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“Fishing for compliments?”
“Always.”
Chuckling, she circled her index finger to encompass him. “I doubt you have to fish very hard.”
“Oh, you think compliments rain down on me with regularity?”
“Don’t they?”
He opened his mouth to protest, but an older woman stopped at their booth. “I thought that was you, Dakota.”
“Hello, Birthday Girl.” He gestured to Leah. “Have you met Maplehaven Elementary’s new and amazing fourth grade teacher, Leah Greenstead?”
“No, I haven’t.” The woman turned her kind brown eyes to Leah. “A pleasure, dear. I’m Gloria Williams.”
“Otherwise known as Noah’s nana,” Dakota said.
“Nice to meet you,” Leah said, shaking the woman’s hand. “I met Noah the other day when I adopted a kitten.”
“Excellent!” Mrs. Williams clapped. “You’re a cat person. The world needs more cat people.”
“Nana has…” Dakota flipped up his fingers one at a time and glanced up to the ceiling. “How many is it now, Nana?”
Mrs. Williams swatted at Dakota’s shoulder, clearly enjoying the man’s silliness. “It’s only five at the moment.” She put her hand to her heart. “Zazu passed away last weekend.”
“Oh, sorry to hear that.” Dakota reached out and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Yes, well… he was twenty years old. He lived a full life.” Mrs. Williams sniffed and shook her head. “We all have to go sometime.”
And some people go way before they should.
“Are you all set for your birthday bash next weekend?” Dakota asked. “Nana is turning eighty next Saturday and Noah’s planned one hell of a celebration.”
Mrs. Williams smiled. “My grandson is such a good boy.” She leaned forward and cupped Dakota’s chin. “Just like Dakota. They’ve been friends since kindergarten.”
A vision of a kindergarten-aged Noah and Dakota flashed into Leah’s mind. “I’ll bet the two of them got away with a lot as little boys.”
Mrs. Williams barked out a laugh. “Oh, you got that right.” She put her hands on her hips then motioned to Dakota. “I mean, who could deny that face even now?”
Certainly not Leah.
“She tried to, Nana.” Dakota pointed a finger at Leah. “Do you believe it took me multiple attempts to get her to come out with me?”
“Rubbish.” Mrs. Williams made a face. “Now you stop fibbing, Dakota Brenton, or I’ll march up to that sawmill and have a word with your daddy.” She looked at Leah. “Now, has he invited you to come to my birthday bash?”
“No, ma’am.”Probably because he was sure I’d say no.
“Well, I’m inviting you, sweetheart. Say you’ll come, even if this date ends horribly. Say you’ll come for me.”
“Why would this date end horribly, Nana?” Dakota folded his arms across his chest, showcasing those muscles and teasing Leah with a peek at that ink on his left arm again. She’d spent a little time since the field trip imagining peeling his shirt off to reveal the tattoo. She wasn’t sure why she was so curious about it, but it was as if she’d die if she didn’t find out what it was.
“I don’t know, Dakota,” Mrs. Williams said. “If I’d figured out what made men such knuckleheads, I’d probably be a rich lady by now.”
Leah laughed. “But Noah and Dakota are good boy knuckleheads, right?”
Dakota gave her a look as if to say don’t fuel the fire, but she couldn’t help herself. Everyone in this town was charming and loved busting Dakota’s balls even as they complimented him. The way Dakota tolerated it all was beyond cute too.
“The best boys,” Mrs. Williams said, “but even the best boys do stupid things.” She clamped a hand on Leah’s forearm. “Come to my bash and I’ll share some stories.”
