Take a Walk With Me Read online

  “Well, your wife may have ensured his good character,” Dottie said, offering her handsome neighbor a comforting smile, “but it’s obvious he gets his charm and good looks from you.”

  Buck chuckled, and Dottie was delighted at the way he winked at her. “I might just have to start dropping in on you every evening, Dottie Robbins. You sure are good for my self-esteem.”

  “You can drop in any time you want, Buck. Truly,” she told him.

  “Be careful what you say, ma’am…because I might just take you up on it.”

  Dottie giggled, delighted by Buck Bryant’s attention and company. He’d stopped in to thank her for the banana bread she and Cozy had taken over to him a few days before. She had invited him in for some cider she had mulling on the stove, and to her utter glee, he’d accepted. Now two hours had passed since they’d sat down at the kitchen table for a visit—and Dottie had relished every minute of it.

  She studied him a moment—his mesmerizing blue eyes, the way his silvery hair rather tumbled over his forehead a bit. Oh, he was handsome! His jaw was square and defined, and his smile was purely fascinating. Dottie felt somewhat ridiculous, however, for the goose bumps that periodically rippled over her arms when he looked at her made her feel seventeen again. She kept inwardly scolding herself for the butterflies fluttering about in her stomach, even though she couldn’t do a thing to keep them calm.

  “So,” he began. She fancied that his smile changed a bit—that his eyes flashed with a bit of withheld mischief. “Tell me about this granddaughter of yours. She wouldn’t, by any chance, be…available…would she?”

  Dottie’s smile broadened. She even giggled. Oh, she liked the way this man thought!

  “As a matter of fact, she is,” she answered.

  Buck chuckled, nodded his head with approval, and said, “Go on.”

  “Well, she’s an angel, of course,” Dottie began.

  “Of course,” Buck chuckled.

  “She’s a thoughtful girl…uncommonly thoughtful,” Dottie explained. “She’s always worried about someone else…never herself. She’s the oldest of six children and obviously very talented, and she’s worked very hard to get her education. But if there’s one thing that worries me about Cozy, it’s that her life is a little unbalanced right now. She’s driven to finish college, and that’s good. But it seems she doesn’t take any time to just…you know…to just be.”

  Again Buck nodded. “I could see that in her the other night when you two brought that bread over.”

  Dottie smiled. “Yes. She was uncomfortable then.” She paused, winking at Buck as she added, “But I do think that had a whole lot more to do with your handsome grandson than she’d ever like to admit.”

  “Good!” Buck exclaimed, slapping his knee. “Together we’ve got a good man and a good girl…so let’s throw them into the ring together and see what happens.”

  “So you’re not opposed to a little matchmaking adventure, Mr. Bryant?” Dottie asked with a giggle.

  “Not in this case, Mrs. Robbins,” he assured her.

  “I mean, we hardly know each other…yet we’re willing to meddle in the lives of our grandchildren? What would people think?”

  “Who cares what people think?” he said, smiling at her. “And besides, we’ve got enough age and experience between us to recognize things most people are too busy to notice. I liked the look of your granddaughter for my boy the minute I saw her. There’s a good feeling about her, and I can tell she’s the type of girl who can love a man the way he ought to be loved—thoroughly…faults and all.”

  Dottie nodded. “That’s right. That’s my Cozy. When she finally allows herself to fall in love, I think it’ll be like nothing the world has ever seen.”

  “Then she’s the one for my boy…because he’s the same way.” Buck paused a moment and seemed deeply thoughtful. “Jesse’s a boy who was born in the wrong decade, I think. He’d rather be out chopping wood, rounding up cattle, or some such thing than sitting behind a desk all day. He’s a throwback to when physical labor was necessary for survival. He’s also got that masculine protective instinct about him that a lot of young women today take offense at.”

  “Or pretend to take offense at,” Dottie interjected.

  “Exactly,” Buck chuckled. “He needs a girl who’ll love all over him, look to him for protection…and still be able to work alongside him when it’s necessary.”

  “Well, you just described my Cozy.”

