Free Someone to Love by Lena Hampton Page A

picture frames, chandeliers, horseshoes and Christmas tree lights. That means a few more stores.”
    Out of habit he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He did hate shopping, though it was a different experience with Magnolia. It wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t torture because she made it interesting. It was the way she got excited by the smallest things, and how she would sing and sometimes dance to the overhead music that made him forget what he was doing (shopping). The fact that she saw potential in the most tattered things gave him a hope he didn’t know he wanted. It gave him the hope that his heart could be restored from the damage his father’s abandonment caused.
    By the time she got all the things on her list, it was early afternoon and he was starving. A quick search on his phone let him know where the food truck he went to whenever he was in the city was located. Fry Oh My! was a bright yellow truck that served nothing but french fries. There weren’t the boring run of the mill fries, but various cuts of fries, with unheard of toppings and every dipping option but plain old ketchup. He was happy that it wasn’t too far from them.
    Noli stood in line with him studying the menu. He didn’t need to look, he would get the Greek style. They were golden crispy fries, topped with bits of lamb meat, feta, diced tomato, black olives, shredded lettuce and a cucumber dipping sauce. It was like a gyro but with fries instead of a pita.
    He placed his order and chatted with the guy in the truck for a minute. “You decide what you want?” he asked Magnolia.
    “It all looks so good, but I’m not hungry.”
    “You sure? ‘Cause I’m not sharing.”
    “Oh, I’m sure I could persuade you to share,” she said biting her bottom lip.
    He imagined nibbling on that lip as he kissed her. He was right, it wouldn’t take much from her to persuade him of almost anything. “Make that a large.”
    He was glad he’d gotten the large. If he hadn’t, he may not have gotten even a taste. Despite her claims of not being hungry, she hadn’t stopped eating since the first delicious bite.
    “I think you should get your own.”
    “I’m not hungry.”
    “Then stop eating my fries,” Cooper said. He moved the food to his other side and blocked her from getting to them with his body.
    “You are so selfish. I had a bite or two.”
    “If you want more, it’ll cost you a kiss.”
    She opened the door and hopped out his truck. “I’ll just go get my own,” she said slamming the door behind her.
    She waited in the brief line at the food truck. When it was her turn she tried to order the Greek style too.
    “You’ve already tried those. I have something else in mind for you,” the truck owner said. He tossed some fries in one of those cardboard trays and then drizzled a sauce on before grinding some sea salt on top. “Something sweet and spicy, just like you.”
    She took a bite and closed her eyes in delight. “This is good. What is this?”
    “It is honey and habanero sauce.”
    “It is spicy, can I get a water?”
    He handed her the water and she tried to hand him money but he shook his head. “No charge for you. Any friend of Cooper’s gets them for free. I try to give them to him but he insists on paying, so if he asks you, I charged extra.”
    “Why does he get special treatment?”
    “Because he helped me out when I was first starting out. He sold me his used fryers at a steal and let me make payments. He’s a good dude.”
    “He is, but if you ever tell him I said that, I’ll hurt you.”
    “See, sweet and spicy.”

Chapter 6
    Noli sat on the floor in front of the bed in Cooper’s tiny apartment above the bar, gluing strips of paper to the front side of clothespins that already had a magnet attached to the back. Cooper sat on the bed cutting strips of paper to make sure she had a steady supply. Every now and then she’d sneak a look up at him to marvel at the sight of how intently he was cutting. It was