Page 30 of Doing It for Love

“Pit-Lab mix.”

“Gotta be seventy pounds or more.”

“Hundred pounds, actually. Most of his bulk is covered by that poor pillow right now.”

I finally let out that laugh, and then hear a fake cough behind us. I look over my shoulder at my future mother-in-law, who has decided to fix the picture on the wall I was standing next to while muttering under her breath. Maybe she’s frosty to everyone. She didn’t even hug her son, and he hasn’t been home in over a year.

“Is it warmer out here than it is in there, or is it just me?” Landon jokes when we step outside. It’s pretty chilly, so I take his hand and pump it twice. He squeezes once.

The back of the house faces west, so the sunset casts a nice orangey glow across a wooden-fenced yard. There’s a massive garden along the right side, pumpkins and squash overflowing. Looks like someone has a green thumb. I can’t even take care of bamboo, and that stuff is supposed to last forever.

“My dad’s.” Landon nods to the garden. “He’s good, huh? If I had the patience for it…and a yard, I’d probably want to do that, too.”

“Garden?” That’s a surprise. “What would you plant?”

His arms circle my waist, and I rest against his chest. His heart is pounding, but slows into a gentle rhythm.

“Corn. I’d grow enough to make a maze.”

“And shoot a horror movie in it.”

“Not a bad idea.”

“What’s that over there?”

“Tree house.”

“Is it stable?”

“It was when I was twelve.”

“Did you ever make out with anyone in there?”

“I didn’t have that much game.”

I turn around and give him a wicked smile. “Your tree house has not seen any action.” I pull on his arm. “Let’s go take its virginity.”

He lets me drag him across the yard, and I internally happy dance. Maybe we can hide out in the tree all weekend.

“Be careful on the ladder,” he says when I step up on the wood plank nailed to the giant trunk.

“I’ll be fine.”

“The boards are a bit loose.”

“Maybe a little, but nothing I can’t handle.”

“Put your foot closer to the middle there.”

“Ouch! Oh shit!”

“You okay?”

“The boards are loose.”

“I told you.”

“I almost died!”

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