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“Why?”
“I think my brother is going to fall for his ex’s bull crap; that’s why. He feels guilty and she’s going to play it for all she’s worth.”
“Ugh, I hope you’re wrong.”
“And the crack about going to see Val? I thought Chris was going to explode,” Dave said. “That is the last thing he wants—his children involved with Val. He doesn’t even want to be involved with Val.”
“And his kid took a liking to Annie; did you notice that? One look and he was all over her.”
“Well, I’m sure that will be enough reason for the ex to keep her distance, unless she wants him to cause trouble between Dad and his GF.”
“I can’t even imagine. Anyway, hopefully Annie will have a story to tell when I see her. Something juicy. At least everything seemed okay between her and Chris.”
“Yes, they seemed fine.”
After finishing painting, Justin and Chris cleaned the spray gun and loaded up Justin’s truck.
“Thank you, brother,” Chris said. “You just finished a week’s worth of painting in a couple of hours. I owe you.”
“You worked on my barn, so I owed you. It’s all good. Are you coming by tomorrow? We can go for a ride.”
“We’d love to come,” Chris said, answering for both.
“Chriscan go for a ride,” Annie said. “I’ll pass on that one.”
After his gear was stowed away, he got into his truck and pulled out of the driveway, then headed down the dirt road toward Bayou Cottage.
“I’m ready for a shower and a night out. What about you? Justin said there’s a zydeco contest at the Roadhouse if you’re in the mood. He wants to go but Maggie put the kibosh on it.”
Relief washed over Annie. She had worried that the meeting with the ex might have ruined his mood. He’d had periods where she sensed something was wrong but he wouldn’t admit anything.
“In the mood to dance with you? Always. Let’s go! We’re kid free until tomorrow night so we can drink and party and be obnoxious until at least nine.”
“Ha! You’re a riot. We can do better than that. How about ten?”
“Ten it is.”
They began cleaning up, folding drop cloths and washing brushing, preparing for the next painting day.
“I’m about ready to move in,” he said, looking around. “What do you think?”
“You can move in anytime. It’s your house.”
“When will you join me?”
“I guess when you’re sure you want me and my kid living with you full time,” Annie replied, chuckling.
“I’m sure I want you. Please move in with me,” Chris said, taking her hand to kiss.
“Okay, well, I guess if you’re sure, I can give my former father-in-law my thirty days to vacate notice so he can rent the place out. Either that or Steve will move in with his teenaged girlfriend.”
That made her laugh and she let it happen at Steve’s expense. Since Cindy had made an unexpected appearance, Annie no longer felt like she needed to hide her true feelings about Steve.
Chris looked down at her, concerned.
“What did you think of Cindy?”
“I guess I was a little shocked at how nervy she was, showing up like that out of nowhere. What if we had been inside, having sex? I mean it’s possible; we had just done it at my house not an hour earlier.”
