Page 58 of How Lulu Lost Her Mind

“Ms. Patricia bein’ a pill?”

More like a snake. “That’s one way to put it.”

The surrey dips to one side as Simon climbs aboard.

“Nice boots.”

“Thank you. They match my eyes,” I joke.

He sits next to me and lays one arm across the back of the seat. “Your hair looks good.” He tugs a curl. “I like it.”

“That’s nice.”

“It’s kind of…”

I look across my shoulder at him. “Kind of what?”

“Well, that braid you wore made you look buttoned up.”

“Now I look unbuttoned?”

He smiles. “Yeah.”

“That’s me. Unbuttoned and falling apart.”

His smile wavers. “How long’s it been since you had a break?”

I laugh without humor. “What’s that?”

“When was the last time you got away by yourself?”

That’s easy. “The night I ran into you buying groceries. It was like a mini vacation.”

“Gator’s Grocery isn’t a vacation. It’s a last resort when the Piggly Wiggly is closed for the night. It’s not my idea of a good time.”

“It seemed like you knew everyone.”

“Not everyone, but I was born and raised around here. Only left long enough to get my degree at Georgia Southern. I figured out real quick this is where I belong.”

I guess that’s the difference between living in one place and moving every few years. “What’s your degree?”

“Civil engineering and construction, but we’re not talkin’ about me.”

; Simon isn’t touching me, but I can feel his testosterone invading my personal space. On a normal day, I might feel intimidated by the bombardment. Today it’s oddly comforting, and I lean back until I feel the length of his warm arm across my tense shoulders.

“You need a break. I took care of Jasper when he got real bad. There was nobody else and I about lost my mind.”

“That’s nice.” My brain is filtering through the past, trying to recall the last time sitting next to a man just felt easy.

“What?”

I finally look over at him. “What?”

“He didn’t have anyone else to take care of him.”

Oh yeah. Jasper.