Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Not many vehicles on the Square yet.”
“Give it another hour and it’ll be packed.” Mila parked in front of the General Store. More informed than she’d been during yesterday’s shopping gig, she picked up on the stiffness in Cole’s posture. But in her estimation, he’d made the right choice.
“Probably be really crowded next year if Adam’s beloved road is finished.” He made no move to unlatch his seatbelt.
She took her cue from him and stayed put.
“Yeah, I was sad for him that they didn’t get ’er done by fall.”
“But the Rowdy Ranch crew came to the wedding anyway.”
“They did. I know the road will be good for the town’s economy. But selfishly I want it done so the McLintocks have a shortcut and we’ll see them more often.”
“I predict it’ll be done by sometime in June.”
“I hope so. They’ll want to come see that baby, for sure.”
“They will.”Taking a breath, he reached for his seatbelt. “Let’s go see what we can find.” Although he flashed her a smile, the haunted look in his eyes told a different story.
Mentally crossing her fingers, she climbed out and crossed the sidewalk with him to the store’s entrance just as Polly, one of the clerks, unlocked the door.
“Come in, come in! Goodness you’re the early birds, aren’tcha? Hi, Mila. It’s Cole, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tipped his hat.
“Well, the store’s all yours, at least for now. What’s on the shelves is what we’ve got. Nothing left in the back.”
“Good to know,” Mila said. “Thanks, Polly.”
“Need any help finding anything?”
Mila glanced at Cole. “Do we?”
“I think we’ve got it, but we’ll holler if we need you, Polly.”
“You do that. I’m by myself for now, so I have a few little chores to handle, if you’ll excuse me. Have fun.” She hurried toward the back of the store.
Cole pulled a shopping cart from the ones horizontally stacked by the entrance and then discarded it because it had a wonky wheel. The next one passed inspection. “Lead the way. Let’s start with the dump truck.”
“Good call.” She headed for the toy section. Polly hadn’t turned on the sound system yet and the silence felt weird, but if Cole was freaked out maybe it was just as well. “The shelves are definitely bare compared to yesterday.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” He followed behind her.
He hadn’t been paying attention at all? That surprised her. What she’d pegged as a disinterest in the holiday scene looked more and more like a phobia. What the hell had happened to him?
Luis had mentioned that Jordan didn’t exactly love Christmas but she was being a good sport about it. At last night’s party, Cole had seemed to enjoy himself, so she’d assumed he was being a good sport, too.
But he’d flinched when she’d mentioned the Christmas Eve dinner. She’d decided against calling attention to that. “Yay! There’s the truck!”
“Only one left.”
“Good thing we came early.” She handed it to him. “You can check it over for defects, but if it’s the last one….”
“I don’t notice any nicks or dents.” He turned the see-through package around almost lovingly as he examined it. “It’s a good-looking truck. Benny’s gonna love it.”
Just like Cole would have when he was a kid. If he’d had one, he would have said so. The image of him as a disappointed little boy made her chest hurt. “If you want to ride along with Adam on Wednesday afternoon when he delivers the gifts, I’m sure he—”
“Thanks, but I’d rather not.” He put the truck in the cart. “Where’re the Mini Whinnies?”
“Around the corner. I used to practically live in that part of the store when I was little.” She zipped around the endcap and plucked a box from the shelf. “Here you go.”
He took it and frowned. “That’s not very big.”
“That’s why they’re called Mini Whinnies. It’s what Annie asked for, so she knows the box is small.”
He checked the price. “We should get her two.”
“Okay.” Much more of this and she’d be in tears over the tender-hearted kid living in this big cowboy’s body. She handed him a second box.
“Jordie would have loved these. When did they first come out?”
“About twenty years ago.”
“I must’ve missed them. If I’d seen them, I would’ve….” He shook his head. “Never mind. Where’s the Lego dinosaur section?”
“Down here.” She walked to the end of the aisle. “This is all the Lego stuff.”
He scanned the shelves. “Wow. Clara didn’t say which dinosaur. What if we get the wrong one?”
So vulnerable. Little did he know he was turning her into a puddle of goo. “I’m guessing she doesn’t have any, so she’ll be thrilled with whichever one you choose.”
“There’s everything from a T-Rex to a cute baby dinosaur. You were a little girl. What would you have picked?”
“None. I was into horses. But if she’s into dinosaurs and doesn’t have any, I’d get her the T-Rex. She can show it off because everyone will know immediately what it is and be impressed.”
“Smart. I hadn’t thought about the fact that she’ll want bragging rights.”
