Chapter 7
Chelsea drove her car to her home. She parked, grabbed her jacket and purse from the vehicle, then climbed into his SUV.
They went to the King Creek Cafe to get burgers to go, and she found herself willing the order to be finished quickly so that she could be alone with Grady.
They didn’t get anything to drink because he had Coke and Sprite at his house.
When he paid and took the bags from the cashier, Chelsea immediately caught the aroma of their dinner. “Those burgers smell so darn good.” This time, her stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard.
Grady nodded and smiled. “Looks like we’re both ready to eat.”
To her surprise, he didn’t live far from her. His place was in one of the nicest housing communities in town, which just happened to be the same one her friend, Kyra, lived in.
“I’ve been to this neighborhood a few times.
” Light displays covered homes and lawn ornaments decorated yards.
She pointed to a house next to the one they stopped in front of.
“That’s Kyra’s place.” It had a huge snowman in front of it.
The one on the other side of his place had Santa in a sleigh with three reindeer, and the one in the lead had a red nose.
Chelsea glanced at Grady. “Kyra is the friend who was with me the first time you asked me out.”
“I thought she looked familiar.” Grady nodded. “I’ve seen her a time or two, but I haven’t been here long enough to meet her. Although I only had eyes for you, so I don’t remember much.”
Chelsea laughed. “Flatterer.”
After Grady parked, he managed to get to Chelsea’s door and open it before she had a chance to climb out.
She liked that he was such a gentleman. He helped her down, then grabbed his equipment bag off the back seat.
He slung it over his shoulder before grasping the bag of burgers with his opposite hand.
She took it and let him help her out of the SUV.
It wasn’t a long walk to her front door, but it was too cold to go even that far without her coat.
After she grabbed her jacket and slid it on, he grasped her hand and led her up the sidewalk.
Lights adorned with wreaths stood along the sidewalk, looking like old-fashioned street lanterns, giving the street a quaint appearance.
“I rented this place when I got on with the KCFD.” He smiled at her. “I plan to buy a house when I decide what part of town I’d like to live in. I like this area enough that I’ll probably look for one around here.”
“It’s a good place to live,” Chelsea said as they reached the front door, the number 1313 on the porch pillar. “Lucky thirteen, huh?”
“Lucky depends on how the night goes.” He held up his hands and winked. “Just kidding.”
She laughed. “I knew you were.”
He lowered his hands, keys jangling, and unlocked the door. When he opened it, fifty-five pounds of wiggling, excited, white and black spotted dog lunged at Grady.
“Whoa, Spot.” Grady laughed as he tried to calm the enthusiastic animal.
Spot caught a glimpse of Chelsea and darted for her. She braced herself for the dog jumping on her, but he sat politely at her feet. His tail thumped on the porch, and he cocked his head to the side as he studied her.
She glanced up at Grady. “May I pet him?”
“He’s friendly.” Grady nodded as he walked into the house with the bags of food and his equipment bag.
Chelsea crouched and extended her hand, keeping it low and putting it beneath Spot’s nose. He sniffed her and then looked at her as if trying to decide who she was and why she smelled familiar.
“He smelled you on me last night.” Grady patted Spot. “Spot, this is Chelsea.”
Spot licked her knuckles, and she grinned. “You’re as charming as your human.”
“Me being his human is about right, rather than him being my dog.” Grady shook his head. “Come on in.”
Spot politely trotted at her side and watched her closely as if cataloging everything about her. After Grady kicked the door shut behind him, he laid her coat over the back of the sofa.
Chelsea sat on the floor and stroked Spot’s head. “He’s such a good boy.”
“He’s well-behaved.” Grady set the burger bags on a round kitchen table and the duffel on the living room floor. “He’s at doggie daycare when I’m working, and they have overnight boarding.”
She looked up at Grady. “I’ve heard those places can be fun for dogs.”
“He loves it.” Grady took a leash off a hook on the kitchen wall. “I need to check the mail at the community mailbox for a letter I’m expecting. Spot likes to go—we won’t be gone long. Make yourself at home.”
“Okay.” Chelsea watched him clip the leash to Spot’s collar. Grady clicked his tongue, and they headed out the front door. She noticed a horseshoe-shaped mark on Spot’s rump. Grady nodded to Chelsea before he closed the door behind them.
