Page 59 of Take a Hike
“Wow.” Lou leaned back in her chair. “I mean, she’s not exactlywrong, but it’ll still be fun to foil her plan.”
Charlie’s brain spun at a hundred miles an hour as a plan began to take shape. “Rather than foil it, how about weredirectit? Lou, how’re your acting skills?”
“Rusty but still solid.” Lou grinned. “I love when you Pax sisters visit. It’s always so muchfun.”
***
“Sooo…”
Charlie groaned softly but with great feeling. “Of course you’re going to start this when I’m stuck in a ceiling with you.”
Despite the dim light in the ceiling soffit, she clearly saw her sister’s wicked grin. “This is the perfect time to get all thedetails. What else do we have to do while waiting for our wannabe assassin to show?”
“We could talk about the case?” Charlie suggested, even though she knew it was no use. Fifi had a firm grip on this topic, and she wasn’t about to let it go. Charlie was surprised her sister hadn’t pressed her for details earlier actually.
“Orrrrrrr…we could talk about you and your grumpy firefighter.”
“Orrrrrrr,” Charlie mimicked her sister, “we could talk about you and your stalker husband.”
“Sure.” As soon as Fifi cheerfully agreed, Charlie winced at her mistake. “Sometimes, Bennett likes to do this thing with his ton—”
“Okay!” Charlie yelped louder than she should have. She was just that desperate. “What do you want to know?” Before her sister could speak, she quickly qualified that question. “I know nothing about his tongue abilities.” She paused. “Fine, I knowsomethings about his tongue abilities, but nothing I’m going to share with you.”
“So you two have…?”
Charlie couldn’t see very well in the dim light, but she could almostfeelthe way Fifi was suggestively bouncing her eyebrows and had to laugh. “No. Just made out a little.”
“Yeah? How was it?”
“Nice.”
“Nice?” Fifi sounded disappointed. “With all his smoldering attitude, I figured it’d be better thannice.Good, at the very least.”
“Fine.” The word burst from Charlie as she realized she’d been dying to talk to someone about the previous night. “It wasamazing. The militia guys could’ve run right up to his truck, and I wouldn’t have noticed.” She paused. “Okay, I would’ve noticed, because I’m not an idiot, but I wouldn’t have cared, which also makes me sound like an idiot, so I guess I’m an idiot now. Kieran’s lips sucked out my brain apparently.”
“Um…ew?” Fifi commented after a moment.
“You asked for it, wanting to know all about myfeelings.”
“I’m fine with hearing about your feelings, but the Kieran-lip-sucking thing is gross.”
“Obviously, you’ve never made out with Kieran if you feel that way.” Charlie blinked at the conflicting emotions raging through her from the thought of her sister kissing the fireman, gave up on trying to make sense of her new, Kieran-muddled self, and laughed. “But I don’t really want to talk about my feelings either. Can wepleasediscuss the case?”
“Fine,” Fifi said, but then ruined it. “I just need to say one last thing first.”
Charlie groaned.
“I’m happy for you.” Fifi reached over and gave Charlie’s arm a pat. “I feel so grateful for finding Bennett, who makes me really happy and…brain-sucked, so I’m hoping you’ll find that too.”
“Is brain-sucked really going to be a thing?” Even as she asked, Charlie knew it was too late to stop it.
“Yes.”
Charlie sighed before giving her sister a return pat. “Thankyou. I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy, and I appreciate that you want me to be equally brain-sucked.Nowcan we talk about the case?”
“Want to go check out lockboxes around where Mom was picked up once this is all over?” She gestured awkwardly at the soffit space around them, stirring up the dust.
Charlie squeezed her nose to stop a sneeze as she nodded but then shook her head. “Someone’ll have to stay here to deal with the aftermath.”