No bragging rights for little Cole. His childhood must have been bleak, and yet somewhere along the way he’d learned to play the violin.
Desperate to focus on something positive in his background, she brought it up. “When did you get your fiddle?”
“Not long after I moved out. It was at the second-hand shop where I bought things for my apartment. I paid for it over time. It belonged to the guy who owned the shop and he taught me to read music.”
“Bonus. What made you want a fiddle?”
He smiled. “I heard The Devil Went Down to Georgia and became a huge Charlie Daniels fan.”
“Then you can play that song?”
‘Yes, ma’am.”
“That number is a real crowd pleaser. How come you didn’t play it at the wedding reception?”
“Wasn’t appropriate, at least in my opinion. It’s a performance number that puts the spotlight on the fiddler. That was Jordie and Luis’s day, not mine, and the mood was all about romance, not a contest with the Devil.”
Naturally he wouldn’t want to steal the limelight from his little sis. She should have known. “Then promise me you’ll play it at the New Year’s Eve Party at the Raccoon.”
He smiled for the first time since they’d walked through the door. “Only if Sam agrees to it and you’ll be my date that night.”
“I guarantee Sam will agree to it and I’d be honored to be your date.”
“Excellent. Now let’s get this shopping done before the place fills up and the selection dwindles.” He pulled another angel card out of his coat pocket. “Dustin’s a kid after my own heart. He wants Lincoln Logs. Do they still exist?”
“Over here.” She moved to the opposite aisle, encouraged by the uptick in his mood. “Pricey, though.”
“I don’t care. I—” The sound system blared, cutting him off with It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
The volume was immediately turned down, but it was still loud and echoed in the empty store. It creeped her out and she wasn’t the one with the problem.
The haunted look was back in Cole’s eyes. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he put the Lincoln Logs in the cart and took out another angel card.
Clearly he’d been triggered by that song. She liked to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Usually. But she had zero tolerance for adults who were mean to children.
If this relationship blossomed into something permanent, she might end up having to meet his parents. Could she even be civil? Doubtful.
Because this shopping trip was important to him and to the kids, she threw herself into the process, pumping it with all the enthusiasm she could muster. They managed to find everything. Thank goodness they’d only had eleven angel cards to deal with.
She made conversation with Polly as they checked out.
Cole murmured his thanks and tipped his hat again before picking up both bags and carrying them out to the truck.
The parking spots on the square were mostly taken by now, so if he wanted to stay for any reason, she might as well keep this space.
After they’d put the bags in the back seat, she turned to him. “Anything else you’d like to do while we’re in town?”
He sighed in obvious relief. “Not me. I’m ready to—” Then he caught himself. “How about I treat you to lunch again?”
“How about we go home and have peanut butter and jelly?”
He nudged back his hat and gazed at her. Like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, his harried expression was replaced by a soft smile. “You’re incredible.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“You know I want to head home.”
“And that’s fine with me.”
“I can tell, which is very sweet of you. And we definitely would end up eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch.”
“Why not? It’s everybody’s favorite!”
“But then we’d be out of bread, which means we can’t even make toasted cheese sandwiches for dinner.”
“Doesn’t matter. I can grab some food from my house.”
“That’s a generous offer, but instead we’re going grocery shopping.”
“They’ll be playing Christmas music in there, too.”
“I’m used to it. If I hadn’t learned to tune it out while I bought groceries every December, I would have starved to death long ago.” He held out his hand. “Let’s go get us some grub.”
“Grub.” She took his hand and they walked across the square to the town’s cozy food market. “My dad used to call it that.”
“I heard it in a song by Ray Scott and liked the sound of it. Makes me feel like an old-timey cowboy.”
“You are an old-timey cowboy.”
“Am I?”
“Sure. I think of them as respectful, kind, modest, protective of those smaller or weaker. You fit the profile.”
“That’s a huge compliment. But as my behavior in the General Store shows, I’m also a work in progress.”
“We all are.”
“I’ll have to disagree with you there. You’re fudging perfect. Don’t change a thing.”
She laughed. “I’m not perfect. Just ask Claudie.”
“She’s welcome to her opinion. I’m sticking with mine.”
“You’re crazy.”
“About you.”
“You’re not so bad, yourself, cowboy.” Ah, this was more like it. He’d shaken off whatever ghosts had been summoned by that music in the General Store.
He’d had a tough childhood, no doubt about it. But now he was surrounded by the Bridger Bunch. It might take time, but he’d be okay. She’d see to it.