She grabbed a couple of paper towels and folded them to use for napkins in front of chairs across from each other at the square table.
He said to make herself at home, and since he’d mentioned earlier that he had two-liter bottles of Coke and Sprite in his fridge, she figured they only needed one of them. She put the Coke on the table and two glasses filled with ice from the ice maker.
Grady’s home was large and clean—not spotless, but tidy.
He had a small, decorated tree near a gas fireplace.
He had what she thought of as a total guy house.
A large entertainment center occupied one end of the room, featuring a huge flat-screen TV and nearly every electronic device imaginable.
Like her brothers, Grady had all the available game systems. The entertainment center had plenty of drawers and cabinets to stash games and other electronics.
“Guys.” She shook her head and smiled. It wasn’t just guys who enjoyed playing games, of course. Brittany, a good friend of hers, had game systems to rival Grady’s. But, in Chelsea’s circle of friends and family, it was mostly the guys who got into it.
Grady had Seattle Seahawks paraphernalia around, so apparently, he was a big fan. He also had a bookshelf filled with hardcover books on astronomy, physics, fire science, training manuals, and firefighter magazines.
On one shelf, he had placed frame after frame of photos, which she guessed were pictures of family members.
One of the frames was large, with what looked like a recent image of a group of thirty or more people.
At first, she didn’t think she’d be able to pick out Grady, but she spotted him on the left next to a man who looked like him, only the other man was at least thirty years older.
“Probably Grady’s dad,” she said aloud.
The tree had no wrapped gifts beneath it, and she wondered if he was a last-minute shopper.
The front door opened, and Chelsea turned to see Spot bounding inside, followed by Grady.
Spot came straight for her, and she dropped to her knees to give the dog some love. “Good boy.” She scratched behind his ears, and he happily panted at her attention.
“Damn, I’m hungry.” Grady grabbed her hand and pulled her back to her feet. “Let’s eat, honey.”
His term of endearment brought heat to her cheeks. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice. They washed their hands and then sat at the table.
Grady poured glasses of Coke, and then they dove into the burgers, fries, and battered, fried cheese curds. All had cooled but were still amazing.
“Fried cheese curds just aren’t the same here.” He popped one into his mouth. “They were my favorite thing about Wisconsin when I visited years ago.”
She grinned. “Out of everything, it’s the fried cheese curds that are your favorite?”
“Okay, cheese curds are my second favorite.” He gave her a wicked look. “My number one favorite thing about the state is a sexy blonde figure skater who came from there, who could easily twist me around her little finger.”
The heat rushing to Chelsea’s face had to make her cheeks bright red. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She was both embarrassed and pleased at the compliment.
He laughed. “You’re so cute when you blush.”
She tried to pretend she didn’t do exactly that. “I don’t blush.”
He snorted out a laugh. “And I bet you don’t make noises in your sleep.”
Her eyes widened. “I—you—” She stopped, unable to think of any kind of reply.
“I’m just teasing you, Chels.” He grinned before taking a giant bite of his hamburger.
“Men,” she grumbled before chomping a fry.
He chuckled and ate his burger in a few more bites.
By the time they finished, he had eaten two double bacon cheeseburgers to her single burger, plus all his order of cheese curds, half of hers, and most of the fries.
“You remind me of my brothers after playing football when they were in high school.” She smiled. “You sure worked up an appetite.”
He relaxed back into his chair and blew out his breath. “Give me fifteen minutes, and I could eat another.”
She brushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen across her right eye. “Again, thanks for dinner.”
“Only the best.” He pointed to the bags. “Which, by the way, it is the best cafe.”
“I traveled all over the states back in the day, and believe me, I know.” At his skeptical look, she laughed. “Hey, after a win, I treated myself. Of course, I worked ten times harder the next week just to make sure it didn’t stick to my then skinny hips.”
He looked at her with amusement. “You’re not just beautiful, but you’re adorable, too.”
Chelsea had a hard time believing his praise. She didn’t think she was beautiful or adorable, for that matter. She wasn’t that slender, athletic, young woman anymore.
She grabbed up the garbage and started putting it all into one bag. “Boy, have I got you fooled.”
He stood and came around the table and caught one of her hands in his. “You couldn’t fool me if you tried, honey.”
“That’s the second time you’ve called me honey.” She wasn’t sure why she said it.
He bent down and brushed his lips over hers. “It won’t be the last.”