Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“And that’s great! As long as you don’t get hurt, I’m all for it.”
“I’ll be fine. Now, help me move the fridge back in place. I need to take a shower and get to the airport.”
Tank reminded me, “Hal’s flight is set to arrive in just under four hours, and it’s about a ninety-minute drive to the airport.”
“Right, but I don’t want to cut it close.” Now it was my friend’s turn to sigh.
While Tank enjoyed a few beers on the front porch, I took my time showering and going through my admittedly basic grooming routine. Then I checked my reflection in the mirror and frowned.
I’d gone to the barbershop in town earlier in the week for a haircut and a beard trim, the same place I’d gone since I was a teenager. While I was there, the barber casually mentioned I was starting to go gray at my temples. I hadn’t even noticed. Now it was all I saw.
I wasn’t vain, far from it. But that hit me harder than it should have, maybe because I was dating an exceptionally attractive younger man. Okay, so Hal was only six years younger than me, and a touch of gray hardly meant I was old. It wasn’t like he’d be put off by it. It still made me slightly self-conscious, though.
Not that this was the time to get bent out of shape about something like that. I left my bathroom and got dressed in my best pair of jeans, a dark blue button-down shirt, and my nicest pair of cowboy boots. I planned to take Hal out to dinner this evening, so I wanted to look good. I also wanted him to know not every shirt I owned was plaid.
I rolled back my sleeves as I went into the living room, and then I paused and looked around. This was the original part of the house, which dated back to the late eighteen-hundreds. My grandparents and great-grandparents before them had added on over the decades, always in the style of the time. Walking toward the back of the house was like traveling in a time machine, finally ending up in the 1970s when you reached the kitchen.
When I inherited this place, I’d tried to freshen it up a bit and make it more “me.” Of course, my grandmother’s cheerful impressionist-style paintings of landscapes and flowers still graced the walls. It wouldn’t feel like home without them. But I’d painted the living room walls a nice light blue, refinished the hardwood floors, and added new area rugs. I’d also bought an absolutely enormous navy-blue sectional sofa, a giant TV, and a big, square coffee table, for when the team came over to watch sports. That stuff took up most of the living room.
As I assessed my decorating choices with a critical eye, it occurred to me that my furniture had added yet another decade to the house. I wasn’t sure which decade that was, exactly, but it probably wasn’t this one. And okay, maybe the huge couch and TV were an odd contrast to the living room’s period details. I loved this place and it suited me perfectly, but it definitely wasn’t stylish. Hal was though, so I had to wonder what he’d think of it.
While I contemplated all of this, my four dogs sat in a row, totally alert and watching me closely. They sensed something was up. I’d brushed and bathed each of them this afternoon, so they were perfectly clean, but that was usually short-lived. “Please don’t get dirty while I’m gone,” I told them. “And mind your Uncle Tank. He’s hanging out with you while I go into town for a few hours.”
I tended to talk to all of my animals like they were people. Maybe that was because I spent a lot of time on my own, and it was the closest I could come to a conversation.
When I stepped out onto the front porch, I discovered Jeff the donkey was keeping Tank company. “Don’t let Jeff in the house while I’m gone,” I said.
“Now, would I do that?”
“Yes. Specifically, I think you’d prank me by dressing him in lingerie and locking him in my bedroom for Hal to discover.”
Tank burst out laughing. “Dang it, I wish I’d thought of that. I wonder where I can get some donkey-sized lingerie on short notice.”
“I know how much you love a practical joke, but I’m begging you, give it a rest while Hal is here. I don’t want you to freak him out.”
His eyes went wide as he tried to look innocent. “Hey, I’m all about helping you make his visit the best it can be. You can count on me, bro.”
He was fighting a smile, which made me nervous. “You already did something, didn’t you? Fess up, what is it?”