I groaned. “Pretty good odds now that you said that and jinxed us. This is Dead End, remember?”
Lily, apparently impatient with this adult chatter, stepped closer to the counter. “I’ll have one chocolate frosted with sprinkles, please, and one with pink icing. In two separate bags, if that’s okay, Miss Mellie, so the icing doesn’t smear. And white milk, not chocolate. Thank you.”
“Two jelly donuts and chocolate milk,” Bug said, jumping up and down.
When Lily glared at him, he subsided. “Um, please and thank you, Miss Mellie.”
“And six apple fritters for me, please, Miss Mellie,” I added, grinning. “Plus napkins. Thank you.”
Mellie rang them up, handed over extra napkins, and wished us a good day, and then my happy new friends and I headed back to my truck.
“No spilling crumbs or milk in the truck, Bug,” Lily said.
“It’s an old truck,” I began. Lily hit me with an implacable stare, and I backed down immediately. “Okay, yeah, thanks.”
The kid wastough.
“Thank you for the donuts, Mr. Shepherd,” Lily said sweetly.
“Frnnghh ooo,” Bug chimed in, with what looked like an entire donut jammed in his mouth. Then he yelped, and I was pretty sure Lily had elbowed him.
When we reached the school, donuts consumed, the kids both thanked me and hopped out of the truck.
“Do I need to come in with you and explain or anything?”
“No, we’re okay,” Lily said.
Bug raced off toward the school, but Lily hesitated.
“Is there something else, Lily? Are you okay?” My radar was pinging at the look on her face.
“No. Maybe. It’s just … maybe you could come visit my cousins and use your tiger roar to teach them not to pick on me?” Her eyes were enormous and suddenly shimmered silver, and my protective instincts kicked into high gear.
“Listen.” I leaned toward her and lowered my voice. “You tell your cousins that I said I’d be happy to stop by and have a chat about bullying any time you want me to do it, okay?”
She nodded, a gap-toothed smile spreading across her face like sunlight.
“But in the meantime, let me tell you two secrets. First, talk to your parents about this, okay? Parents can usually help.”
She looked doubtful, but nodded.
“Second, if I’ve ever in my life met a person who is exactly as fierce as a tiger, it’s you. I believe you can handle your cousins all by yourself. Just tell them—and yourself—that you will not stand for it.”
She raised her chin and beamed. “I am?”
“You are. Fierce.”
“I will! I’ll tell them!” She whirled to leave, but then turned back. “Mr. Shepherd?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I just remembered that I saw Granny G in a strange car with a guy yesterday.”
“Really?” I admit I was a little skeptical. It seemed like she would have remembered that before; maybe she was trying to reward me for the donuts and advice.
“Yes. But I only remember now because the guy looked just like the janitor, Mr. Peabody.” She pointed.
The man Lily indicated was roughly six feet tall, with shaggy blond hair and a broad-shouldered build. He wore gray coveralls and an unzipped fleece jacket and was pushing a large yellow plastic cart.
