Page 45 of You Chive Me Crazy

Just like that, in that one hug, it was as if ten years of negativity, guilt, and remorse magically melted away. I closed my eyes, breathed in her wonderful scent, and savored that moment.

And the way Zoe was holding onto me, I could tell she needed it just as much as I did.

“This doesn’t change anything,” I said. “You still have a concussion and need to behave.”

She gave me a knowing smile. “I make no guarantees. And I’m pretty sure Dr. Bonebrake said I had apossibleconcussion.”

I smirked. “Potato. Po-tah-to.”

Zoe blinked. “Oh, no . . . the food!” She paced back and forth in front of the window. “I don’t believe this. I forgot to have you tell Axel that he needed to plug in my truck. I have food and supplies in the refrigerator. There’s no way I can use them now.” She massaged her temples. “This is a nightmare. I need to go. I need to fix this.” She took off toward the door.

“No,” I said, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ll take care of it.”

I owed her that, and much more.

Zoe looked at me like I had a screw loose. “No way!”

“Sorry—you need to stay here and rest.”

“You don’t know what I need. I do things a certain way. I have my special sauces in there. You don’t know the ingredients or the proportions.”

I sighed. “Then give me a list of what you need.”

“I won’t know what I need until I know what I need! I have to see it for myself and assess the damage.”

“Fine,” I said. “We’re going together. I’m driving. You are going to stay calm at all times. Then, whatever you figure out you need, I will go get it. No exceptions. Do we have a deal?”

“You can’t keep doing things for me like this,” Zoe said.

“Yes. I can.”

She studied me for a moment. “Don’t you have work to do yourself?”

“Eventually, but don’t you worry about me,” I said. “This is a much needed distraction. Do we have a deal or not?”

She sighed, finally giving in. “Fine.”

Five minutes later, I pulled up in front of Axel’s garage and waved as he came out. “Hey, Axel. How are things with Zoe’s truck?”

He wiped his hand with a rag, then stuffed it in the back pocket of his black overalls. “Right on schedule, my friends. It should be ready for you tomorrow afternoon, hopefully by three.” He glanced at Zoe. “How’s the patient feeling?”

She smiled. “Much better, knowing I can have my truck tomorrow. By chance, did you plug it in last night?”

Axel shook his head. “Sorry, I did not. Was I supposed to do that?”

“No,” Zoe said. “I was supposed to tell you, but I completely forgot. I just need to see what food went bad, so we can replace it for the festival. And if you don’t mind, I will have to toss some things in your garbage.”

“Not a problem. Go for it,” he said, gesturing to the side of the building. “The dumpster is on that side. The gray one is for trash.”

“Thanks so much,” I said, following Zoe to the food truck.

I pulled one item out of the refrigerator at a time, letting Zoe inspect it before deciding if it needed to be thrown out or not. Twenty minutes later, Zoe finished her list of things that needed to be replaced as I finished wiping clean the inside of the refrigerator.

Luckily, she didn’t argue with me when I told her I was taking her back to the Serendipity Inn, but she said, “Let me give you my credit card.”

I waved it off. “We can worry about that later. I doubt I look like a Zoe, and I don’t want to end up in jail for credit card theft.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I owe you for this.”