"That might be wise," Emily grinned.
"I'll go sit outside on the porch and play something." Josh held up the guitar. "The kitchen is too small for four people anyway."
"Lazy rezzy," Ben tsked.
Josh gave him an innocent smile. "Stupid paleface," he replied placidly.
Hannah grabbed the bag of tomatoes that needed to be cut. The kitchen window was slightly ajar, and she could hear Josh plucking the strings and humming a tune. Emily was right - he sounded wonderful. His voice was deep and melodic. She hoped he would play some more music after dinner. If he did, she would stick to her end of the deal and play something on Friday. Which meant she had to frantically try to come up with awesome lyrics to accompany her melody within the next two days. No pressure.
She was straining her ears to hear what Josh was singing, but the range hood's fan was making too much noise. Emily poked her. "Drifting off?" she giggled, looking at the tomato on Hannah's cutting board. She'd chopped it in at least thirty pieces.
Hannah looked sideways. "Yeah, I guess. I'm a bit tired."
"So, what was up with Josh? He seemed a bit out of sorts when I came in."
"Oh, nothing. We were having a water fight and I got annoyed with him. He didn't want to help me clean up." Brilliant. She sounded like a fifty-year-old schoolmarm. Maybe she should just shut up and stick to chopping vegetables for a while.
"This spaghetti is fantastic," Emily commented, once they were all sitting on the porch having dinner. Ben looked proud of himself.
"Yeah, that tomato sauce is great," Josh agreed. "Maybe you can make some more of this stuff when you come to the rodeo on the rez this Saturday." It was tradition to bring some food for the family organizing the event.
They chatted some more about the upcoming rodeo, and Hannah leaned back in her chair. She finished her last bit of Coke and got up to get some more. No one seemed to pay attention to her, but then Ben also got up and followed her inside. He put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes searching her face. "What's suddenly going on between you and Josh?" he asked flat-out.
She shifted and tried to look innocent. "Uhm, what do you mean?"
Ben shook his head with a smile. "Don't give me that line. Something definitely happened when I was gone. Josh is acting weird. He keeps sneaking you glances without actually looking at you. You know. The same way you struggle not to stare at him. Did you guys kiss or something?"