“Yes, but who’s counting?” She caught herself looking into his eyes, her shoulders slightly hiked.Oh my gosh. I’m flirting with this man. And it’s nice.
She grinned through the nervous set of her teeth, smiling but trying not to make too big a deal about it, although she knew Natalie would.
Chapter Twenty
Sheila stuck to yoga these days, and her lungs were reminding her that she might need to add a little aerobic activity to her days too. Almost afraid to ask, she said, “Are we going to race all the way down too? I feel like I need fair warning, or at least a head start.”
“No racing down.” He stretched out his hand and helped her to her feet.
She was thankful they took the easy way down by way of the stairs and handrail at a reasonable pace, instead of bouncing off each bleacher from seat to seat.
It was hard to imagine this stadium without the field full of trees. From here she could smell the mix of sweet hot chocolate and cookies with the sticky pine sap. It smelled of Christmas joy.
A flicker of light caught her eye. At first, she thought it was a bug catching a glow from the stadium lights, but it wasn’t. Not a hundred of them.
She lifted her hands out in front of her. “Do you see that?” They were tiny flakes of snow floating to the ground. “It’s snowing!” She grabbed the back of Tucker’s jacket. “Look! It’s so pretty.” Her hands splayed wide, as if she might actually catchone of the tiny flakes, so light that they were drifting like bubbles. “Were they calling for snow?”
“No.” He brushed a tiny white pellet from the shoulder of her coat. “How about that? I guess we just got lucky.”
She couldn’t agree more. “Very lucky.”
He seemed amused by her excitement.
With nothing but the twinkling lights and the warmth of their shared company, they walked down the bleachers, then out into the parking lot to his truck.
He opened the passenger door for her, and waited until she climbed up into the passenger seat to go around to the other side.
Tucker got in and started the truck. In the stream of light from the headlights, the snowflakes seemed to fall faster.
“I wanted to see snow so badly,” she admitted. “You have no idea. I hope it snows a foot!”
“Careful what you wish for.” He drove the short distance to Orene’s house and parked out front.
“You made tonight so much fun. Thank you.” Christmas seemed more Christmassy this year. Orene had left the front porch light on, but the rest of the house was dark.
“Looks like Miss Orene already called it a night,” Tucker said.
“Probably. She was up at the crack of dawn helping get everything set up and ready for the Christmas Tree Stroll to begin.”
He shook his head. “I hope I’m half as active as she is when I’m her age.”
“Me too,” Sheila mused. “I’ve always thought of myself as a real go-getter. I work long hours, and never take much of a break, but when I’m around her, I feel like she’s running circles around me.”
“I’m glad you’re staying with her for the holidays. I worry about her being in this big old house alone. She says she doesn’t get lonely, but it just doesn’t seem right.”
“People are coming and going like it’s the bus station, and no matter what the hour, she’s always so welcoming.”
“Orene is the heartbeat of this town. Sort of everyone’s bonus grandmother. Her family has been a huge part of this town for generations. They were very prominent at one time.”
“I can see that from the history just around the house. Letters from presidents. Pictures from fancy parties. So impressive for that time period.”
“It was.”
“She insists she plans to live to a hundred,” Sheila said.
“I have no doubt she will,” Tucker said. “And her reputation will live on way longer than that in Chestnut Ridge.”
Sheila wasn’t ready for the evening to end. “Would you like to sit on the front porch? Maybe have some cocoa or coffee?”
