“Uh… Maybe later.I want you—well, both of you—to come with me.”
“I can’t.The shop is still open.”
He checked his smart watch.“According to the sign on the door, you closed eleven minutes ago, and there are no customers.”
“Well, um… Where do you want to go?”
“It’s a surprise.”He sent her a reassuring smile.
She hesitated.“I don’t know.”
“Arf!Arf!”
He glanced over at the pup.“I think Tater Tot wants to go.”
She rolled her eyes.“He would agree to anything that got him out of this shop.”
“I see.Well, then let’s go.Your carriage awaits.”
She laughed.“My carriage, huh?”She peered out the window.“I don’t see any carriage.”
He sighed.“Fine.It’s my pickup.But if you used your imagination, it could be a carriage.”
She laughed some more, and it sounded wonderful to his ears.“I don’t have that good of an imagination.”
He feigned a pouty look.“Does that mean you won’t come with me?”
“Arf!Arf!”Tater Tot kept pulling on his leash, trying to get loose.
Her gaze moved from Colin to Tater Tot and back again.“I shouldn’t.I have a lot to do.”
“But…”
She sighed.“But I suppose I have a little bit of time.Do you promise we won’t be gone long?”
“I promise.”
She eyed him up, as though trying to decide if she could trust him.Then she said, “If you want to get Tater Tot, I’ll run in back and get my boots and coat.”
“Sounds like a plan.”He set off toward the pup, who went into a string of excited barks.
At least someone was happy to see him.He wondered if he’d ruined their friendship with the kiss the other day.He hoped not.He enjoyed every moment he’d spent with Holly.
Tater Tot jumped all over him as he worked to free his leash from the leg of the counter.When he finally picked up the pup, Tater licked Colin’s face from forehead to chin and everywhere in between.
He carried Tater to the door.When the pup started to squirm, he said, “Calm down.Your momma will be here soon—”
“His what?”
He looked up in time to see Holly frowning at him.“You, uh, heard that?”
“Yes.And you’re wrong.”She crossed her arms as she continued to frown at him.“I’m not his mother.Not even close.”She flipped off the light, pushed the door open, and stepped out into the winter evening.The cold breeze carried her soft voice back to him.“I no longer have any family.I’m alone.And that’s the way it’s going to remain.”
Her words were like a punch in the gut.He felt her loneliness in that admission.He wanted to wrap his arms around her and assure her that she didn’t have to be alone unless she wanted to be.
She didn’t say anything further as she proceeded to lock the front door.
When she turned to go to the left, he said, “Wrong way.I’m parked over here.”
