He laughed a little. “I don’t know how you do. It was kind of deep and dark stuff. I wish… I wish I could say something more encouraging.”
Their eyes met for a heavy moment, and communication seemed to flow between them, but she didn’t know why. Then he turned and walked into the living room.
She felt like he was sincere. He truly did wish that he could make her happy? Say something nice?
The idea was just so strange. They had been enemies forever, and now all of a sudden, Roland was in her house doing something kind?
Or maybe it was her. Maybe she had just looked at him through the glasses of what she thought he should be, rather than what he was, and just made assumptions about every move he made—mean, unkind, wrong assumptions.
She got a drink and set the glass down on the counter, feeling better.
This would be okay. It would pass, they would get through it. She would have to figure some things out. But she had time. Roland said that there were episodes, and they had good days and bad days… She might have to talk to the family and figure something out for Gram, but it didn’t have to happen today.
She walked into the room to see Roland kneeling at her gram’s feet, talking to her, with her gram laughing at something he had said.
“There you are. I thought you got lost in the kitchen,” Gram said, patting Roland’s arm. “This guy has been keeping me entertained with stories from him and his siblings growing up. My goodness, it’s been so long since we had children in the house. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“It keeps you young, that’s for sure,” Roland said, straightening.
“Thanks a lot for helping,” Nelly said as she came closer and Roland stepped back.
“No problem. But if you guys are good, I’m gonna head out.”
“My goodness, son. You can go if you need to, but just remember, you’re welcome here anytime. Especially if you’re going to tell a couple of really good stories,” Gram said, looking young and happy and like she hadn’t had a major episode of confusion and discombobulation just a few minutes ago.
“Yeah. You’re welcome back anytime,” Nelly said, meeting Roland’s gaze directly.
If she was right, she got the feeling that he was just as unsettled about their newfound…truce? Friendship? Kindness toward each other? as she was.
“If there’s anything I can do, for either one of you, just let me know, okay?”
He didn’t have to say for both of them and include her in his statement. Her grandma was one thing, but she was so surprised that he was offering to help her if she needed it that she barely waved as he turned and strode to the front door, opening it and disappearing.
“My goodness, what a nice young man,” her grandma said.
“Isn’t he?” Nelly said faintly, hardly able to believe that she was saying such a thing about Roland McBride.
Chapter Sixteen
Roland waited by the tree at a quarter till midnight. He couldn’t wait to see his partner. They had talked off and on about the people that they worked with and how annoying those people were, but he couldn’t believe how good he had felt after he had been kind to Nelly that day.
And there was something about Nelly, something…familiar, or nice or attractive about her, that surprised him. Something he hadn’t taken the time to notice before. He’d noticed it especially when he had been talking in the kitchen, mostly talking to try to calm her down and to ease her mind, to give her something to think about—that everything happened for a reason, although he hadn’t quite figured out what the reason was, but regardless. He had felt really awesome for the rest of the day. Of course, he had been delivering free Christmas trees to people in town who needed them, and that always made him feel good too.
Regardless, he found himself wanting to pace, anxiously anticipating the arrival of his partner.
She showed up just a few minutes later, more than ten minutes early. He hoped that meant that she couldn’t wait to talk to him too.
“Hey there,” she said, sounding a little breathless, like she’d been hurrying to get to him.
“Hey. Have a good day?”
“The best. You know the person that I’ve been telling you about that I’ve been having such a hard time with?”
“Yeah?” he asked, curious.
“Well, I had a little bit of a breakthrough with that today. Just in my thoughts, and I realized that sometimes you just see someone the way you want to see them, instead of the way they actually are, you know?”
“Wow. That’s awesome. That can change your whole perspective.”
