I looked back in time to see Trent step aside. “Ooo, if it wasn’t a special day for your family.” His expression darkened. My son opened the back door. “Eat these for now, and in an hour you can have a chocolate brownie. Afterwards, he had to drive me home. “You keep them, Rider. “You need shorter shorts.” It was not a request. Leland was on the back porch, sitting in a chaise lounge and sipping his beer. “I’ll have a gift that your friend can give.”
My daughter sighed. “Do kids tease you about that being girl’s name?”
“Leland, it’s also a boy’s name-” I began but before I could mention a famous Ridley like the director, Ridley Scott, he had already brushed me aside, verbally. I headed for the outside, anxious to keep Leland at his word. Her expression darkened, her mind burning glucose as if trying to solve an impenetrable puzzle. My ass was aching but not as badly as when Leland had whipped me with birch. My heart started beating again when he riffled through the hanging garments. When George came in, after watching a couple hours of shows, he didn’t ask what happened.
