Take a Walk With Me Read online

  “And maybe I asked Santa for a pair of army boots,” Cozy said.

  Jesse nodded. “Those are good boots. I actually own several pair.”

  “Me too,” Buck added, winking at Cozy.

  “Oh, don’t mind her, Jesse,” Dottie interjected. “Cozy always keeps four or five extra ornaments in the trunk of her car this time of year…just in case somebody asks.”

  “Grandma!” Cozy scolded.

  Buck and Jesse both chuckled into their mugs.

  “So? How about it?” Jesse asked.

  She could see he wasn’t going to let it go any time soon. “Fine,” Cozy relented. “I have five more in the car. You’re welcome to them.” She looked at him, her eyebrows arched in doubt. “You can have them for your tree.”

  “Cool. How much?”

  Just as Cozy started to say, “No cost,” Buck piped in, “Fifty bucks for the five of them.”

  “Perfect,” Jesse said, setting his mug down and reaching for his wallet.

  “No. No, really. Please,” Cozy pleaded. “L-let me just give them to you…as my thanks for doing Grandma’s lights.”

  Jesse paused for a moment, frowned, and was thoughtful. “No. I don’t like that,” he said, shaking his head. Cozy sighed as he opened his wallet and withdrew a fifty-dollar bill. He tossed it on the table next to his grandfather’s one-hundred-dollar bill and then picked up his mug again. “This is the best cider I’ve ever had, Mrs. Robbins.”

  “Well, thank you, sweetie,” Dottie cooed. “It does a nice job of warming away a chill too.” She looked to Cozy, saying, “Take a sip, Cozy. It’ll settle you down a bit.”

  “I’m plenty settled, Grandma,” Cozy said, rather plopping into her chair.

  The cider was soothing, however, and she began to feel better.

  “The sun should be down in half an hour or so,” Jesse said. “Then we’ll flip the switch and see if you approve of what I’ve done. I didn’t do much, I’m afraid. I was running out of daylight and wanted to finish.”

  “I’m sure it will be beautiful, Jesse,” Dottie assured him.

  “We’ll see.”

  Buck exhaled a slow sigh of contentment, and Cozy smiled at him. He was the sort of man that simply exuded old-fashioned charm, and she found herself again hoping something would spark between him and her grandmother.

  “This is the life, isn’t it, Jesse?” Buck asked. “Sitting in a cozy kitchen, sipping cider with two beautiful young ladies?”

  Jesse smiled as Dottie blushed. “Yep. It doesn’t get any better than this,” he sighed.

  Cozy stared at him over the rim of her mug as she sipped her cider. He was so handsome! He was certainly the handsomest man she’d ever seen. She almost giggled as the opening line to a playground song she and her friends used to sing in elementary school jingled through her mind—a song about sipping cider through a straw with the cutest boy a girl ever saw. Naturally, the song ended with the straw slipping so that the boy and the girl kissed. Cozy smiled as she continued to watch Jesse talk with her grandmother. She’d certainly like to sip cider through a straw with him!

  Cozy shook her head and set her mug down on the table, disgusted with her adolescent daydreams. She needed a distraction—to get her mind off the goose bumps that had riddled her limbs when she’d thought about kissing Jesse. He was a complete stranger, for crying out loud!

  “Put that money in your pocket before you forget, angel,” Dottie suggested.

  With a delicious smirk of triumph, Jesse picked the hundred and fifty dollars up off the table and handed it to Cozy. “Yeah. You don’t want to forget this,” he teased.

  Rolling her eyes with exasperation, Cozy accepted the money and shoved it into the front pocket of her jeans. “Do you really put up a Christmas tree?” she asked him.

  “Of course,” he said. He returned to sipping his cider.

  Cozy frowned a little, for she couldn’t tell whether he was lying.

  ❦

  The sun did finally set, and Cozy watched with amusement as Buck opened the front door for her grandmother, motioning for her to precede him in stepping out onto the porch.

  “Oh, I’m so excited!” Dottie exclaimed.

  “Cozy?” Buck nodded to Cozy, indicating she should precede him as well.

  “Thank you,” Cozy said as she stepped out onto the porch. Instantly, she wished she’d taken a moment to put her coat on. The evening air was already chilled.

