Kickstart My Heart (Burgers and Brew Crue #1) - Lacey Black Page 0,53

looks from me to her mom. “How about your mama comes too? I think Jamal is gonna put Walker to work for a few minutes.”

“Otay,” Lizzie says, shimmying until I set her down on the ground. Then, she reaches up her tiny hand toward my aunt and is led away to have a cookie.

“You okay?” I whisper before Mallory takes off.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good,” I reply, kissing her forehead. “I’ll be inside in a few minutes. Oh, and don’t let Aunt Edna fill her up on cookies before lunch.”

Mallory just smiles and turns toward the house, following behind my aunt and her daughter. “Hello,” she says to Jamal as she walks by.

“Hey, I’m Jamal. Nice to meet you.”

“The work you did at the bar is beautiful,” she says, making my cousin preen like a peacock.

“Thank you.”

Mallory turns and gives me a little wave before disappearing inside.

Jamal whistles. “Damn, boy, where’d you find her?” I don’t miss the way his eyes glance down at her bare, shapely legs.

“Eyes up, jackass,” I mumble.

He busts up laughing. “Who knew you were so easy to rile up?” He tugs on the mattress. “So you gonna help me carry this in or watch me do all the work like normal?”

I roll my eyes and grab the end of the mattress. “How old was her old bed?”

“Four months,” Jamal confirms, lifting the other end and heading for the front door.

“What’s she gonna do with the old one?” I ask, jimmying the new mattress through the front door.

“She wanted to sell it, I guess. The secondhand store won’t take mattresses that are used. Body fluids and all that gross shit. I told her I’d post it on the buy and sell page on social media.”

Suddenly, I’m hit with an idea. “How much does she want for it?”

“She told me fifty bucks, just to get rid of it. It’s worth way more than that, but you know how she is,” he replies, as we maneuver the mattress into Edna’s room and lean it against the wall.

She already has the bedding stripped off, so we grab the old mattress and head back out the front door. As we set it against the truck, another idea hits me. “Hey, Jamal? Would you be able to drop this off somewhere after lunch? Not that far from here,” I ask.

He shrugs. “I guess. Anything would be better than storing the damn thing until she finds someone to buy it.”

We take the box spring and do the same as before. When we set it down on the old frame and place the mattress on top. “Come on, let’s go load up the old stuff and get in the kitchen before Uncle Donald eats all the appetizers.”

Jamal chuckles and leads me back outside for what should be the last time. Once the older mattress and box spring are loaded and strapped down, we finally make our way to where our family is gathered.

First thing I do is seek out Mallory. She’s sitting at the small table in the kitchen, talking to my mom. I bend down and place a kiss on Mom’s head. “Good morning,” I tell her.

Mom gives me a wide smile. “Hey, you. I was just visiting with your friend, Mallory. You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone,” she says, her tone slightly accusatory.

“It was a last-minute decision,” I reply, reaching over Mom’s shoulder for a carrot stick. I dunk it in the dill dip and pop it into my mouth, winking at Mallory. She gives me a smile and goes back to talking to my mom.

I glance behind me and find Lizzie sitting on the counter, her face covered in gooey chocolate from her cookie. “Walk!” she proclaims, holding out her hand that has a small bite of cookie in it.

“This is for me?” I ask, bending down and taking the treat from her hand, causing her to giggle. My face sobers as I slowly chew. “Why is it soggy?” I ask without swallowing.

“I wicked it!” she says, causing my stomach to drop to my boots.

Everyone in the room laughs. “Never take food offered to you by a toddler,” Mom states, her voice full of amusement. “You never know where it’s been.”

“That’s disgusting,” I mumble, turning to the three-year-old on the counter. “You licked my cookie?”

Her eyes sparkle as she nods. “Mine.”

I grab her sides and give her a little tickle. “I thought we were pals. Pals don’t lick each other’s cookies, Lou,” I tell her, sighing dramatically, before stepping