Page 46 of A Dream for Daphne

“You’re making me feel old saying that,” he said. “But it’s good. Gets me clean and helps me feel that way. I tend to scrub up good.”

Her hand went to his arm. “I bet you get dry skin in the winter.”

He shrugged. “If it’s bad enough I put something on it.”

“Blossoms has all sorts of nice products,” she said. “Even Aster uses some of the men’s lines.”

“I want to growl and say no way, but Easton is using them. I noticed them in the house when he lived there.”

“To help out when you went to stay with your mother,” she said. It was nice to see that the loyalty ran deep in his family.

Something she had with Aster, but that was it.

“Yes,” he said. “He did me a solid stepping in that way. And now he’s got himself one hell of a woman out of it. He should be thanking me more.”

She smiled. “I’m sure he thanks you enough,” she said.

They climbed off the boat after waiting for everyone else to get off, then moved to his truck.

“What do you want to do now?” he asked. “It’s almost three.”

“I don’t care,” she said. “We can go back to your place if you want and just relax. I don’t need to be entertained all the time. It’s been a fun day and I enjoyed it. Or if you’ve got something going on, I can go home.”

“Nothing going on,” he said. “Unless you need to do more research on word find games.”

She frowned. “What?” she asked.

“You said you are trying to find hobbies. It’s the first one that came to my mind. My mother does word find games.”

“Got it,” she said. “I have been trying to find things to kill the time, but I wouldn’t do that. I can’t sit still and that requires it. If I was going to sit, I’d rather make something useful. Like a blanket or paint. Though I can’t paint.”

“You could start cooking as a hobby. I’ll be a taste tester for you.”

“I do like to cook,” she said. “And I have been spending a lot of time on new recipes. It would be nice to share with someone.”

“Sweet,” he said with a massive smirk on his face as he turned to her in the truck.

“When is Laurel coming back?” she asked.

“No clue,” he said. “Probably Sunday to go to work on Monday. I don’t know if Easton is coming with her. I don’t talk to them all that much.”

“I thought you were close,” she said.

“We text but not about those things,” he said. “Maybe guys just aren’t that way.”

“I text with Aster, but not much. I think we texted more when I lived in Texas.”

“Because he was probably worried about you. Now he’s not so worried.”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “Because he can come to save me. I’m sick of needing saving.”

He reached his hand over to grab hers. “I won’t save you, I promise. Unless you fall into the water and don’t know how to swim. Or if a big snake is coming toward you, I can get it with a shovel. Slam it down and chop its head right off.”

“I can do that myself,” she said, waving her hand. “Do you know how many snakes are in Texas?”

“See,” he said. “Perfect. I don’t like bugs. Will you take care of bugs for me?”

“You’re being silly again, but sure, bugs don’t bother me. Not much does. I just do what needs to be done in life.”

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