  Buck laughed and slapped his knee again. “Then let’s do it, Dottie! Let’s toss them in the ring together. I got a feeling it’ll all work out just fine.” He winked, lowered his voice, and added, “And before long, me and you will have a few downright gorgeous little great-grandbabies.” Dottie giggled. “Because it seems to me a girl as pretty as your Cozy and a man as handsome as my Jesse…well, that gene pool can’t possible fail.”

  He raised his mug of mulled cider, and Dottie laughed as she clinked hers with it in sealing the deal. “To our new adventure in matchmaking, Mr. Bryant!” she said. “May it be wildly successful.”

  “And may the end result be not only happiness for our grandkids…but more babies for us to spoil,” he finished.

  Dottie studied Buck Bryant over the rim of her mug as she sipped her cider. Yep, she liked him! She liked the way he thought—the fact that he was as willing to dive into mischief as she was. Furthermore, she certainly liked the way he looked—the way his blue eyes seemed to pierce right through her skin to her soul. Goose bumps rippled over her arms every time he smiled at her; butterflies swarmed in her stomach whenever he spoke to her. It was wildly invigorating! She thought of Marvin—missed him. She knew she would always miss him. Yet it was good to feel delight once more—pure, tingling delight—and she knew Marvin would understand.

  “So what’s our first move?” she asked. She would think about Cozy—about the happiness she would know if she and Buck were successful in their endeavors where their grandchildren were concerned.

  “Well, when is Cozy planning on visiting you again?” Buck asked.

  “This Thursday after work,” Dottie answered.

  Buck chuckled, his blue eyes fairly flashing with mischief and amusement. “Then I think Thursday would be the perfect day for Jesse to come on over and put up our Christmas lights…don’t you?”

  Dottie giggled, took a sip of her cider, and, then nodding, said, “Thursday is perfect! We certainly want to make sure our Christmas lights are up before Thanksgiving, now don’t we?”

  “We certainly do.”

  “And speaking of Thanksgiving,” Dottie ventured, wondering if he would think she was crazy for what she was about to suggest, “do you and Jesse have any plans for Thanksgiving dinner yet?”

  Again Buck’s eyes glistened with mischief. “Turkey pot pies at my house is all.”

  “Then…would you like to spend Thanksgiving Day with me and my family here?” Dottie held her breath a moment, her heart hammering with anxiety. What if he refused? She suddenly knew she would be crushed if he did.

  “That would be wonderful, Mrs. Robbins,” he said, however, and Dottie sighed with relief. “That is, if you’re sure your family wouldn’t mind.”

  “Not at all!” she exclaimed. “They’ll love having you.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that…but we’ll love being here,” he said with a wink.

  “Shouldn’t you check with Jesse? Make certain it’s all right with him to have Thanksgiving with us?” she asked.

  “Naw,” Buck said. “What man in his right mind would turn down a Thanksgiving dinner with a pretty girl to sit across the table from, in favor of turkey pot pie with his grandpa?”

  “Okay then, it’s a date,” Dottie chirped.

  “Oh, I like the sound of that,” Buck flirted.

  Dottie smiled again, sipped some more cider from her mug, and almost giggled out loud when the old schoolyard song “Sipping Cider through a Straw” began to echo in her mind.

  �
��

  Cozy thought her shift would never end. Of course, anytime she had something fun planned, her time at the café seemed to drag on and on and on. Still, she was finished now and beginning to unwind a bit. Her grandma had called, asking for a few extra Cozy Robbins walnut ornaments to give to friends. It was the same every year. Her grandma would place her order and then a week or two afterwards think of several more people she wanted to give ornaments to. But Cozy had been prepared this year. She had made ten extra ornaments in anticipation of her grandma wanting more. She giggled as she retrieved the basket of extra ornaments from the trunk of the car. She loved her grandma’s predictability. It was somehow comforting. A gust of cold wind whipped around her then, and she pulled the hood of her red wool coat up over her head. The temperature was dropping, a sign that winter was on its way. As dry leaves crunched under her feet, a momentary disappointment traveled through her at knowing the beautiful autumn leaves might be gone before Thanksgiving. Still, she loved the holidays, even if they did bring an end to autumn.

  “Well, hello there, Little Red Riding Hood.”

