Page 4 of For Fox Sake

The limb pulls back to its owner.

Its extremely attractive owner.

Fuck my life.

He has dark hair pushed back from his head, disheveled like he’s been running his fingers through it, or he just rolled out of bed.

Our eyes meet, his warm and brown, mine stressed, humiliated, and exhausted. My mortification rises as I absorb his striking features: aquiline nose and strong chin accentuated by scruff lining his jaw.

I’m painfully aware of my own plain brown hair, cut short because it’s the easiest and most efficient style, the lack of makeup on my face, and the dirt smudging my shirt. I had to help Priscilla pull some weeds after lunch and I never had a chance to change or clean up or refresh my deodorant.

And now this handsome stranger is paying for my food.

I swallow the shame of it down long enough to speak. “Thank you so much. I’m so sorry. I can pay you back.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Seriously, if you give me your information, I’ll get the money to you as soon as possible.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The corner of his mouth kicks up and every female in a fifty-foot radius sighs.

Except Ari.

“Momma,” she says, tugging on my arm. “I have to poop.”

I sigh. “That about sums up my whole day perfectly.”

Hot Guy barks out a laugh.

I give him a wry smile while dying inside.

Why me?

* * *

The crab problem ends up being the easiest part of my day. We’re able to capture them by opening the fridge just wide enough to hold up a cooler and corral them inside. It only takes ten minutes because eventually, the suckers crawl right in. Priscilla only releases three blood-curdling screams during the whole process.

We avoid having to explain the situation to the renter, because he still hasn’t arrived by the time Ari and I leave with the cooler, taking it out to the nearest river to release the crabs.

Three hours later, I finally get a little peace and quiet.

I sit on the old beige couch in my living room with two packages of fruit snacks and take a deep breath, slumping back against cushions soft from years of use.

Ari is finally asleep. Dinner was chicken strips, fries, and fruit salad because I only had enough bandwidth to open and shut the oven.

Then it was bath time, followed by letting Ari watch a half hour of Bluey before bedtime.

But that’s never the end of it. She got up twice to go to the bathroom and another time to get a drink of water.

The girl is always thirstiest at nine p.m.

But now, finally, the house is silent. I’ve put in a load of laundry, including Ari’s cape, and now it’s time to unwind. My mind circles back, recapping the events of the day.

I can’t believe Samantha is pregnant.

I can’t believe people left live freaking crabs in a rental.

I can’t believe I lost my wallet and some hot guy bought me groceries today.

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