Page 72 of Say it Ain’t So

Turning to Joss with wide eyes, I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out.

“Here, give them to me.” She snagged the mittens from my hands, then raced toward the girl and her mom. I watched as she handed them over, then pointed my way. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I could hear Frank as he clapped his wings behind me.

“Look what you did,” I hissed at him, feeling like a bit of a fool for talking to a damn bird. “Stealing some poor little kid’s gloves and getting Joss in trouble. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Frank bobbed his head before taking off, leaving me alone with the full can of nuts I was pretty sure he didn’t deserve.

“Damn bird.” I sat on the bench Frank vacated, being sure to look it over in case he decided to take a shit before he took off.

A few minutes later, Jose came back, shaking her head. I rose to greet her, and she rushed into my open arms.

“Can you believe that?” She grinned up at me, then lifted onto her toes to press a kiss to my lips.

“That Frank stole some kid’s gloves and tried to blame it on me?”

“Have you ever seen an animal as smart as him?”

“Smart?” I shook my head and pulled her tight against me. “More like, smart ass.”

She slapped my shoulder before breaking free from my grasp. “Frank, you naughty bird! Get down here!”

Ever the dutiful corvid, Frank came down to Joss’s side.

“Frank, you owe Rylan an apology.”

He made that noise again, the one that sounded like a laugh. Joss shook her finger at him.

“That’s not nice.”

He did a little dance—probably putting a curse on me, if I read it right.

Joss crossed her arms, glaring down at the bird. “Frank.”

The crow spread its wings, then bowed its head. I wasn’t surprised in the least when he flapped hard and took off into the sky.

But I was surprised at what he did next.

“Holy shit!” I wanted to duck my head and hide, but I was frozen in my spot. “Holy shit! Joss! Look! He’s on my fucking shoulder!”

Joss let out a laugh, then reached up to give the bird a little pat on the head.

“Frank, give Rylan a kiss.”

I’m pretty sure my eyes popped out of my head, but still, I couldn’t move. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Frank seemed to debate that command as well. Probably because he was jealous of me for taking Joss away from him.

“Oh, come on, Frank. Give him a kiss or you don’t get a peanut.”

At that, the bird lifted a leg and set it back down—almost like he was trying to stomp his foot. Joss laughed at the crow, then let out a squeal as he finally did what he was told. He gave me a little peck on the cheek before immediately taking flight.

Flapping his wings, hard enough to hit me in the face.

“Oh, no.” She rushed forward, as if her presence would stop what had already happened. She gripped my face in her palms, looking me over to ensure I was okay.

I could have let her do that all day.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I pressed my lips to hers until she was laughing.