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“She’s like a hundred and twenty years old. She won’t notice.” I shake my head but follow her anyway. Of course, I do. We walk around the block and cut through a side yard. There’s no fence, which helps our trespassing. Unfortunately, Rand put in a tall privacy fence when he had the pool put in.
“Climb on my shoulders,” I whisper, squatting down. Eliot looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Come on.” When she’s sitting squarely on my shoulders, I raise slowly so she can see into the yard.
“They’re sitting by the fire pit,” she whispers.
“Where’s the baby?”
“Must already be asleep because he’s not out here.”
“Good. Here.” I hand one of the bombs from the bucket to her. “Take two. You’ll have to fire fast so we can run.” I place another bomb in her hand. I feel it when she pulls her arm back and lets the first one fly. I also hear Brontë squeal when the first one hits her. Rand just grunts when she hits him.
“Eliot! You’re done,” Brontë yells as I lower Eliot back to the ground. We’re laughing so hard this time that it’s hard for us to stagger out of the neighbor’s yard.
“That was even better than Reed and Austen,” she says as we walk back toward her car. I only agreed to this if we kept it in the family.
“You know they’re already planning retribution, right?”
“Pssh. Bring it.” We slow our pace to a leisurely stroll. “I can’t believe you agreed to this.” She’s holding my hand.
“I can’t believe I did either. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the law enforcement manual about helping a citizen chalk bomb their siblings.”
I wouldn’t change tonight for the world though. I don’t care how much trouble we get in. I’m so madly in love with Eliot I would do anything she asks. I didn’t realize when I moved to this sleepy little town that I could find such happiness simply holding hands on the sidewalk.
“How many bombs do we have left?”
“Three maybe,” I say, digging through the bucket.
“Perfect. I have one more target.”
“It’s not your parents, is it? I don’t think I’ll ever get in good with your dad if I hurl a chalk bomb at him.”
“Please, my dad thinks you’re the best thing since sliced bread. But no, we won’t be hitting my parents. Even I don’t have that big of a death wish. Nope, I have someone else in mind.”
She pulls me through town until we’re standing at the back parking lot door of the bar I hauled her off the table at. Shoving me behind the nearest car, she pulls out her phone. I guess my biggest question is, why does she have the phone number for the bar memorized? Before I can ask, she slides the phone back into my pocket and grabs a bomb in each hand.
“This is for ratting me out,” she yells at Kevin when he steps outside. He takes the bombs hitting him square in the chest like a man. I’m more than a little impressed.
“Come on, Eliot,” he yells.
“You owed me, Kevin.”
“Fair enough,” he agrees, shaking his head. “Y’all want to come in for a beer?”
“Absolutely.” She unloads the last bomb at him. He takes that one too before holding the door for us. I shake his hand on the way by and shrug. What can I do? Eliot has a mind of her own. I’ve learned there’s not a lot I can do to change it. I think Kevin understands. She leads me to a table.
“What do you have against Kevin?” I ask. I’ll have to buy him a beer (or six) at some point.
“Nothing. He’s just fun to jack with. I do the bar’s taxes, so he knows I’ll give him a discount at tax season,” she answers. “It’s a pretty good trade-off for a little chalk in your hair.”
“This seems like a drink to match your personality,” Kevin says, setting a green drink in front of her. “My take on a Pain in the Ass.” He sets a beer in front of me. Smirking, he walks back to the bar.
“Don’t forget the cheese fries,” she yells after him. “See, it’s all just in fun.”
“Just in fun, huh?”
“Yeah, much like later when you put those handcuffs to good use.”
“Drink faster,” I demand, holding up her glass.
