Page 18 of Shit Happens in Ivydell

“For good ones, yes.”

I don’t specify how far because I know she’s hungry, and I didn’t bring her any snacks for the ride. And we’re still almost an hour away. Before I came to Ivydell, if anyone had told me I’d be willing to drive an hour and a half for a burger, I’d have told them they had me confused with someone else.

But once you live in Ivydell for a while, you get used to putting in extra effort for things you really want.

We could get burgers from somewhere closer, but I’d regret it.

I try to avoid regret these days.

Her sigh becomes a yawn. The evening sun streams in through the windshield to light flames in her hair. That’s how it looks, like it could catch fire at any minute. I reach over and touch the strands next to her face, let a section glide between my fingers. It’s soft and warm, just like the rest of her.

“If you play with my hair, I’ll fall asleep.”

“Always, or just right now?”

“Any time.”

“Now I know how to tame you.”

The teasing shimmer in her eyes contradicts her sweet smile. “Good luck with that.”

But she is sweet just the same, no matter how fierce she tries to sound.

We pass cows, and she says, “Cows!” She does the same when we pass goats and sheep. When we pass bison, she calls them buffaloes, and I can’t let it go.

“Those were technically bison.”

“That is technically pedantic.”

“No, they’re a different species.”

“Everybody calls those bison buffaloes.”

“Then everybody is wrong.”

“Hey, you worry about wine. Stay in your lane.”

“I didn’t realize you were a bison rancher.”

She scoffs. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

That’s true, but I want to change it. “What’s your favorite flower?”

“All of them. I really love sunflowers. Calla lilies. Peonies. Plumeria. And birds of paradise.”

“That’s a flower?”

“Yeah.” She pulls up an image on her phone and turns it toward me.

“That’s an aggressive-looking flower.”

“They’re gorgeous.”

“Out of all the flowers you named, I only know what a sunflower looks like.”

“I’ll show you pictures of all the others while we eat our burgers.”

As promised, she shows me examples of all the flowers she mentioned, plus dozens more. She really likes flowers. I hope the desert is in bloom before she leaves.

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