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“No need to worry. Your pocket book is safe.” She relaxed him with a pat on his knee. “Mom asked if I wanted to try and sell them at the Fall Fair, I thought about it, and figured why not.”
“I’m sure you’ll sell each and every one.”
“Thanks for the bout of confidence. But if I don’t, no big deal.” Tossing her ponytail over her shoulder, she looked across at him. “I see you’ve corrected the haircut. The fiancée didn’t like it?”
He ran a hand over the tight little curls cut close to his head. “Afraid not.”
Admittedly, Aimee was a little disappointed. She would have dearly loved to see Colin deny Sheila something and keep the ridiculous hairdo simply because Aimee had cut it for him.
“So, where is Sheila?”
“She’s got a business client coming into town for Thanksgiving. It was the only free time either had available for a meeting.”
“She must find it hard to juggle a personal and professional life.”
?
?She enjoys what she does and she’s very good at it.” He stated the point matter-of-fact. Not necessarily with pride, but more with an understanding Sheila couldn’t possibly do less.
Watching his profile, Aimee wondered why this should make her envious. He had often complimented her enough on a particular sweater she knitted or a blanket she crocheted, but there wasn’t anything in particular Aimee was good at. Real good, not just ordinary good, but super good. Like Sheila was at everything she did. Or at least that was how it felt.
She brushed the thought aside and consoled herself with the knowledge that it was thanks to Sheila’s work schedule that Aimee was allowed to sit next to Colin now and not have to share him with his fiancée. She hated competing for his attention. Not that she had any hope of ever winning on her own merits. Therefore took whatever opportunity she could to have him all to herself.
They had a nearly two hour commute back to their hometown so she settled herself in for the long drive ahead. She was well prepared and packed her duffel bag accordingly. From within, she retrieved her iPod and slid the earphones into her ears then selected an audiobook before taking out her latest knitting project. A cardigan intended for one of her brothers for Christmas.
Over the sound of the audiobook, she could hear the radio quietly playing. Colin kept the volume low so as not to disturb her reading and knitting. She smiled to herself and even though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, she was glad to be passenger. Firstly, it meant she didn’t have to make the long tedious commute alone, and secondly, but more importantly, it meant she was able to car pool with Colin. Any excuse to be in his company in a confined place for a length of period always made her happy.
Well over an hour later on the last stretch home, she put down the knitting and replaced it with an incomplete crossword from her bag. She removed the headphones and plugged her iPod into his stereo to both recharge the battery and to listen to the favorites on her playlist. They shared the same taste of music and often had the same song on their iTunes accounts, so she didn’t bother to ask for his music preference, knowing he’d enjoy whatever piece she selected.
As Colin drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, Aimee stared down at the paperback and chewed thoughtfully on the end of her pencil. She had forgotten that the crossword had been tossed aside because of a certain word that had stumped her.
As if reading her mind, he asked, “What is it?”
She looked at him blankly.
“Come on,” he gestured with his hand as if waving for her to hand something over. “You’re chewing on your pencil with that little concentrated frown between your brows like you always do when you are confused.”
“I do that?” She glanced down at the overly chewed pencil surprised he noticed her bad habit before she herself acknowledged it.
“Yes, now come on, what’s the clue?”
“Ok, Mr. Know-it-All.” She smiled at him before reading, “What’s a six letter word for style, ending with an r.”
His brows came together as if concentrating real hard, then quickly answered, “Manner.”
Aimee frowned, startled, then checked the crossword. “You’re right. It fits.”
He grinned and gave her wink. After scribbling the letters into their respective boxes, she asked, “How about a five letter word for joined?”
“Affix.” He responded quickly, looking pleased with himself.
Shaking her head, she said, “Nope, it has to start with the letter M.”
“All right, how about mated?”
“Marry!” Aimee quipped back, her eyes lighting up as she filled in the word of her choice between the two. Then studying the puzzle again, she suddenly frowned.
“It can’t be that complicated. What’s the clue?”
