Free The Mason Dixon Line (A Horizons Novel) by Linda Morris Page B

less
attractive.
    Unfortunately.
    “What’s his name?”
    “Barney.”
    She snorted. “Where’d you get that from?”
    “Barney Rubble, from The Flintstones . He was
the first cartoon character I learned to draw. I copied him off of the cereal box.”
He carefully lifted Barney. “Hold out your hand.”
    She did so, looking apprehensive. When his
claws touched the smooth skin of her arms, she flinched but said nothing.
    “Nervous?”
    She nodded, eyes wide.
    “Don’t be. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He
watched Barney fixing his unblinking stare on an equally unblinking Carolyn. “Well,
actually, he would hurt a fly, but he wouldn’t hurt you.”
    “You weren’t kidding when you said you
liked reptiles, huh?”
    “The lead in my online comic strip is a chameleon.
I studied them so much to learn how to draw them, I became fascinated and then
decided I wanted one.” Obsessions were part and parcel of ADHD. His fixations,
drawing and lizards, were benign. Others weren’t so lucky.
    “His eyes are funny. He’s so bug-eyed,” she
said in what he could only describe as a marveling tone. She actually liked his
pet. She didn’t think it was weird or gross. Unbelievable.
    He’d been watching her for a long time,
just thinking, when she looked at him. “What?”
    “Nothing.” He forced his gaze down to
Barney, who shifted uneasily on her forearm, lowering into a chameleon crouch.
He lifted one foot slowly and put it down, and then froze, his eyes abug.
    “What’s he doing?”
    “I think he’s a little stressed, probably
from being handled too much. Time to go back in your cage, big guy.”
    He lifted it off of her and put it back in
the cage, and then secured the lid.
    “I hope I didn’t do anything wrong.” She
bit her lower lip.
    “Nah. You were great. He’s just a little
hard to handle.” Like owner, like pet.
    “Sooo, I had a favor to ask, besides just
wanting to deliver popcorn, by the way.” She looked uncertain.
    He helped her to her feet, grabbed the
popcorn, and took a seat on the sofa, gesturing her to sit.
    “It’s kind of a big favor, I warn you.”
    “Shoot. What do you need?” His brain raced
ahead of him. What could she want? A back rub? Money? Sexual favors?
    In his dreams. They’d already settled that
issue once and for all in his Subaru.
    “I need a ride back to Indy on Friday. My
older sister is throwing a thirtieth wedding anniversary party for my parents.”
She made a face that hinted at some history there, but didn’t explain. “With
everything that’s been going on, I forgot about it until the reminder popped up
on my phone.”
    “Oh, sure.” Not what he was expecting, but
not much trouble, either. “Sure, I can give you a ride. How long you think it
will last? I can kill time for a while and pick you up later.” He could drop in
on his aunt while Carolyn socialized with her family, or look up some old
friends.
    She reached for a handful of popcorn,
chewing deliberately and then swallowing. The movement of her mouth electrified
him, and he shifted the bowl of popcorn in his lap to hide his reaction.
    Fortunately, she’d chosen a really big
bowl.
    “Actually, I was kind of hoping you’d go
with me.”
    “Huh?” Surely he hadn’t heard that right.
The cheerleader wanted a geek on her arm for the night?
    “I kind of hate to go to this sort of thing
by myself. It would be nice to have company.”
    “You hate to see your family by yourself?”
He didn’t get it. “But you’re not by yourself. You’re with your family.”
    Eye-roll. “I mean, without a date. I was
hoping you could sort of be my date. And before you get all worked up, I know
we’re keeping it all business, okay? This is just for my family’s sake. They’re
always on my case about dating someone. If you came with me, it wouldn’t be so
bad.”
    “So you’d lie to your family and tell them
we were dating?” He was still having trouble getting the concept that Carolyn
Hart was choosing to