what do you think it is?"
Chase leaned back in the driver's seat. "I think it's more of a…" He paused as if thinking. "…'I'm-gonna-rip-out-his-liver' sort of thing."
"Oh, come on! Whose liver? Yours?"
"That's what it looked like."
Talk about insulting. "I'll have you know, my dad has never ripped out anyone's liver."
Yes, I knew that Chase was speaking metaphorically, but that didn't change the fact that my dad was normally a pretty easy-going guy, which meant that Chase was wildly exaggerating.
In the driver's seat, he asked, "How do you know?"
"How do I know what?"
"That he's never ripped out a liver."
God, what a total jackass.
My eyes narrowed as I turned in the seat to face him. Was he messing with me? I couldn't be certain either way. But even if he was, that didn't change anything. There was no way on Earth I'd just sit here and let him make fun of my dad.
Stiffly, I informed him, "I think I would know if he ever ripped out a liver."
"You sure?" Chase said. "I mean, he might've fed it to the hogs."
Huh? "What hogs?"
"Well, he's got some, right?"
Oh, for God's sake. "No. Do you have hogs?"
"No. But I’m not a farmer."
"Yeah, well my dad's a vegetable farmer," I said. "And before you ask, we don't have any cows or chickens either."
Chase frowned. "Well that's disappointing." From the look on his face, he actually meant it.
Against my better judgment, I asked, "Why?"
"I'm just saying, a farm should have a few chickens."
"Yeah? Well maybe I'll suggest it at the next hoe-down."
Chase looked a little surprised. "Is that really a thing?"
By now, he was seriously getting under my skin. "Is what a thing?"
"A hoe-down."
"No. It was a joke. You want the truth? I don't even know what a hoe-down is."
I was pretty sure it was a dance of some sort, but I'd hardly bet my life on it.
Chase asked, "So why'd you bring it up?"
"Gee, I don't know," I said. "Why'd you bring up the hogs?"
"I just figured your dad would have some."
I almost rolled my eyes. "What about my mom? Would she have some hogs?"
"She might."
"Oh yeah?" I shot back. "And you might have a harem. So what?"
As those words echoed out between us, I sucked in a horrified breath.
Damn it.
I hadn't meant to say that. I wasn't even sure where the statement had come from. And now more than anything, I was wishing I could take it back.
But I couldn't.
As the saying went, the chickens had already flown the coop.
Chase said, "A harem, huh? That's a long way from hogs."
"Yeah, well, it's even further from chickens." But was it really?
By now, I hardly knew. Oh sure, I could spout a whole bunch of facts about tomatoes, but hogs and chickens were a complete mystery, except for what I found at the grocery store.
And when it came to harems, I knew absolutely nothing.
I clamped my mouth shut and just prayed that Chase would let it go.
No such luck.
Chapter 38
Chase
She thought I had a harem.
Now that was funny.
Lately, I didn't have anything. This was the longest I'd gone without sex since high school, and it was messing with my head. Or clearing the cobwebs. I still didn't know which.
Over the past month, I'd met with Mina maybe a dozen times. Each time I saw her, she was looking sexier and sexier – even more so because she wasn't trying to.
Take today, for example. She was wearing a long, loose floral skirt that fell nearly to her ankles. Her white cotton blouse wasn't tight or low-cut. And her shoes were basic black pumps, more sensible than sexy.
Her hair was in a loose ponytail, and she was wearing only a hint of makeup.
The look shouldn’t have been sexy. But on her, it was, and I was having a hard time keeping my mind on business – or on the road.
Last night, she'd starred in my dreams. And, as if that weren't bad enough, she'd starred in my thoughts early this morning, when I'd sought relief not with a warm and willing partner, but with my own hand.
This was something else I hadn't done since high school.
But I'd known I'd be seeing her today, so it was either that or prepare to get all hot and bothered if I happened to catch a whiff of her shampoo or if she started chewing on her bottom lip like she did sometimes when she was thinking.
Did she have any idea how sexy that was?
From the driver's seat, I gave her a sideways