“Learning from you,” I said.
“Fair… So… Blue Lagoon it’s what—”
“Vodka, blue curaçao, and lemonade,” I answered him.
“Alright… then we shall get that,” he said.
I looked at him again, blinking my eyes at him. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“I… Uh… No… I just figured you might want to drink with the rest of us. You can drink as much or as little as you want,” he said.
“And what do you like?” I asked.
He laughed. “Shine.”
“Oh… do they have shinehere?” I asked. Moonshine was common where we were in the mountains of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.
He laughed again, deeply this time. “Yes, but they don’t make shine like they do back home, but I know where to get some.”
“Oh, okay, I never really cared for it when my brother got it,” I said.
“That’s because he got rot gut… he was a cheap ass… no offense,” he said.
“I literally don’t know what that is?” I said.
“Just cheap, harsher shine,” he said.
“Oh.”
“But… that’s not what I’ll be drinking tonight. I haven’t drunk in months… and I won’t be starting with shine,” he said.
“So… what?”
“Maybe I’ll try the…what did you say? Blue Lagoon?” he asked.
“Yeah… but I also like Seagram coolers,” I said.
“We can get both… gives us all options tonight for anyone who wants to drink,” he said.
“What else are we getting?”
“We are gonna grill some steaks, bake some potatoes, corn on the cob, and have a little fire,” he said.
“It’s cold out,” I said.
“The low will be like fifty, so not too bad. I might fight the grill a bit, but we have jackets and a fire,” he said.
“Alright,” I said.
Once we pulled into Walmart, Lucy was stirring, so I decided to go ahead and feed her before we went into the store. Then I tucked her back into the shoe box, and we carried her into the store. I set the box in the upper spot where babies sat. I was worried theywould say something and kick us out, but no one said anything. Lucy slept the entire time, something she still did a lot of.
Quinn didn’t like the steak options there, so we drove to Kroger's. He found some good rib eyes, muttering something about good marbling. I was more there for the ride. I didn’t ask for anything, even when he pressed me for anything I wanted. I hated taking things from people or letting them buy me stuff.
By the time we headed back toward the cabin, Lucy was hungry again. I fed her while we drove back. He didn’t accelerate rapidly while I fed her, but as soon as I laid her back in the box at my feet, his foot pressed down on the gas, sending us speeding down the interstate. Part of me enjoyed the thrill, the other part was terrified.
As soon as we got closer to the cabin, Quinn’s truck and another truck were in the driveway. We parked behind his truck. Callie came out of the cabin and immediately started helping carry groceries in. Beau, Delilah, and Graham also joined in carrying everything in. I carried Lucy in, putting her in the chair, and then went to the sink to wash her bottles.
As I finished washing the bottles, another vehicle came down the drive. All of the men walked outside, leaving Callie and Delilah in the cabin with me.