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Chapter Twenty-Four
“Yap, yap!”
Or something like that.
Emily bit down a smile. Lizardman was trying out his bark. It would be impressive someday.
She put down her guitar. Dakota and Lizardman had been exploring the nearby hills together. There was a stream just west of Millie’s place that emptied into a gully, and she listened to the child’s voice echo through the forested area.
Her eyes alighted on the water cannon that the boy had left within arm’s reach. Maybe she could take a little break from her writing. Stretching, she pushed her feet into her flipflops. The heat of the afternoon had forced her to change into her jean shorts.
The hot summer months made it hard to stay decent while keeping cool, but she did her best. No matter how much Mia tried to pass her off as an experienced woman of the world, she really was a church-going country girl… with a mischievous streak. Hearing the child’s laughter from the gully, she snatched up the water cannon.
It was time for a work break.
Following the sounds of splashing, she spied the child below her with the dripping puppy. Lizardman’s fur had plastered against his skinny body, truly making him look like a drowned rat. The boy balanced over logs, collecting reeds from the water. West’s dog leaped through the air, his mouth wide open as he tried to catch butterflies. How adorable was that? The winged creatures seemed to flock to the little guy, like they knew how cute it was to see something so innocent trying to catch such grace.
Trying to figure out her best line of attack, Emily hid behind a granite boulder near the forest opening. Her foot snapped a twig. Lizardman’s floppy ears swung around his head, and he rushed over to investigate. He immediately found her. His nose pressed into her stomach, and she laughed. “Don’t give me away, Lizardman.”
More footsteps came for her, to the side, not where she’d expected Dakota to chase after her, but she was ready for the kid. She stretched to her feet with her water cannon and came face to face with Nash.
That was even better. She shot him straight in the jaw.
He wiped away the water dribbling down his face to his chest. The sparkle in those brilliant blue eyes promised revenge. “Dakota!” he shouted. “We’ve got an invader!”
“Get her!” Dakota cried out from the water where she’d last seen him. She should’ve known that he hadn’t sneaked up on her so fast.
“Nashisthe invader!” she called out to the boy. “I’m on your side, Dakota. Help me get him!”
Lizardman barked out joyously behind her while she squirted Nash again. Shrieking out with laughter, she dodged around him while he wiped at his eyes. She rushed for the creek, so that she could fill up her cannon again. She listened to Nash’s boots splashing behind her through the puddles until the sound of water got deeper as he landed into the creek after her.
She ran through the falls. He’d never follow her through that. She was wrong. Not wasting any time, she dunked her cannon into the water to fill it up like a dropper, but she dropped it as Nash’s arms fastened around her.
“Cheater!” she cried. She wriggled away, and noticed that he’d grabbed her fallen water cannon. Sure, she was soaked to the skin, but she could never allow him to get her with the water blast, not without fighting back. Seeing Dakota’s water weapon lying to the side, she snatched it up. It was full.
Excellent.
Turning, she aimed it at Nash. He slowed. “Put it down,” he said, acting like they were in the middle of a standoff. She bit down her lip at how hilarious he was being. “You don’t want to do this,” he said.
Oh, she really,reallydid!
“Stand back,” she said. “I’ve got demands.”
“Demands?”
“Yeah!” And now she had to think of some off the cuff. “You have to leave my peacocks alone onMoondoogle.”
“I’ve never touched your precious peacocks.”
That was kinda true.
“Okay,” she said, “then stop releasing the zombies on me.”
“Never.” His finger caressed the trigger of his water gun.
She had to stop him from shooting. Her honor depended on it. “Fine, then you have to roast my hot dog over the fire tonight. Two.”
“Two?” His lips curled up. They hadn’t talked about starting any fires tonight, but it seemed like a fun idea. She’d been staring at the fire pit all day in between practice and lyric writing, daydreaming about relaxing near a campfire when it got dark. She might’ve even written a song about it. “Three,” he startled her by saying.
