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“Sounds as if he’s going to be just fine, but you keep a close eye on him.”
“If you need anything, anything at all, you call.”
Ruby nodded, then took a deep breath, and visibly pulled herself together.
“I need to get going. I’m supposed to be following in our car, but these,” she waved the paper she’d pulled from her pocket, “sold out almost immediately, and I couldn’t bear for our reservation to go to waste.”
Bodie wasn’t sure what the paper was, but the other women seemed to understand. Their eyes grew wide, then they nodded in agreement.
Rosie patted the woman’s hand. “That’s so sweet of you, but I talked to Mrs. Harvey and she saved one for me. I’m meeting Lou at our designated time and he’s going with me.” She waggled her drawn-on brows. “Thanks anyway.”
Ruby’s gaze went to the others.
Maybelle shook her head. “I’m working the ornament sales until we sell out or close down.”
Claudia also shook her head. “I promised my daughter she could drop the grands by my place later. They’re going to stay the night and go to church with me in the morning. I’m heading home as soon as I finish here.”
All eyes turned to Sarah and Bodie.
“Oh, Ruby, I couldn’t.”
“Why not?” the Butterflies all asked simultaneously.
“Well, I…We…” Sarah’s face was flushed as she turned to him. “What do you think? Would you want to go?” Her eyes were full of longing. “I mean, I’ve always wanted to go on one of Mr. Harvey’s sleigh rides, but that doesn’t mean you want to. Or that you have to. I mean, I understand if you don’t want to.”
Sarah was rambling and Bodie felt obliged to rescue her.
“If you want to, I’m fine with whatever,” he agreed.
At his words, all the Butterflies lit up like lightning bugs. That might have had him backtracking, except Sarah’s eyes glowed with pleasure and she moved from Ruby to wrap her arms around him in a hug.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
Harry made a little whimper sound from where he slept beneath one of the tables. Bodie knew how the dog felt and fought whimpering himself. A carriage ride with Sarah. Maybe he should do Sarah a favor by grabbing the dog and running while he still could.
Not that he’d ever been one to run, but with the way his mind kept going back to the way their hands had brushed against each other earlier, how their almost kiss at Harvey’s Farm replayed through his mind, how just being near her made him feel better inside, their going on a sleigh ride together knowing he’d soon be leaving felt like stepping into crossfire.
Chapter Thirteen
Bodie fought taking a step back from the sheer force of their smiles that even Sarah’s hug couldn’t shield him from.
He had just agreed to go on a sleigh ride. With Sarah. No. Big. Deal.
Right. That’s why all the women in the booth were looking at him as if he’d morphed into a Prince Charming who was about to sweep Sarah off her feet on a romantic carriage ride.
“It would be a shame for Ruby’s reservation to go to waste,” he tried, hoping to clarify why he’d agreed.
The Butterflies weren’t buying it. Nothing he could say would convince them he’d agreed for any reason other than that Sarah wanted to go.
“A shame, indeed,” Rosie agreed, snatching the reservation slip from Ruby and handing it to Sarah. “Look at the time!” she exclaimed. “You and Bodie have the last ride of the night.”
“Ooooh,” Claudia praised. “That’s for a full twenty minutes.”
“The best ride of the night,” Ruby beamed. “My Charlie would settle for nothing less.”
Glancing down at the paper, Sarah nodded. “Thank you, Ruby. Now, go check on Charlie and don’t forget to let us know how he is.”
There was a flurry of kisses and hugs, then Ruby was off.
