“What are factions? Like three fourths, one half, like that?” Annelise wanted to know.
“Well, um... sort of.”
“Because one half of the Hummingbirds have one half of their badges andInever get behind so I need my gardening badge. We always win.”
Boy, did she sound like Avalon right then. Which only made it harder to resist her.
“Pleeease help us.” She implored with folded hands, all limpid blue eyes. Arrayed all around her, all of the eyes, all those shades of blue and brown and hazel and long fluffy eyelashes, beseeched him.
He craned his head toward the balcony again.
No Avalon.
He looked back toward the Hummingbirds.
He was made of something like stone. But how didanyhuman resist those faces?
He heaved a sigh so exasperated it ought to have fluttered their ponytails.
“Well, this is what I’m doing today, girls. I need to check my tomato plants for worms that can hurt the tomatoes. And then I need to pluck them off when I find them. And they’re so gross. I mean, grosser than poop. Really icky. They’re fat, and green, and they kind of have little diamonds on their sides, and horns.”
“Real diamonds?” One of them was skeptical.
“Real horns?” Another sounded hopeful.
“It’s not nice to call something fat.” This was from a stern-faced little girl sporting the shining, symmetrical bob.
“Diamond the shape”—he outlined this in the air with his fingers—“not the diamonds that you can wear in your ears or in tennis bracelets.” Too late it occurred to him that they might have no idea what a tennis bracelet was, as they weren’t old enough to date spoiled rich boys yet. “It has reallylittlehorns.” He demonstrated by propping two fingers atop his head. “And it’s squishy and plump and doesn’t mind being called fat, because it’s an accurate description and because it’s a worm.”
They absorbed this, assessing whether they wanted to be involved, perhaps.
“Because that’s what I’m doing. Today is all about worms. I’m pulling worms off the tomato plants.”
He said all of this almost desperately. Hoping for at least a token “ewwwwww!”
But they were all eyeing him with fascination.
They were silent, he realized too late, because they could not believe their luck.
“We can help you do it!” Annelise announced. “We can help you in your garden! We need to learn about worms and gardens for our badges. It’ll be perfect! Oh please oh please oh please.”
And now they were pogo-ing around him with excitement.
He closed his eyes briefly and tipped his head back as if beseeching a heartless God.
How hadthishappened to his morning?
Avalon freaking Harwood.Damn, she was good. And it was yet another thing she’d remembered: he’d claimed to loathe children, way back then.
“What do you do with them when we find the worms?” Annelise was worried. “You don’t hurt them, do you?”
“I... um... put them in a coffee can. And then I send them to live on a different farm where they have plenty of room to roam.” He crossed his fingers.
“That’s what my dad did with our dog Rufus when he got old!” the bright-eyed Hummingbird named Emily told him.
Poor old Rufus,Mac thought. “You don’t say.”
“But aren’t other worms good to have around?” Annelise demanded.