Chapter 5 Mistletoe
MISTLETOE
“Stop it, Val! Leave him alone!” But Valentine keeps butting her head into Frank’s stomach. He’s bent over and then she runs behind him and hammers his backside, making him yelp.
My lips curl and I have to turn away to fight my laughter.
He stands slowly and glares at me, pointing at Val. That thing is a menace.
“She likes you.”
He jerks back. “If that’s like, I’d hate to see what she does when she doesn’t like someone.”
“Well, she doesn’t like my ex but he doesn’t come around so you won’t see that.”
I turn for the door and he follows along behind me, pushing Val’s head away. “Stop it, menace!”
He rushes up the steps after me. He slams the door behind us and breathes out a huffed breath.
I giggle and cover my lips quickly. He glares at me and his dark eyes sparkle with humor.
“You think that’s funny, Misty?”
“A little bit!” I hold up one finger and my thumb, just an inch apart.
“Right. Well, let’s call about your truck and then we’ll have a little time and you can tell me about your ex.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
He shrugs. “I’m a good listener. And if things go the way I think they’re going to, you’re going to need a ride to pick up your daughter.”
Huffing, I stride quickly to the living room and then the kitchen. The old farm kitchen needs an update but I just don’t have time or money and the old golden oven and fridge are so old they’re dented and barely-functioning.
But they’re still functioning. And right now that’s all I need.
But when he walks in behind me, my cheeks heat with embarrassment.
He doesn’t say a word. Just looks around.
I grab the old phone on the wall and punch the buttons to call the tow truck.
Irv picks up on the second ring and sighs when I tell him the problem. “I warned you the last time that you had me pick it up to fix it that the transmission was about to go. That old heap ain’t worth fixing that.”
“Please, Irv. Can you at least take a look at it?”
He sighs. “Sure, Miss Misty. I’ll take a look after I pick it up.”
“Thank you. You can call me on my cell to tell me what’s up.”
“Sure. I’ll call you in a couple of hours. I’ve got to get another truck done first.”
He doesn’t say that that one can be fixed and mine can’t, but I can almost hear the words.
I hang up and drop my shoulders, closing my eyes and sighing.
“I’m sorry it looks like I was right.” He doesn’t sound smug like Donny would have.
I sit down across from him and eye him warily. “Why are you here?”
“I’m here to take care of my mom. She’s not getting any younger and I’m worried about her. I’m going to retire from my job and move out here to take care of her.”
My brows lift and I wring my hands. “You can afford that?”
“Yeah. I’ve been pretty lucky with my job. My career.”
“You’re pretty young to retire.”
I grin at her. “You calling me handsome, Misty?”
She glares at me. “I did not say that at all. I said you look too young to retire. That doesn’t mean you’re handsome. Just means you don’t look like you’re that old.”
I nod my head and squish my lips. “Yeah. I’m forty-five, sweetheart. But I’ve worked at the same company for twenty-five years and I’m eligible for early retirement. I want to be here for my mom.”
“I’d say that that’s sweet if you didn’t want to buy my farm out from under me.”
I nod my head at her. “I get it. But it seems like you’re struggling. Are you going to be able to pay for a new vehicle if you need to?”
Nodding my head, I blow out a huffed breath. “Yeah. I don’t want to though. I’ve got other things I can use that money for.”
“Like what?”
“I’m working on a new business and I need to get the website up and running and that’s not something I’m good at so I’ll have to pay for it.”
And without even thinking, I blurt out, “I can do that for you. I’m pretty good at computers.”
“Why would you do that for me?”
He shrugs. “My mom would ask me to. I’m just cutting out the middle man.”
Shaking my head, I stare at him. “No. I can’t let you do that for me.”
“You didn’t ask me to. I offered.”
“I still can’t. I pull my own weight. I don’t like favors.”
“It’s not a favor. It’s just a good deed.”
“No, thank you.”
“Tell me about your ex.”
Rolling my eyes, I groan. “Right. Well, I don’t know why I’m telling you this. But when I got pregnant with our daughter, Velvet, we’d been married for seven years. We’d been trying to have kids for a long time. But it didn’t happen.”
“So what happened?”
“Same old story. He had an affair with a girl that was interning in his office. She was barely twenty. And she got pregnant the same time that I did.”
“And he picked her over you?”
I laugh at the shock on his face. “She was ten years younger than me and had a rich daddy that owned the company that my ex worked at. So yeah…he picked her.”
“Does he see Velvet?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Doesn’t pay child support or anything. Signed over all rights to me.”
“He’ll regret that one of these days.”
“Yeah. My mom says that too. I don’t know if Donny will. He’s a self-centered jerk.”
“Sounds like it.”
The phone rings and I jump to get it. That was a lot faster than I was expecting.
“Hey, Irv?” My heart feels like it sinks to my toes. “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Transmission gone?”
“Yeah.” Hanging up the call, I let my whole body sink into myself. I cannot afford to buy a new car now but I can’t afford to be without a vehicle either.
“I’ll take you to pick up your daughter and then we’ll go look at some trucks.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I really do. How about a cup of coffee, Misty?”
I turn away and set up the coffee pot, my hands shaking a little until I take a deep breath and let it out.
The man behind me, the one that I thought was a huge jerk, settles in and starts to chatter about little things.
Things that I don’t need to respond to. And the more he talks, the better I feel.
I push the thought out of my head and just listen to his story about one of his employees who went car shopping and came home with a bug.
And she had a Great Dane that loved to ride with her.
I giggle and turn to hand him a cup of coffee and just let myself be. Let his hand gently run along mine.
Just let myself be a woman talking to a man.
And it feels better than I’ve felt in a long time.