  “I hope you’re not disappointed, Mrs. Robbins,” Jesse said, closing the door behind them.

  “Oh, sweetie! How could I be disappointed?” Dottie chirped. “One Christmas light on the house would be more than I’ve had in years. Though I do feel badly for taking up your day…your time and your strength.”

  “I like being outside,” Jesse said. “And I know how ladies like their Christmas lights.”

  Cozy smiled as she saw Jesse wink at her grandmother. It really was a very kind gesture. She kept thinking that he must have an ulterior motive—that it couldn’t possibly be he was just offering a random act of kindness. Still, she couldn’t think of another reason, so she let it go—for the moment.

  “Now, you all get out there to the sidewalk in front of the house,” Jesse instructed. “And when you’re ready, I’ll turn them on for you.”

  “All right, son,” Buck said. “Come on, Dottie. And watch yourself going down the stairs. It’s pretty dark out tonight.”

  Cozy glanced to Jesse before following Buck and her grandmother out to the street. He grinned and nodded his assurance that she should go.

  “Tell me when you guys are ready,” he said.

  “Okay,” she agreed. She felt warm and delighted when he winked at her.

  Hurrying after her grandmother and Buck, Cozy turned to face the house once she reached the sidewalk.

  “Are you ready, Grandma?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes! I can hardly stand it,” Dottie chimed.

  “We’re ready!” Cozy called to Jesse.

  Cozy gasped and her grandmother squealed with delight as the lights on the house suddenly shone forth through the dark. It was beautiful—simply beautiful! White icicle lights dripped from the eaves of both the upper and lower stories of her grandmother’s home. Cozy had certainly seen icicle lights before, but these were different. They looked like actual icicles! She didn’t know how Jesse had done it, but the icicle lights hung in varying lengths—some very long, some short, and some medium in length. The effect was overwhelming, appearing as if real icicles had formed on the eaves. It was so simplistic in design that it was far more enchanting than most icicle lights Cozy had seen on other houses.

  “Oh, it’s beautiful!” Dottie exclaimed. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And look at the deer. Wherever did he get those deer anyway?”

  Cozy wondered the same thing as she gazed on the lovely scene Jesse had fashioned on her grandmother’s front lawn. Jesse had shaped strings of blue mini lights into a small waterfall that cascaded over a hedge and to then swirl into a pond. Three gold animated deer—illuminated with white lights—were positioned near the pond. A buck with a large set of antlers was poised in a majestic stance, slowly looking from side to side. A doe and fawn gradually lowered their heads to drink from the pond and then raised them once more. Two white swans—also illuminated with white lights—appeared to be floating gently on the opposite edge of the pond from the family of deer.

  Cozy shook her head, awed by the display. It wasn’t at all gaudy or overdone. It was perfect! And it was perfect for her grandma.

  “Grandma!” she breathed. “It’s so wonderful! I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Oh, I know,” Dottie sighed. “It just takes my breath away.”

  “He does a good job, doesn’t he?” Buck proudly asked.

  “Oh, Buck! It’s just…it’s just perfect!” Dottie sighed.

  Cozy smiled as she looked to her grandmother and saw the tears welling in her eyes.

  “W
ell? Will it do for this year, Mrs. Robbins?” Jesse asked as he strode toward them.

  “Will it do?” Dottie asked, brushing a tear from her cheek. “Oh, you dear, dear boy!” Throwing her arms around his neck, she hugged him—kissed him on the cheek. “It’s so beautiful! Thank you so much. Oh, thank you so much!”

  “You’re welcome,” Jesse chuckled. “As I said, I didn’t have a whole lot of time left today, but I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

  Dottie released him, brushing more tears from her eyes. “You’re an angel, Jesse. Thank you so much. Now, how much do I owe you for the deer and lights and things?”

  “Nothing. They’re just some extra stuff I keep on hand in case I need them,” Jesse said. “I’ll just pack them up and take them all back home when the season is over.”

  “Are you sure?” Dottie asked.

  “He’s sure,” Buck answered as Jesse nodded.

