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“Okay,” she groused, her smile belying her feigned grumpiness.
He handed her the cup and then reached up to smooth her hair down. His fingers lingered against the slight wave, the silky texture. Up close and personal, she smelled like a combination of Trudie his old friend and Trudie his new lover—her familiar shampoo and sex.
“So, I’ve been thinking,” he said. He had a proposal for her. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
“Scary,” Trudie said, and then paused to take a sip of coffee. “Decent.”
“Thanks.”
“You’ve been thinking....” she prompted as she curled up on the end of the couch closest to the wood stove’s warmth and tugged a tattered quilt over her. She was forever wanting to burrow under or next to something. Last night, it had been him.
“You could stay with me for the rest of Chrismoose.”
She was quiet, staring into her coffee cup as if some secret was lurking in the dark depths. “I...I don’t know.”
“I see.” He could read her body language, the withdrawal into herself.
She laughed but didn’t sound particularly amused. “What is it that you see?”
What he saw was that he was pushing for too much too soon. What he said, however, was altogether different. “That you’re a traditionalist and you want to sleep in your own bed.”
She sat there silent for so long he was beginning to think she wasn’t going to answer. Finally she nodded slowly. “Busted.” He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on in her pretty head but she was about to lighten things up and that was fine. “You can go ahead and give me my next present if you want to.”
He’d roll with the tone she set. “You’re a shameless gift-grubber, Trudie Brown. How do you know I have another present for you?”
“Because if you gave me the first two, that means there are ten more to follow. There are more to follow, aren’t there?”
“Since you’re so eager to talk about presents...where are mine?”
“Patience, grasshopper. In due time. Meanwhile...” She held her hand out, palm up, expectantly.
“Gift-grubber.”
“Of course. Now hand one over.”
“It would serve you right if you didn’t have anything else coming your way.”
“Save the sermon.” She glanced pointedly at the kitchen clock. “You’ve got to get ready to go soon.”
Knox gave up and finally just laughed at her show of avarice. Trudie had always loved getting presents and it had never mattered whether they were expensive or not. Just hand over something wrapped in paper topped with a ribbon or a bow and she was a happy camper. It made him realize how much he’d missed her.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re behind by one present already. I’m holding out until you catch up. So, when I get my gift from yesterday...and the day before...then you’ll get today’s gift.”
“Isn’t it better to give than to receive?”
He was a guy and oral sex immediately came to mind. He damn near choked on his coffee. He pulled his mind out of the bedsheets and back to the matter at hand. Flirting with Trudie was fun. He’d have never had this conversation with Elsa primarily because Elsa didn’t have Trudie’s sense of humor or the capacity to poke fun at herself...and that was precisely what Trudie was doing, laughing at herself. And as for giving rather than receiving...
“Exactly, Ms. Brown. So where’s my gift?”
Knox realized how relieved he was that even though they’d slept together they could still laugh and tease one another. He really hadn’t known whether Trudie would get all flippy dippy on him once their relationship had taken a sexual turn.
“You’ll get yours tonight,” she said with a sultry look.
Yes, he would. And he was already looking forward to it.
* * *
TRUDIE FINISHED up her shopping for Knox. It hadn’t been easy with so little to choose from, but she’d enjoyed the challenge.
Good Riddance was packed since it was the first day of Chrismoose. The dog sled races, one of her favorite events, was right after lunch. And she didn’t even care that Elsa was officiating—the one to drop the flag and start the race. Trudie was still going.
For as much as Elsa had stuck in Trudie’s craw for the last two years, now the woman simply didn’t matter. Deep in thought, she was caught unawares when her mom linked her arm through the crook of Trudie’s elbow. “Hey, there, stranger.”
“Hi, Mom. You guys got here.” Trudie looked over her mother’s shoulder. “Where’s Daddy?”
“He was heading over to Donna’s.” Donna’s was a small-engine repair business that essentially had become a hang-out center for all things automotive. Donna had once upon a time been Don and no one seemed to care a whit. As Trudie’s dad had said on more than one occasion, Donna had forgotten more than most men would ever know about engines so who gave a rat’s ass if she was a chick who used to be a guy. “They’re all doing last-minute things to get ready for the snowmobile races tomorrow. Men and their toys. Want to grab some lunch?”
“I’m starving!” She’d skipped breakfast and all of that amazingly great sex last night had left her famished. “Do you think we’ve got a chance to snag a table at Gus’s?”
Her mother linked her arm through Trudie’s and started down the sidewalk. “Oh, sure. The moose cook-off is going on down at the community center.”
Trudie had been so wrapped up in present-buying—and thoughts of her incredible night with Knox—that she’d forgotten all about the cook-off. “Right.”
“I’m thinking you’ve got a couple of other things besides a cook-off on your mind.” Her mother’s sly smile spoke volumes...but how could she know?
There weren’t a ton of empty spots but Trudie and her mom managed to snag one...and that was, after all, all they needed.
Trudie didn’t bother to look at the menu. She’d wanted pie since yesterday...day before yesterday. She ordered pie and a coffee. Ruby, the waitress, left with their orders.
Her mom didn’t waste any time. “So...finally,” she said. “Knox has finally seen you as a woman and you all finally did the deed. You’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
That wasn’t exactly what Trudie had expected.
“Mom!”
“Trudie.” Harriet Brown laughed at her flummoxed daughter.
She’d had no idea her mom knew how she felt about Knox. “How’d you know?”
“Well, you’re glowing and I’ve been your mother through all your relationships and you’ve never glowed before. I’ve known for a long time that Knox was the one who’d make it happen.”
“But you never said anything.”
“Neither did you, honey. But I knew he broke your heart after Mormor died and he turned to Elsa.”
Ruby arrived with their drinks and Trudie’s slice of lemon-meringue. “It was terrible, Mom.”
She took a bite of the pie. Delicious. Lemony and tart, not too sweet.
Her mother echoed the phrase Trudie had used earlier. “But you never said anything.”
“I didn’t want you to worry about me. I knew you were already concerned about Knox and I didn’t want to add to that. I had no idea you knew how I felt.”
“You’re my kid. I watched you and Knox grow up together and fall in love and neither one of you knew it. And I’m a woman. I just knew. So when did this... How did things change?”
Ruby showed up again—this time with Harriet’s sandwich and chips. Trudie brought her mom up to speed while they ate.
Harriet pushed the last bite to one side on her plate. It didn’t matter how hungry she was or how good the food was, Harriet Brown always left a bite. It was one of those quirks that used to drive Trudie crazy. Now she simply embraced it as her mom being herself.
“So, I guess we’ve got a wedding to start thinking about.”
The idea both thrilled and terrified Trudie. Mostly terrified. “Uh, no. He hasn’t asked.”
“He will.”
“I can’t marry him, Mom.”
“You’re my child and I love you, but sometimes, Gertrude Ashland Brown, you confound me. Why in the world not?”
For the same reason she couldn’t tell him she loved him last night. She simply couldn’t bring herself to trust his feelings for her. “Mom, think about it. He was with Elsa for almost two years. He broke up with her maybe two weeks ago. I’m a rebound and you know you can’t trust a rebound.”
So, it was wonderful to be friends again, for the rest of the holiday, and being lovers had been fantastic last night and they’d have their romance, but Trudie had to think of it as a temporary thing, she had to hold back a part of herself. She couldn’t...wouldn’t tell him she loved him. She could go with what they had now, and when it ended it would hurt but it wouldn’t devastate her. But if she really handed him her heart without reservation and he checked out on her again...she wasn’t sure she’d ever recover.
