Page 9 of Fight Or Flight

“Can you find out how Anne feels about snakes?”

Amy let out a snort. “Probably the same way everyone feels. Terror. Disgust. Hatred.”

Adam laughed. “I’ll put out some feelers.”

“Thanks.” Ethan stood from the porch, grabbed his suitcase, threw it inside the door, then locked up.

“What are you doing?” Amy asked.

“I’m going to pick up Dad’s trailer and get these trees off my lawn.”

Amy stood in place, looking uncomfortable.

“It’s okay, Ames. I can get this done and take on all the best man of honour stuff, too. I’ll even drop by your place on the way and help you with the succulents.”

Amy’s head dropped.

“Hey,” he said, tapping her arm. “I will.”

“Yeah. I know you will. You’ve never let me down before.”

“Come on,” Adam told her, throwing a brotherly arm around her shoulders. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

But Amy refused to move. Her eyebrows drew together, and the knuckles on her clasped hands turned white. “There’s something else.”

He and Adam both stared her down. Amy would eventually say what was bothering her, so he crossed his arms and waited. Adam wasn’t capable of waiting.

“Spit it out, you!” he shouted.

“Lindsay called,” she said with a small voice.

“When? I told you not to answer the phone if she calls!” Adam said.

“This morning, when you were off flirting with the florist,” Amy said.

“Oh.” Adam backed down, looking sheepish.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “And?”

Amy began pacing back and forth. This didn’t look good.

“Well, I didn’t think she’d still come to the wedding. I only invited her as a plus one for you. But I guess I wrote her name on the invitation instead of ‘plus one,’ and she assumed her invitation stood.”

“And you relieved her of that ridiculous assumption, right?!” Adam demanded.

“Well . . . I tried, but she’s very forceful.”

Adam let out a string of curses that made Amy recoil, then looked over at Ethan. A thousand words passed silently in his look. Ethan was sure that, if Adam could have, he would’ve screamed, “This is what you get for trying to be nice!”

Ethan ignored him. “So she’s still coming?”

“Yes, but there’s more.”

Adam swore again. “What else could there possibly be?”

“She, uh, asked if she could bring someone.”

“Who?” Ethan and Adam asked in unison.

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