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The night sky stretches out in a brilliant display of stars, drawing both of our gazes upward for a moment when we get to the top. It’s a sight that never gets old and she seems as captivated by it as I am.
Extinguishing the joint, she takes a seat on the log while I build a fire. Comfortable silence wraps around us. She lies back like she did last time, and it takes a conscious effort to resist staring at her. My fingers itch to draw her as she is, under the deepening sky, reclined on a log, hair spilling over the side like a waterfall.
After a few minutes, she turns her head to look at me. “Have you ever used a metal detector out here?”
“No, never thought about it. Do you have a metal detector?”
“I just bought one. I thought it might be fun to see what I could find. Imagine the old coins and stuff that could be hiding out here. I promised Silver if I discover some buried treasure, I’ll split it with her. You know, since it’s her land and all.”
“Of course. That’s only fair. If you unearth some stolen bags of money on my property, do I get the same deal?”
Her eyebrow rises. “Stolen bag of money is very specific. Is there something you’re trying to tell me?”
“There are rumors that Jesse James held up banks and stagecoaches in this area.”
She sits up, her eyes lighting up. “Really?”
“Among others.”
“Now I can’t wait to get started.”
Considering that a lot of this was pasture, she’s probably doomed to find mostly barbed wire or fencing pieces, but one spot would be a better choice. “The church that burned was there for nearly two hundred years and was also used as a schoolhouse at some point. It isn’t safe inside, but you could search the perimeter.”
“You don’t mind me digging on your land? I’ll refill the holes, of course.”
“Anywhere but the graveyard,” I tease.
“Graverobbing was not part of the plan.” The flames illuminate her pensive face as she pauses, then adds, “That reminds me. I still need to return your cooler that you brought the peaches in.” I’m baffled by how those two things are related and my silent contemplating stare makes her look up from the fire and ask, “What?”
“I’m trying to figure out why graverobbing would remind you of my cooler.”
Her eyes land on mine and she starts to speak, falters, then drags her teeth over her bottom lip. “I don’t know…I’m high.”
“You’re also full of shit.”
She looks me in the eye and her little embarrassed grin is fucking adorable. “Okay, fine. I kept seeing you go into the graveyard and then you left a cooler on my porch. I may have had a moment that I worried it could be, you know, an arm or something.”
Nothing can prevent the laughter from pouring out of me. Her lips twitch, fighting back a smile as she crosses her arms and stares at me. Her confession is so unexpected and unhinged, but it’s not only that. “Let me get this straight. You suspected that I may have left you a cooler full of scavenged body parts, and then you made me a cobbler.”
“Well, it wasn’t body parts!”
“And followed me into the graveyard days later.”
Her shoulders shake when she can’t fight her laughter anymore. “I’m a weirdo, Arlow. It’s better you find out now if we’re going to be friends.”
I want to find out everything about her. I want to know every angle and edge of her. What she thinks and how she feels, why she’s so fascinating to me, and most of all, why a few minutes near her fixed the worst artistic block of my life.
“That’s okay, I’ll be the normal one in the friendship.”
She snorts and takes the stick from me to poke at the fire. “Somehow, I doubt that. What do you like to do when you aren’t beekeeping or tending to the boneyard? Do you have other hobbies?”
“Sure, let’s see, there’s taxidermy, funeral photography, and my amateur tooth collecting group meets monthly.”
“Great, you can stuff the squirrel that won’t stay out of my bird feeders,” she chuckles.
“I fish and hike. I’m just getting the hang of gardening after a few years of trying.” Shrugging, I rest my foot on my knee and lean back. “I like to draw.”
“That’s cool. I have zero artistic talent. What do you draw?”
