Re: [Woods: Patrick & Raven]
"You like it when I laugh?" he asked her. Patrick wasn't especially observant, but even he could tell when laugh lines melted, man. Maybe that came from watching Con his entire life, trying to decide if she'd caught him in a lie, or if she was mega disappointed in him for not following through on something. He was skilled at telling when a woman went from pissed to not, man, and this lady was lightening up, like his sorrow and anguish was supremely entertaining. She wasn't laughing, but it was almost the same thing, my dudes. Patrick knew about women. He was a pro. Take his word on this. "You can't give me an ulcer and then like it when I laugh, lady. That's full-on cruelty, lady-bro."
She cocked her head, and he pointed at her again. "Your head's going to stick like that, and then you'll be sorry. Dude, if you understand me, then you have words. Use them. I'm not buying that you're mute, not for a second." He leaned back against the tree that was a few feet behind him. It involved a few steps backward, until his shoulders met wood, and then he crossed his arms over his chest. Our dude, he wasn't broad, but he wasn't some lightweight. He'd played football, track, basketball, and baseball in high school. He'd run track in college. He was a muscled dude, but he wasn't bulky, though the crossed arms gave him some size.
He glanced back at the lookout. "I don't trust you to follow me up there, babe. I'm going to call my sister, and she's going to come collect your silent-face. Get that? I'm calling Con. She bakes cookies, lady, you'll like her." Everyone liked Con. As far as Patrick was concerned, anyone who didn't like Con was severely lacking in brain cells. Smartass here, she might not talk, but Patrick didn't think she was on the slow bus.