  Cozy gasped, slightly startled by the unexpected voice. Glancing around, she was unsettled—for she couldn’t see anyone.

  “Up here,” the deep, masculine voice called again.

  Cozy looked up then and smiled as she saw Jesse Bryant standing on her grandma’s roof, stretching out a string of Christmas lights. Already the lower level of her grandma’s home was dripping with white icicle lights. It was obvious Jesse was now working on the second story. He looked delicious—absolutely delicious in his jeans, flannel shirt, work boots, and tool belt. He was smiling down at her, and for a moment, Cozy was entirely enchanted—enchanted into silence. He was putting up her grandma’s Christmas lights, and something about the fact only added to his attractive appearance. Cozy couldn’t quite fathom why—but it did.

  “So, you’re skipping up to your grandma’s house with a basket of goodies?” he asked, still smiling. “Aren’t you afraid there might be a wolf waiting inside?”

  He chuckled, and his inference finally sunk into Cozy’s infatuated mind.

  “Oh, I get it,” she giggled, glancing down at her red coat. She pushed her hood back from her head. “Ha ha,” she added with sarcasm. Jesse Bryant chuckled and shrugged his broad shoulders. “So they’ve got you slaving away, do they?” she asked. “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.”

  “Grandpa wanted his lights up before Thanksgiving so he can turn them on Thanksgiving night,” he explained. “So I figured I better kill two birds with one stone today.”

  Cozy’s smile broadened. He was so handsome! And so considerate.

  “I appreciate that you’re doing this for her, you know,” she called up to him. “She hasn’t had lights on the house since my grandpa died. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, still tugging at the string of lights to straighten the wires. “But it’s really not a big deal.”

  “It is to her,” she told him. And to me, she thought to herself. He simply shrugged once more to indicate he wasn’t inconvenienced by putting up Christmas lights for her grandma.

  “They’re both inside,” he said. “You better get in there too. It’s cold today. We don’t want you catching a cold, now do we?”

  “You’re not even wearing a coat,” she needlessly pointed out. She had the sudden urge to climb up the ladder and throw her arms around him in an effort to warm him. She frowned a little—shook her head at such a ridiculous notion. He was nearly a total stranger! What was wrong with her?

  He shrugged again. “I’m a guy. I have more arm and leg hair than you. It keeps me warm.”

  Cozy giggled. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, displaying very muscular forearms that owned no more hair than was average on a man.

  “Well, I would certainly hope you have more than me,” she teased.

  He chuckled, and the sound of it caused goose bumps to race over Cozy’s arms. “Go on now. I don’t want you to catch cold. And besides, I happen to know your grandma has been waiting all day for you to get here.”

  “Okay. But be careful up there. I wouldn’t want you to fall and get—” she started. She gasped, however, as Jesse began to slip, his arms flailing in an effort to maintain his balance. “Jesse!” she cried as panic leapt into her bosom.

  Cozy scowled at him a moment later, however, as he instantly steadied himself and grinned. “That was not funny! You scared me to death,” she scolded.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Kind of.”

  “Ooo,” she playfully growled at him through clenched teeth. “Maybe the wolf is waiting on the roof at grandma’s house today, instead of inside.”

  “Maybe,” he chuckled. “Now go on in. It’s cold out here.”

  “Okay. But be careful,” she said, wagging an index finger at him.

  He nodded, smiling as he returned his attention to the string of lights he’d been stretching.

  Cozy climbed the front porch steps to the front door, still smiling as she thought of Jesse Bryant’s being kind enough to go to all the trouble of putting lights up for her grandma. He was incredibly kind.

  As she entered the house, she was met with the sound of laughter. Setting the basket down, she quickly removed her coat and hung it on one of the coat hooks on the wall. She knew who was laughing, of course—her grandma and Mr. Bryant. Still, she was curious at what found them so mirthful. Retrieving her basket and heading for the kitchen and the source of the merriment, she smiled, thinking how exactly like Red Riding Hood she must’ve looked to Jesse from his viewpoint on the roof.

  “There you are, sweet pea!” Dottie greeted as Cozy entered the kitchen.

