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“Sounds fun.” She rubbed Rip's velvety ear. “I still want to dog-nap him, but considering my vagabond lifestyle at the moment, I won’t be owning any pet for a while. Although, maybe if I could train Mittens to walk on a leash, I could keep her. I’ve seen videos of cats who accompanied their owners everywhere, even long-distance road trips.”
“Are you planning to backpack around the country, sleeping in that car of yours?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure what happens once I’m finished here. I sold my house in L.A., so my future plans are up in the air.”
Jared shot her a puzzled gaze. “Why did you sell your house?”
“It was Ian’s idea. We’d talked about moving out of the area for a while and I never liked living there. The house was big and modern, which I hated anyway, and our next-door neighbor was an evil curmudgeon.”
Jared chuckled. “You lived next to a cranky old man, huh?”
“Like Mr. Wilson turned up to one hundred. It’s one of the things I’m really glad Ian asked for, because I’m not sure I would have done it otherwise.”
“Why not? If you hated it, why stay?”
Anna Beth thought about all the firsts they’d had in that place. All of the happy times that were now clouded by the fact that Ian wasn’t there anymore. “Because it was familiar. But Ian knew I’d need a fresh start.”
“He sounds like a great guy. I’m sorry I never got to know him.”
She laughed. “He actually knew quite a bit about you. Almost every story I ever told him about Snowy Springs included you. He asked me once why we never talked anymore, but I didn’t have a good answer for him.”
“If our roles were reversed, I would have kicked his ass.”
Anna Beth shook her head with a smile. “He wasn’t like that. He loved to goof around, but could flip a switch and be logical and level-headed in two seconds flat. He didn’t hold grudges.”
“If it hurts to talk about him, we don’t have to.”
“It does hurt, but it’s good to talk about him. It’s been a year, and he wasn’t himself for months before that…”
She trailed off and Rip, as though sensing her sadness, whimpered and rubbed his cheek against her leg. Anna Beth scratched behind his ear and he moaned.
“Are you going to tell me about the reverse bucket list Ian left you?” Jared asked.
“It’s really just things he wanted me to accomplish in his memory Everything you want your loved ones to do after you die.”
“Sounds interesting.” Jared picked up his coffee and took a drink. “Well, I offered to help. Take advantage of me.”
The turn of phrase startled her, especially the images that came along with it. Taking advantage of Jared had been in the forefront of her mind since he held her and she didn’t want to think about it. It was a bad idea all around, and she’d hoped this crazy attraction to him would go away. After all, he’d said himself he wasn’t looking for anything more than friendship.
Suddenly, Jared laughed. “What’s that blush about?”
“Nothing.”
“You sure? A blush like that makes me mighty curious what has you frazzled.”
Anna Beth wracked her brain for an appropriate answer and blurted, “The list. One of the things he wants me to do is dress up like The Grinch and deliver Christmas presents to the children’s hospital. I’m just embarrassed about it.”
“Really? Didn’t you ever tell Ian how you nervous puked your way through the Christmas choir concert your sophomore year.”
“I did, but he enjoyed pushing me out of my comfort zone.”
“Gotcha. Well, something tells me we need to build up to that one. What else do you have?”
Anna Beth pulled the journal from her laptop bag.
“Cut down my own Christmas tree. Make an ornament. Dance like no one is watching. Kiss…” Anna Beth hesitated. Would Jared get the wrong impression and think she was hinting?
“Kiss?”
