When she laughed again, she put her hand over his in anoh, yougesture for a regrettably brief moment, and he drank in the contact like a houseplant forgotten on a windowsill soaked up water. “The biggest drawback of being a Vegas showgirl is that you kind of have to live in Las Vegas and I had no interest in that. I consoled myself by trying to get Drama Club to doCabaretmy senior year of high school.”
He winced. “How’d that go over?”
“I was the Tin Man inThe Wizard of Oz.”
They laughed together, and then they talked some more, until the clock on the wall caught Nola’s attention. “Good lord, it’s after midnight.”
“Can I help you clean up?” He felt like an ass for keeping her talking well after the time she should have gone home, even if they’d both enjoyed the conversation.
“No, I’m just going to lock up and drop these glasses into the bus pan under the counter to wash tomorrow.” When he scowled, she smiled. “I promise. Two minutes and I’ll be out of here.”
“Okay.” He slid off the stool and shoved his hands into his pockets. “If you’re sure, then goodnight, I guess.”
“I’m sure. Goodnight, Ian. Have a good ride tomorrow.”
He hesitated for a moment, battling a powerful need to cap the evening off with a goodnight kiss. Maybe just a soft kiss over the bar, with the rest of their bodies kept apart so he couldn’t get carried away.
But she had her back to him, folding and locking the accordion doors, so he swallowed the needy sigh he felt all the way to his core and left her to close up.
The room was dark when he let himself in. Whatever movie Jacob had been watching hadn’t kept him awake because he was asleep with his earbuds in and the phone in his hand. Ian didn’t bother with the earbuds, but he gently slid the phone free and plugged it in so it would be charged in the morning. Then he did the same with his, though he’d barely touched it throughout the day except to take a few pictures.
When he finally slid into bed, his body was exhausted from a long day out in the cold fresh air, but his mind wasn’t. It wanted to stay awake and think about Nola.
He should have kissed her goodnight.
Four
Thursday, the 17thof December
As they reacheda wide intersection that was the convergence of several trails, Ian signaled to the kids behind him and pulled his snowmobile off to the side. He needed to stretch his back and maybe even eat one of the candy bars in his bag, even though it was only eleven in the morning and Rosie had stuffed him full of a big farmer’s breakfast.
He could use the sugar rush. Or any kind of rush. He was dragging already and they hadn’t even gone very far.
Unfortunately, Jacob had already killed the engine on his machine and he heard Ian groan as he climbed off his snowmobile. “Almost time to hand that sled down to me and buy yourself a rocking chair?”
“I should strap a folding rocking chair to the back of my sled so I can be comfortable when I have to sit at intersections and wait for you to catch up.”
“Boys.” Maddie’s snort of disgust was cut off as she pulled her helmet off. “I swear I’d leave you behind, but you make me ride in the back because you’re mad I’m faster than both of you.”
Ian tuned out the ensuing very familiar trash talking between the kids as he stretched his back and neck. He felt as if he’d been hit by a truck and he also felt guilty as hell when he wondered how Nola was faring this morning. He was out playing in the snow, but she’d had to get up and go to work.
“You okay, Dad?”
He looked at Maddie, who was suddenly staring at him very intently. “Yeah, why?”
“I don’t know. You just look sad or maybe mad, I guess.”
He was mad at himself, because he’d been so wrapped up in enjoying Nola’s company, he hadn’t thought about the fact she still had to drive home and then get up for work. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Probably getting a headache from listening to you two argue over which one of you is faster.” He meant to say it teasingly, but he might have missed the mark because Maddie’s eyebrows raised.
“Okay,” she said, moving back toward her own sled.
“Dad needs to get laid,” he heard Jacob mutter under his breath, and Ian rolled his eyes because it wasn’t any surprise a teen boy’s mind went there.
“No shit,” Maddie whispered back, which blew the teen boy theory.
