE
I honestly have no idea, but I am sure it’s salacious…
