“Merry Christmas, Greta.” He walked out of GG’s with the bag. Every few steps, the fragrance from the lavender would waft up around him.Thank goodness I didn’t drive. My truck would smell like this for a week.
Five minutes before he was supposed to leave to get Sheila, he still hadn’t decided which shirt to wear.Don’t look too dressedup. Don’t look like I don’t care.Finally, he opted for the Christmas sweater that the team gave him a couple of years ago. It was definitely a winning ugly-Christmas-sweater candidate, but it seemed playful and fun, and that was really all he wanted to convey.
He looked at himself in the mirror.It’s too horrible to be misconstrued as trying too hard. This will work.
Walking to his truck with the bag from GG’s, he wondered why he was making this so difficult. It took literally three minutes to drive around the corner to the Mountain Creek Inn to pick up Sheila.
As promised, she was sitting on the front porch waiting for him.
He wondered if she’d struggled over what to wear.
She stood and waved. In a bright red sweater to the hips and black leggings, she looked ready for anything.
He met her halfway up the sidewalk and handed her the bag. “Thought you might want to put these inside.”
She cocked her head. “What’d you bring me?” She took the bag and looked inside. “Lavender. Thank you, that was so sweet.”
“And better than in tea.”
“Don’t you worry. I’m going to go put these in my room. I’ll sleep like a baby tonight.” She pulled the bunch all the way out of the bag and gave it a big sniff before rushing inside.
As soon as she hit the stairs to her room, Orene walked outside. “Brownie points.” She gave Tucker a slow nod. “Very nice touch.”
He looked away.
Sheila came back carrying a covered dish, and Orene scooted back inside.
“Ready?” Sheila asked.
“Definitely,” Tucker said, hoping to get out of there before Orene grilled him.
“Y’all have fun,” Orene called after them with an impish grin.
“I’m so glad you brought me the lavender. I was focused on being on the porch waiting for you and almost totally forgot to bring the salad.”
“Oh, well, everything happens for a reason, I suppose.” He took the covered dish from her. “You look very nice.”
“I’d like to say the same thing.” She started laughing. “But I don’t think I can. That sweater is horrible. Can I borrow it for my office party next year?”
“What would I wear?” He acted hurt. “You mean you weren’t going to invite me?”
“Good point.” She headed to the truck, but he beat her to the door and held it while she got in.
“You’re guaranteed to win if you wear that,” she said.
“I do like to win.” He tugged on the fake tie that was knitted into the neckline. “Shall we?”
She was still shaking her head when he got behind the wheel.
Two turns and then into the driveway. She turned and looked at him blankly. “Seriously? I could have walked here in the time it took you to drive to get me and bring me here.”
“I told you. See. Win-win. You’re still in complete control of when you leave.”
“I definitely am.” She got out. “This is not the kind of house I expected you to live in. Was it in your family?”
“No. Mom and Dad lived high up on the mountain in Pine Creek. No one in my family ever lived in a house like this. Growing up, we lived in a modest ranch with a view that went on formiles. It was really quiet, which was nice, but it was kind of sheltering too. Maybe that’s why Chestnut Ridge was so appealing, because of the close-knit community.”
“Maybe?”
