Page 76 of Trusting Skulls

I grab the stuff. “Lead the way.”

“Oh, I can do it.”

Elizabeth bumps her hip against Lexie’s. “First rule of having a boyfriend – if he offers, let him.”

Lexie looks uncomfortable at the mention of me being her boyfriend, but I try not to take it personally. She’s been thrown into a whole new world in a short time. It’s all new to her.

“I had to downsize a little, but I think that’s a good thing,” she tells me as we enter her new room. “A fresh start.”

She points to the wall where she wants the shelf to hang, then she grabs her bag from the cabin. “I made that in woods class,” she tells me shyly.

“It’s good. Maybe you can get a job working with Jackson.”

It makes her laugh. “Okay, whatever. I know it’s not perfect, but I was pretty proud of myself. I made it for my dad, but he left it on the kitchen table. Eventually, I just put it away in my room.”

“So, this is its debut,” I say, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I guess it is.” She smiles as she digs in her bag. “I thought it would be a nice place to display all the wood carvings you’ve given me.”

“Perfect. Is this okay here?”

She nods, blinking back tears. “This is all so surreal. Having a new home, a fresh outlook, and a …” she pauses and takes a deep breath, “a boyfriend.”

I look over my shoulder at her and wink, holding nails in my mouth. Her cheeks turn bright pink, but I can tell she likes it by the giddy way she hugs herself.

While she’s filling the shelf, I lie back on the bed to watch. She carefully places each item after admiring it for a second or two.

“I think it’s you who should work with Jackson,” she says. “You’re so talented.”

“It’s a nice hobby, but I like working at the bike shop.”

“Oh shoot. We left our painting at the cabin.”

“I grabbed it. If you don’t mind, I was going to hang it in my room at the warehouse.”

She places the last item on the shelf and then sits down by my feet. “Yeah, I don’t have much room here anyway. I wonder how Brody and Daisy are doing.”

“I’m sure they’re fine.” I sit up and grab her hand, pulling her back until she falls on top of me. She laughs. “JD might kick me out if he thinks there’s some funny business going on in here.”

Just then, their golden retriever puppy jumps on the bed with us to join in the fun. He licks her face, making her giggle louder.

“Oh look, Max is on my side,” I tease, tickling her even more.

“Okay. Okay!” she squeals as she tries to get away from us.

I tickle her until JD does, in fact, come into the room.

“Am I going to have to kick your ass? Let her go before she pees her pants.”

She rolls away from me and off the bed. “Oh thank god you came to my rescue.” She rushes past him and into the bathroom.

He chuckles. “I told you she was about to piss herself.”

I follow him out of the room. “I’ll probably take off here in a bit. Do you think she’s good?”

JD stops and taps me on the chest. “She’s better than I’ve ever seen her, Ash. I think something’s finally clicked. But with that said, you know I’ll keep my eye on her. You worry about taking care of yourself.”

“I am, brother.”

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