  Cozy thought about the hundred and fifty dollars in her pocket. She felt sick about the fact that Jesse and his grandfather had insisted on paying for walnut ornaments when Jesse had gone to so much trouble for her grandmother’s sake. Still, arguing the point with him would only upset her grandmother—spoil her joy in the beauty Jesse had created. Therefore, she bit her tongue and determined to sneak the money back to the men somehow.

  “Do you have your car keys with you?” Jesse asked her.

  “Yeah. Why?” she answered.

  “I figure we can get my ornaments out of your trunk while we’re already out here.” He smiled with triumph, and Cozy sighed.

  “Sure,” she said, going to her car. She reached into her pocket and pushed the button on her key to pop the trunk. Quickly, she selected five white boxes out of the twenty she had in the trunk. She was glad she hadn’t told Jesse how many she really had with her. She could only take so much charity.

  Tossing them into one of the clear plastic bags she kept with them, she closed the trunk, returned to the sidewalk, and offered the bag to Jesse.

  “You’ll have to invite me over to see your Christmas tree when it’s up,” she baited him with a knowing smile.

  “Okay,” he agreed, however. He opened the plastic bag and peered in at the ornament boxes, even though the bag was transparent. “Did you pick out some good ones for me?”

  “Of course,” she assured him. She shivered then as the cold breeze nipped through her sweater.

  “Let’s get you ladies back inside before you freeze to death,” Buck said, taking Dottie’s arm and linking it with his own.

  “I could just stay out here all night looking at this,” Dottie sighed, gazing at the house as she and Buck started up the walkway.

  “You’d be an ice sculpture by morning, Grandma,” Cozy giggled as she followed them.

  “Do you think she really likes it?” Jesse quietly asked from behind her.

  Cozy stopped cold, turned, and looked at him with disbelief. “Are you kidding? It’s perfect! She’s crying! How could you even wonder?”

  Jesse shrugged, and she was astounded as she realized he truly wasn’t certain he’d done a good enough job with the lights. “I don’t know. I just like to make sure older people are pampered, you know?”

  Cozy’s heart fluttered along with the butterflies in her stomach, and she smiled at him. “Me too. And I promise you…this is more wonderful for her than you can even imagine. Thank you, Jesse.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, grinning. “Now let’s get inside before you’re an ice sculpture.”

  ❦

  They all sat in the family room for nearly two more hours. Dottie and Buck sat close together on the sofa before the fire, while Jesse and Cozy sat in opposing chairs on either side of it. It was a comfortable, friendly evening, and Cozy began to dread returning home to the chaos of her brothers and sisters finishing up last-minute homework. Still, as her grandma’s cuckoo announced eight o’clock, Cozy sighed and stood up from her chair.

  “I have to go, Grandma,” she said. She went to the sofa and bent down, hugging her grandma tightly. “I’ll come tomorrow after work though, and we can finish making the list of what you need for Thanksgiving. Okay?”

  “Perfect!” Dottie answered. “Did I tell you that Buck has accepted my invitation to have him and Jesse join us for Thanksgiving dinner?”

  “H-he did?” Cozy stammered. She glanced to Jesse, who smiled and shrugged his shoulders as if it was the first time he’d heard of it too.

  “Yes…and I’m so excited about everyone being together,” Dottie cooed.

  “Well, that’s awesome!” Cozy giggled. “Maybe you can bake an extra pie just for Jesse, Grandma…as thanks for all his hard work today.”

  Dottie gasped with delight. “Yes, I’ll do that!” She looked to Jesse and asked, “You do like pumpkin pie, don’t you, Jesse?”

  “Of course, ma’am,” he said, smiling. “But I don’t want you to go to any extra trouble.”

  “Oh, it’s no trouble at all! I’d love to do something for you in return.”

  “Well, enjoy your ornaments, boys,” Cozy said, looking to Mr. Bryant and then to Jesse. She arched one eyebrow as her attention lingered on the handsome man sitting in a nearby chair. “And I’ll be interested to see that Christmas tree of yours, Jesse.”

  He chuckled. “I’m sure you will.”

  “Now don’t forget to take that box of extra crackle glass I picked up today, Cozy,” Dottie instructed.

  “I won’t,” Cozy said. “Good night, everyone.”

