Page 11 of Crossing the Line (Small Town Love #7)

"Grow?" Janice looked at the coop and then at him. "They're not going to be ostriches or... or velociraptors! They're going to be chickens!" She held her hands out in what she hoped was the size of a football. "Chickens."

"They need room to... play, right?"

"Play?" Janice shook her head. "I looks like you're creating a play area the size of the Roman Colosseum!"

"Hmm," Hank lifted his chin and grinned at her, "great idea. Maybe I'll build Jenny's like that and have flags and awnings over the main area."

Janice sighed and took out her phone.

With a quick touch on the screen she dialed and Jenny picked up almost immediately.

"Janice! Hey!"

Before Janice could say a word, Jenny continued. "Has Hank done something idiotic? I'll kick his butt!"

Janice almost swallowed her tongue.

"No, that's not enough." Jenny sounded like an Amazonian warrior. "I'll spank his butt!"

Hank started to cough and Janice realized that she had her phone on speaker.

"Babe! Really?"

"Ha!" Jenny laughed out loud. "He heard that?"

Janice looked at the man beside her. "Yes, he did. And right now he's showing almost a dozen shades of red on his face. He probably thought I was joking, but seriously, he's building this coop with space for ten times the number of chicks I have."

"He's going a little overboard?"

"A little?" Janice sighed. "I'm going to have a full blown egg operation here."

"I know just the fix for it."

Janice turned to look at Hank and saw the slight wobble of fear in his almost-smile.

"What's that?" She asked her friend.

Jenny laughed. "I've got my keys in hand. I'm going to come over and play with the chicks while we see what we can do to get my lovable, but dorky husband to scale back your coop to dimensions that won't be seen from the International Space Station."

"Drive safe, Jenny. We'll bring the chicks out into the backyard for some sun while you wrangle your man."

"I'll be there in a few minutes." Jenny laughed. "I'm glad we only live a neighborhood away."

"Me, too."

Once Jenny hung up the phone, Janice turned to look at Hank. "So, let's get you a drink and you can sit in the shade until Jenny gets here."

Hank's expression looked more like a little boy than the big, rough 'n tough man that he was was. "I can't believe you called my wife to tell on me!"

Janice looked at him with a grimace. "I can't believe you're building a football stadium for fowl in my backyard!"

Hank looked one way and then the other, finally blurting out, "Bixby said the plans were good!"

Janice burst out laughing.

The back door to her house opened up again and she turned.

She took one look at Bixby and burst out laughing.

Then she regretted it a moment later when his face went red and he looked down at his fly, moving his hands over the buttons.

When he was sure that he hadn't left his fly open, he looked up at her and the look in his eyes was a little miffed and a little curious. "What?"

He narrowed his gaze at her.

"What are you laughing at?"

Janice gave him a smile that filled her whole self with joy.

"Your friend here," she pointed at Hank, "just threw you under the bus!"

"Hank?"

Hank backed up, holding his hands in the air. "What? When?"

Janice folded her arms across her chest. "You said that Bixby thought the plans were good."

Bixby looked at her, confused. "They are."

"But," Janice swung her gaze back to Hank, "while he's a magician with meat, Hank Ford, do you know that Bixby was in danger of failing shop class because he made a cutting board the size of Easter Island?"

Hank shrugged. "So you're telling me-"

"That unless you explained the size of the coop to him in explicit language about the measurements, he'd probably happily let you build a coop the size of Dodger Stadium."

Hank's shoulders sagged. "Well, I'm going to look like a complete boob, aren't I?"

Bixby shrugged and Janice laughed.

It was the perfect moment for them to hear the definitive sound of a truck door opening and closing.

Janice shook her head and walked toward the side of the house. "Jenny! Come to the side gate! You're gonna love this one!"

"Oh, brother!" Jenny might be a diminutive woman, but she had the personality of a giantess! "This is going to be one for my Instagram page, right?"

"You know it!"

Janice wished she was still at an age where she could skip to the gate, but she was worried she might break her hip or twist an ankle.

Yes, she was in 'that' part of her life, but she was really beginning to enjoy it and when she reached the gate she looked back at Hank and Bixby and shook her head, smiling.

It was good to have friends like this.

It was even better that she still had Bixby in her life.

The trouble was, she was really enjoying this new relationship with Bixby.

It had happened out of the blue and all of a sudden.

And she was beginning to wonder if there just might be room for more of him in her life.

Is that something that he might welcome as well?

She felt Jenny's hand grip her arm. "Janice?"

"Hmm? Yeah?"

Janice looked down at into Jenny's warm, smiling eyes.

"You, okay?"

"Me? Sure!" Jenny nodded. "You look like you might need to sit down for a bit."

Janice frowned at that. "What's wrong?"

"Oh... I'm not saying there's something wrong, but it's been awhile since I've seen you like this."

"Like, this?"

Jenny drew her closer, but drawing down on her arm.

Then she rose up on the tips of her sneakers. "I'm talking about the thing happening between you and your ex?"

"Between us?" Janice started to look back at the men in the yard, but Jenny's hand was holding her in place.

"Don't look at him!"

Janice turned back to look at her friend.

Both of them had wide eyes and both of them burst into laughter at the same time.

'You know," Janice whispered at her friend, "they know we're talking about them."

"I know." Jenny leaned out to the side and stuck her tongue out at her husband. "It's going to drive them crazy."

Janice snorted. "I think they're already there."

Jenny nodded her head. "I think you're right. Why don't we go get the chicks from inside." Jenny let go of her arm and gave the large bag she had under her arm a pat. "I've got a foldable play fence for them. We can bring them out in the sunshine for a bit."

"A play fence?" Janice could hear the incredulous tone of her own voice.

"I know, right?" Jenny was beaming at her. "I'm a proud chicken aunt."

"Oh, boy..." Janice sighed, but smiled ear to ear. "Well, Auntie Jenny. Let's go get the chickies and bring them outside to play."

They walked toward the back door and Jenny set her bag down on the grass before they went inside.

As they stepped into the cooler interior of the house together, Jenny gave her a deadpan look. "Is it wrong if I call them chicken nuggets?"

"Oh. My. God. Not in front of them please." Janice gave her a wink. "It'll give them a complex.