“My condolences.”
She glanced in the rearview. He was looking right at her. His eyes spoke more than those two words. “Thank you.” She choked on the words. It had been a while since it had hit her like that. She swallowed and repositioned her hands on the wheel before continuing.
“I’d only been to Chestnut Ridge a couple of times with him. Just to go fishing. Never overnight. I ran into some badluck, and I needed a place to stay. A fresh start. This seemed like the right place.”
“You’re Jeremy’s widow.” Paul was stating a fact, not asking.
“You knew that already, didn’t you?”
“Word gets around in a small town. Even to those of us who rarely get out.”
“I guess so.”
“You had a good marriage?”
“The best.” She took a breath, not wanting to cry while she was driving.
“I’m sorry. Did I upset you?”
“No, it’s just… I still miss him. We were perfect for each other. He was the most wonderful husband. I’d have done anything for him, and I know he would’ve done the same for me.”
“That’s special.”
“Very.”
Thankfully, he didn’t ask anything else, giving her time to pull herself together before pulling back into his driveway.
She put the car in Park. “The drive back seemed faster, don’t you think?”
“It did. Thank you for your service and for such a lovely day. I haven’t enjoyed something like that in far too long.” He placed his hand on the back of her seat.
“Thank you for lunch,” she said. “That was unexpected, and you can’t be doing that. People would talk.”
“I’m fully aware of that.” He gave her a wink. He opened the door and scooted toward it. “Next time you buy your own, as long as there is a next time.”
“I’d really like that.”
“Excellent.” He got out of the car, but before he closed thedoor, he said, “And I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least mention one thing. The area where that cabin is, well, it’s still very undeveloped. There are bear, and coyotes. You need to be careful. I guess I’m just telling you to be armed and aware of your surroundings. Nature can be dangerous.”
“Yes, sir. I will be.” She hoped she portrayed confidence, but the truth was, that left her feeling a little vulnerable out there all alone.
He got out of the car and got on his little scooter. He honked the horn in a littletoot-tootthat sounded like a clown car. She hadn’t noticed the bright orange flag flying in the air on the tall antenna behind him yesterday.
She giggled the whole time she watched him cruise up the hill.
I don’t care what they say about him. He’s a sweetheart, and I hope I’m that spirited at his age.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“HOW ISit possible that each day feels better than the last?” Natalie carried her coffee out to the porch, thankful for her little part-time job that added the perfect balance to her days now.
I owe Orene a big thank-you for making that call for me. Thank goodness I mentioned I was looking.
Paul’s warning had echoed Tucker’s about being prepared, which had her feeling slightly on guard. She’d stopped at the country store on her way home that afternoon, searching for something in case of emergency. She had considered pepper spray, an air horn marketed as a bear horn, and a can of wasp spray that claimed to spray twenty-two feet at one point, but that was still a little close for comfort, especially when talking about bears.
She opted for the bear horn over the pepper spray and promised herself she’d call Randy the next morning to see if he’d be willing to help her make a good decision on a gun and give her a few lessons. Jeremy had always wanted to teach her to shoot, but she’d never seen the reason for it. Maybe it was just one of those things a person living up here needed to know.
Picturing herself holding a gun in a stick-’em-up pose made her laugh. Maybe a shotgun would be easier to handle. Something that would make a lot of noise and send critters running without having to hurt them, and would reduce the need to be a good shot.