  “Goodnight, Cozy,” Mr. Bryant said as Jesse rose from his chair and started toward her.

  “Let me help you with your stuff,” he said.

  “Oh, it’s okay. It’s just one box and a basket. I can manage,” she assured him. But he didn’t stop—just strode past her into the entryway.

  Cozy was surprised when he took her red coat down from the coat hook by the front door. “Here you go,” he said.

  “Thank you.” Cozy felt herself blush, for as she reached out for her coat, he simply held it up, indicating he meant to assist her in putting it on. In her entire life, a man had never offered to help her on with her coat. Well, sure, her father—but only when she was little enough to need help. Nervously, she slipped one arm into one sleeve and then the other into the other, muttering, “Thank you,” when he’d finished helping her. She was further astonished when Jesse then opened the front door for her, nodding as a gesture she should exit through it.

  “I’ll carry your stuff to your car for you,” he said, bending down to pick up the box containing the rest of the crackle glass and her basket her grandmother had set by the front door for her.

  “Oh, you don’t have to—” she began.

  “I don’t have to do anything,” he said. “It’s my pleasure.” He grinned at her, and her heart began to pound like a hammer on an anvil. His smile was purely big-screen movie-star quality! It dazzled her to near dumbfoundedness for a moment.

  “After you,” he said.

  Cozy stepped out onto the porch, and Jesse closed the door behind them. As she started down the walkway toward the street, she bit her lip to stifle the delighted giggle that bubbled up in her throat when she heard him whistling—whistling the melody to the old Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs song “Li’l Red Riding Hood” as he followed her down the walkway toward the street.

  She couldn’t help but glance back at him with a smile, and he winked as he continued to whistle. “Very funny,” she giggled.

  “Do you want this in the trunk?” he asked as they approached her car.

  “Sure,” she said, pressing the button on her car key to pop the trunk.

  Jesse continued to whistle as he opened the trunk and set the box inside. He closed the hatch and walked to the driver’s side door of the car. Still whistling the song, he nodded to her to indicate she should push the button to unlock her door. He couldn’t be serious. Did he really mean to open the car door for her? It was an archaic gesture—and entirely fabulous.

  Cozy pus
hed the button and heard the door unlock. Jesse then opened the car door and motioned for her to get in.

  “Thank you,” she said, sliding into the driver’s seat of her car.

  “My pleasure,” Jesse said. “Now, you have yourself a good evening, Little Red Riding Hood,” he chuckled. “And watch out for those wolves.” He winked at her, and she heard a growl (sounding very much like that of a wolf) rumble low in his throat as he closed the car door. He began to whistle the tune again as he nodded at her through the window, before turning and starting back toward the house.

  Every inch of Cozy’s flesh was alive with a thrilling tingling sensation. She was breathless—totally breathless. How could it be that he’d managed to render her so awash with pleasure with such a simple teasing? With a trembling hand, she turned the key in the ignition, and the engine roared to life.

  Jesse watched Cozy drive away. “Hmm,” he hummed to himself. Miss Cozy Robbins didn’t seem to realize how alluring she was. He liked that about her. He wondered for a moment if it would be terribly inappropriate to pursue the girl who he rather hoped would end up being his grandpa’s step-granddaughter. He smiled, amused as he considered the rather wolfish attraction he felt toward her.

  “Ow-ooo,” he howled quietly. He chuckled and returned to whistling “Li’l Red Riding Hood” as he opened the door to Mrs. Robbins’s house and stepped inside.

  Chapter Five

  Thanksgiving Day dawned bright and beautiful. If nothing else, Cozy was thankful she didn’t have to work at the café for two days. The new male customer who had started dining in for lunch every day was far too vulgar and forward, and Cozy was thankful she wouldn’t have to deal with him for once.

  And yet there were many other more wonderful things Cozy was thankful for. She was thankful for her family, her grandmother, the fact that she even had a job. She was thankful that her ornament sales were over and that she’d made enough to pay her tuition in January. However, there was a new something she was thankful for. As Cozy stood next to her grandmother in her grandmother’s kitchen, sautéing the vegetables for the stuffing as her grandma crumbled the cornbread, she was silently thanking the heavens for Jesse Bryant.