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Just then, Anderson walked into the office. Ruth looked at the clock and then at him in puzzlement. It was only ten after the hour. The funeral must have just started.
“Hey, Anderson,” Mia greeted him. “Just got you down for money for the flood auction.”
“Okay.” He nodded but wasn’t really into the conversation. “Ruth, grab your coat. We are going for a ride.”
Mia could see that she wasn’t needed as a distraction and had gotten what she wanted for her auction, so she got up and said her goodbyes and left them alone. Ruth watched her go out into the warm day. She was, of course, not wearing a coat. Ruth turned back to Anderson but didn’t say anything, just sat there.
“Come on, you need to get out of town. Let’s go.” He came around the desk and held his hand out to her.
“Where are we going?” she asked, not taking his hand.
“Out of town. I am taking you out for supper in Grand Forks.”
She looked at the clock on the wall. It was just after two o’clock. “We will be early for supper.”
“Come on, Ruth. Let’s go,” he said again, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. Once she was standing, he kept pulling until she was in his arms. “You need to get your mind off today.”
His mouth was then on hers, warming her from the inside out. She hadn’t realized how cold she had been. Running her hands up his warm chest, feeling the muscles under her fingers, she forgot they were in front of the window facing Main Street. Or maybe she didn’t care anymore.
As his lips raised from hers, he whispered, “Let’s get changed and get out of here.” And he pulled away from her and out of the office. Shutting off the lights and locking the door, they headed upstairs, away from life for the day.
An hour later, Ruth was watching the snow piles in yards and in the fields as they drove south. It had taken longer than planned to get changed because Anderson had insisted on finishing what they had started downstairs.
Now he was in his brown sweater that matched his eyes, and he looked good. Since they had started to spend more time together, she had gotten to see him in more casual clothing, and she really liked it. Not that he didn’t look good at the office, but jeans were great at showing off his butt.
Curling her feet under her in the large cab of his pickup, she asked, “Where are we going for supper?”
Turning, he put a hand on her knee that was nearest to him. “To my mom’s.”
Her smiled faded. “What?”
“I saw where you came from. I thought I would show you where I came from,” he said as he drove down the road, barreling towards his mom’s house.
“I don’t know if you want them to meet me. I mean, I am nothing they want to know.” She stumbled over her words. Sure, he had met her mom, but were they really at this stage?
“My mom has been asking for weeks. Dad not so much, but he knows about you.” He squeezed her knee a little in reassurance.
“You told them?”
“Of course. I like you, Ruth. I want you to meet my parents.”
“But won’t your dad be mad? I work for you.” She knew there was no rule about it, but he was the boss's son. Sometimes there were different rules for them.
“He is okay with it. There are rules about dating in the office at the main office, but not at the branches,” he explained, which meant that he had already told his dad about them. But what exactly did he say?
“Will your brother be there?” Another thought crossed her mind. What if Jonathan told his dad about her? What if he told his dad a different version of what happened when he came to visit? Will his dad, the owner, dislike her?
“Probably not. Not after what happened at the office,” Anderson replied.
“I wish you would have told me; I would have put something nicer on.” She looked at the old jeans and light blue sweater she was wearing. Maybe she should have put on makeup or done something with her hair, something to make her look better.
“You look beautiful, Ruth. I wouldn’t change anything about you. My parents are going to love you.” He ran a hand across her back and under her hair, caressing her neck.
“I do want to see where you came from,” Ruth admitted, settling into the idea of meeting his parents. It wasn’t like she could stop it now.
“Not a cute little farm. I grew up in town. Oddly, my parents have kept the same house all these years.” He smiled at her.
“I didn’t grow up on a farm. Mom married Chester, who had the farm. Before that, we lived in Mia’s apartment. I have almost always lived downtown.”
