“You said good night, and I just stomped off. That was rude of me.”
“It’s been a long day. Don’t worry about it.”
He frowned. “Okay.”
But he didn’t move.
She held up the Thermos. “Do you want some tea?”
“Nah, I’m fine. Never been much for tea.”
“It’s chamomile.”
He burst out laughing. “That doesn’t make it better. I don’t want to drink flowers.”
She poked her tongue into the inside of her cheek and counted backwards from ten. She got to seven. “Are you always this much of a grumpy curmudgeon?”
He hesitated before nodding. “Pretty much.”
“Wow.”
“Are you always a predictable hippie?”
She gave him a rueful smile. “Pretty much.”
“Well then, we’re an interesting pair of neighbors.” He shifted to the side. “Come and sit. Drink your tea.”
She didn’t bother to point out that he barked orders. He knew it, and she was going to sit anyway. So, she sat. She set her book on the step, and twisted the top off the Thermos. The immediate hit of floral warmth made her smile. Yep, she was a hippie. Yep, she liked flowery tea.
Frank picked up the paperback.
She poured herself a cup and waited for his gruff response to the pirate cover.
He didn’t say anything.
When she glanced over, he was rubbing his thumb over the raised letters of the author’s name. “My wife loved historical novels,” he said. “She read these all the time. I think I have some by this author on my coffee table at home.”
She didn’t know what to say.
He looked sideways at her. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. It sounds hard.”
“It is. And it’s also not something I’m supposed to wallow in so…” He set the book down. “I think you’ll like that one. Bianca always did, anyway.”
“Do you want to talk about her?”
“Always.” He laughed hollowly. “But I don’t want to be a conversation killer, either.”
“You aren’t. Did she like flowery tea?”
His laugh was more genuine this time. “No. We were both coffee drinkers. And cold drinks. She made a wicked lemonade.”
“And now? What do you like to drink now?”
“Always coffee. Still and forever. I’ve discovered iced coffee. Cold brew. That’s a whole new thing that happened while B was sick which I missed. She would’ve liked that.”
“It’s good stuff.” She sipped her tea.