  “And what’s so funny in here?” Cozy asked. “Hello, Mr. Bryant,” she offered, nodding to her grandma’s guest.

  “Hello there, Cozy,” Mr. Bryant said, still chuckling. His blue eyes twinkled with delight, and Cozy couldn’t help but giggle a little.

  “We were just swapping stories, honey,” Dottie said. She stood, drawing Cozy into a warm embrace. “How was work?”

  “Crazier than usual, if you can believe that,” Cozy sighed, setting her basket down on the table.

  “Well, you’re here now. Sit down, and I’ll get you some cider.”

  Cozy smiled as she watched her grandma head toward the stove. She could smell the wonderful aroma of the cider and mulling spices simmering there. She frowned again, however, feeling guilty being inside where it was warm and comfortable while Jesse Bryant was out on the roof in the cold breeze.

  “He’s not wearing a coat, you know,” she said.

  “Who?” Buck asked.

  “Oh, I know it, Cozy,” Dottie said, clicking her tongue in tsk-tsking. She shook her head with disapproval as she ladled cider into a mug. “I told him he shouldn’t be out there on the roof in this weather without something warmer on.”

  Buck smiled. “Oh, you mean Jesse. He’s fine. He doesn’t like to get overheated.”

  “How long has he been out there, anyway?” Cozy asked, accepting the mug of cider her grandma offered to her.

  “It took him about four hours to do my lights,” Buck answered. He glanced up to the cuckoo clock on the wall. “I guess he’s been over here for about three so far.”

  “He’ll be a Popsicle before he’s through,” Cozy said. She was worried about Jesse being out in the cold so long.

  Buck chuckled. “Well then, you’ll just have to warm him up when he comes in,” he said, smiling and winking at her. When Cozy sucked in a surprised gasp, he added, “With some of your grandma’s cider, of course.”

  Dottie giggled, and Cozy felt her cheeks grow rosy with a blush of embarrassment as her grandmother winked at her too.

  “Now,” Buck began, nodding toward Cozy’s basket, “are these the extra ornaments you brought for your grandmother?”

  “Yes,” Cozy answered, feeling somewhat embarrassed as Buck peered into the basket. They were just walnuts, after all.

 
“I thought Buck might like to have a few for his sisters, honey,” Dottie said. “I told him you always keep some extras in reserve for me.” She looked to Buck, explaining, “I always order too few, and she ends up having to make more for me.”

  Cozy was mortified! She felt her cheeks burn crimson.

  “Grandma,” she scolded in a whisper, “I’m not a little girl selling cookies. You don’t have to pressure your friends into—”

  “You still don’t believe that men like Christmas too, is that it?” Buck chuckled.

  “Well…no…that’s not it, exactly,” Cozy stammered, glaring at her grandma as Buck reached in and removed a white ornament box from the basket. “It’s just…well, I can understand putting Christmas lights on the house—that’s a manly sort of thing, after all—but walnut ornaments?”

  Buck continued to smile and winked at her as he said, “Jesse will be glad to hear you think he’s manly.”

  “Oh, no!” Cozy instantly defended herself. “That’s not what I meant.”

  Buck forced a wounded frown. “You don’t think Jesse is manly?” he teased.

  “Of course I do,” Cozy assured him. “I mean…I don’t mean that…I mean…I really don’t see why you’d be interested in my ornaments.” She glared at her grandma again and added, “Unless you were coerced somehow.”

  Dottie shook her head, her expression that of innocence. Still, whether or not Dottie had convinced Buck Bryant to look at Cozy’s ornaments, she had been the one to bring the stupid subject up in the first place the night they took the banana nut bread over to him.

  “Cozy Robbins,” Buck chuckled as he looked at the gold embossed logo on top of the little white box. “That’s just about the cleverest thing I ever heard.”

  “Open the box,” Dottie urged. Looking to Cozy, she mouthed, He’ll love it!

  Cozy rolled her eyes. She was rather disgusted with herself for being so nervous. What did it matter if Buck Bryant really liked the ornament or not? Who was he to her? She glanced to her grandma then and saw the spark in her eye as she watched Buck. Sighing, she realized that she secretly hoped Buck Bryant would be her step-grandpa one day.