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“I’m Herschel.”
She glanced at him. “Coral.”
The elevator doors slid open, and he let her on before joining her inside. She’d already pressed three, so he stood back.
“You visiting family for the holidays?” he asked.
“A friend. She doesn’t know I’m here.” The woman was flushed and maybe a little nervous. “I’m surprising her, but now that I’m here, I hope I haven’t overstepped.”
“Anyone who smells as good as you should be able to do and go as you please without worrying what folks think.” He nodded. “If your welcome is lacking, you can always spend the holiday at my house.”
The woman, Coral, looked a little shocked at his forward way of talking, but a man didn’t reach a certain age without learning that the only way to get things done or make things happen was to speak your mind and say what you wanted. The odds of getting what you wanted was much higher when you followed that kind of logic.
The elevator doors parted just then, and Herschel motioned for Coral to step off first. She did and stood there for a bit. Herschel wasn’t sure if she was confused or scared.
“What room are you looking for?”
“Oh.” She frowned a bit. “Twenty-nine, I believe.”
“That so?” Surprised, Herschel nodded to the right. “It would be that a way. Who is it exactly you’re visiting?”
“Bobbi and Shane Gallagher. We were guests at a bed-and-breakfast last summer, and it’s odd, I suppose, but we became close, and I…” She stopped walking. “Oh dear, it’s Thanksgiving. What on earth was I thinking? They’ll be busy with family, and here I am, about to barge in on their private moment.”
“Where’s your family, if you don’t mind my asking?”
She glanced away and Herschel felt bad about asking. “My son went on vacation with his wife and children to Disney. They invited along, of course.” She picked at a piece of invisible lint. “But that sort of place isn’t exactly to my taste.” She looked back toward the elevator. “I should leave.”
“Why leave when you’ve just got to the right place? Though, to be honest, our house is probably as crazy as Disney, so you might have jumped from the pot to the fire, so to speak.”
“I don’t understand.”
They were in front of room twenty
-nine, and even with the door closed, the volume of the voices from inside was impressive. Herschel grinned. “Bobbi Jo is my granddaughter, and those babies, Rose and Harry, are my new great-grandbabies.”
“Oh,” Coral said. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Herschel winked. “Are you ready?” He held out his arm, and a heartbeat passed. Coral looked at the door.
“I know there’s a lot of them in there, but you’ll do fine, and Bobbi will surely be happy to see you.”
She exhaled softly, transferred her bags to her right hand and took his arm. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“You can thank me after I take you for a ride on my sled. It’s not every woman I let crawl on behind me.”
“Your what?”
He smiled and pushed open the door, glad for a new friend and bubbling over with joy at the thought of a new generation. His son, Trent, might be gone, but Herschel would leave this world knowing that the best of all of them was passed down to the little ones.
But for now, he wouldn’t think about leaving. He had some good years left, a woman who smelled like sunshine beside him…
And a big fat turkey waiting on him when he got home.
Life couldn’t get much better than that. At least, not according to Herschel. He was a simple man who enjoyed simple pleasures, and family, and his girls. And now his circle had just gotten a little bit bigger. For a man who normally didn’t take to change, this was one time he was happy for it.
It was going to be one hell of a Thanksgiving.
