“No, but?—”
“I think it’s decent or I wouldn’t be giving it to you. You’re also the only person I trust to give me an honest opinion. Everybody else likes me too much.”
That made her laugh. It was so Rance. “Then nobody’s laid eyes on it, not even Granny?”
“She’s seen snippets, the parts where I needed to check my fictional granny’s dialogue, but all along I wanted you to be my first reader.”
“All along? When did you start this?”
“Last February, after you went back to New Jersey.”
“Please don’t say you wrote it for me.”
“No, but you were the catalyst. This story’s been fermenting for a while. I always knew I’d write it someday. Then I met you and everything fell into place. I’d write the book in secret and hand it to you. You’d tell me whether it’s any good.”
“But if I think it’s publishable, then you should have your mom?—”
“I won’t ride on her coattails.”
His stock just went way up. She held his gaze, captured by the gleam of self-respect in his brown eyes. “I get that.”
“Will you take it?” He held out the package.
She hesitated. “Yes.” She picked it up, gripping it tight with both hands as her gloved fingers slipped on the wrapping paper.
“Thank you.” His deep sigh of relief told her how much he’d counted on this.
“It’s heavy.”
“Ninety-nine thousand five hundred and sixty-two words.”
She smiled. “I would’ve guessed ninety-nine thousand five hundred and sixty-three.”
“In my final pass I cut a word on the last page.”
She peered at him. “Seriously?”
“No.” He laughed. “I have no idea how many words it is. I kept editing right up to the last minute before I had to print it out. It’s slightly under a hundred thousand. I think.”
“I feel like I just got the handoff in a spy movie. I assume I’m sworn to secrecy?”
“If you can manage it.”
“It’ll be tricky. I’ll need to read when no one’s around. And someone’s always around.”
“But not on this sleigh ride.”
“That was your plan?”
“No, ma’am. My plan’s been banjaxed, as Kieran would say. I’d intended for you to ride shotgun while I drove the sleigh.”
“What about the book?”
“I was gonna find a good place to stop and pull it out from under the blanket.”
“What made you think I’d agree to go with you?”
“I would’ve said you could do some of the driving.”
