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My vehicle crawled the remainder of the distance. Something that would have taken me two minutes if the roads were clear took me at least seven.
But I eventually made it and relaxed.
And the first thing I noticed when I opened my door to get out was Jack. He was sitting outside on his front porch, sipping from a mug. I wondered whether it was hot cocoa or coffee he had. Then, I wondered why I cared at all what he was drinking.
I hadn’t seen Jack since the day I took cookies over to him and met his animals. I’d purposely kept myself inside, because I just couldn’t cope with all of the mixed feelings I had about him, and I didn’t want to risk running into him.
Now, it seemed I wouldn’t be able to avoid it.
Jack, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be the least bit affected by me. He wasn’t struggling the same way that I was, because the moment I stepped out of my car, he waved at me.
I had no choice but to wave back at him.
As soon as I’d done the right thing, I moved to the back of my car, opened the hatch, and pulled out two grocery bags. I would have normally carried more than two, but with the weather being the way it was, I didn’t want to risk slipping and falling.
God, that would be mortifying.
After I’d gotten the first two bags inside the front door, I turned to go get two more. But as I made my way down the steps, something filled my vision.
Jack was walking through the snow from his cabin and heading right to my car. We made it there at the same time, and even though he was already reaching inside to grab bags, he asked, “Do you want some help?”
Who was this man?
Out of the blue, without even being asked, he just got up and walked over here to help. He owed me nothing. He’d already done so much. But that didn’t seem to stop him.
Jack was such a gentleman, such a good guy.
“Thank you,” I said.
He smiled at me. “You’re welcome.”
Jack grabbed more bags than I had taken during my first trip, and when he stepped back, there was only one left for me to take.
I snatched it up and closed the back of my car.
Jack jerked his chin forward, urging me to go ahead of him.
Yep. There was no question about it. Jack was a hell of a guy.
We made it inside, and Jack carried the bags over to the kitchen for me. I thought he might set them down and immediately leave, but he didn’t.
“You’re brave for heading out in this weather to run to the store,” he said.
Shaking my head, disappointed with myself, I confessed, “I seem to have a habit of running out when I know a storm is coming, but I can never manage to get back before the snow starts.”
“Well, the important thing is that you made it back safely.”
I dipped my chin. “Yeah. So, is that what you do, then? Do you like to sit outside during a storm?”
He shook his head. “Not typically. I don’t mind watching the snow fall on occasion, but I was actually sitting outside, waiting to make sure you got back safely from wherever you’d decided to go. I promised myself I’d wait until I finished my cup of coffee before I decided to come looking for you. I didn’t want you to think I was a creep.”
A creep?
Did he honestly believe that I would have considered him a creep because he cared about my safety and well-being?
“I don’t think you’re a creep, Jack. I think you’re a really sweet guy,” I told him.
I hadn’t intended for that last part to come out, but before I had the chance to stop myself, the words had already escaped past my lips.
