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“No junk food No booze And walk around the house a couple of tione I mean it,” I said

“Maybe I can talk to your brother later, get hiures over”

I nearly groaned aloud “I don’t need Ryan to checkyou final approval as the owner The nuht”

Back at the yard, I helped unload a delivery and inventoried it I filled a couple of online orders to load in thefor delivery and took another one by phone The delivery business was really generating soht proudly Not thateach board and nail first I waited on a couple custo a lull in business

“Hey,” I said, “how’s life in the city?”

“Louder than home, but nobody’s up in my business all the time How’s life back hoet your period yet?”

“Probably,” I laughed, “but I better have ht”

“Is your dad still on that? Look, Ryan checks his reflection, and that’s about it last I saw Unless breaking up with Whitney has changed him”

“It has, but not for the better He was the best brother growing up, Cat You know that He let me paint the inside of the treehouse purple when I wanted to, and he taught me to ride a bike and helpeda hard tih school, he just changed I was a bug and a pest, and he had his own friends and his own plans I thought when I rownups, you know? But it’s all about hih, I did not call you to coood stuff… the delivery progra sales I ran into Luke Maddox the other night at Cecil’s when I was out with the girls He’s a fireman now”

“That’s hot,” Cat said with a laugh

“Shut up, he’s Ryan’s friend”

“What does that have to do with anything? If he’s not a blood relative and he’s single, he’s fair game”

“You should write a book of dating rules,” I teased

“I would, but I’ers can’t afford the price of the brilliance,” she joked