“Only one left.”
“Good thing we came early.” She handed it to him. “You can check it over for defects, but if it’s the last one….”
“I don’t notice any nicks or dents.” He turned the see-through package around almost lovingly as he examined it. “It’s a good-looking truck. Benny’s gonna love it.”
Just like Cole would have when he was a kid. If he’d had one, he would have said so. The image of him as a disappointed little boy made her chest hurt. “If you want to ride along with Adam on Wednesday afternoon when he delivers the gifts, I’m sure he?—”
“Thanks, but I’d rather not.” He put the truck in the cart. “Where’re the Mini Whinnies?”
“Around the corner. I used to practically live in that part of the store when I was little.” She zipped around the endcap and plucked a box from the shelf. “Here you go.”
He took it and frowned. “That’s not very big.”
“That’s why they’re called Mini Whinnies. It’s what Annie asked for, so she knows the box is small.”
He checked the price. “We should get her two.”
“Okay.” Much more of this and she’d be in tears over the tender-hearted kid living in this big cowboy’s body. She handed him a second box.
“Jordie would have loved these. When did they first come out?”
“About twenty years ago.”
“I must’ve missed them. If I’d seen them, I would’ve….” He shook his head. “Never mind. Where’s the Lego dinosaur section?”
“Down here.” She walked to the end of the aisle. “This is all the Lego stuff.”
He scanned the shelves. “Wow. Clara didn’t say which dinosaur. What if we get the wrong one?”
So vulnerable. Little did he know he was turning her into a puddle of goo. “I’m guessing she doesn’t have any, so she’ll be thrilled with whichever one you choose.”
“There’s everything from a T-Rex to a cute baby dinosaur. You were a little girl. What would you have picked?”
“None. I was into horses. But if she’s into dinosaurs and doesn’t have any, I’d get her the T-Rex. She can show it off because everyone will know immediately what it is and be impressed.”
“Smart. I hadn’t thought about the fact that she’ll want bragging rights.”
No bragging rights for little Cole. His childhood must have been bleak, and yet somewhere along the way he’d learned to play the violin.
Desperate to focus on something positive in his background, she brought it up. “When did you get your fiddle?”
“Not long after I moved out. It was at the second-hand shop where I bought things for my apartment. I paid for it over time. It belonged to the guy who owned the shop and he taught me to read music.”
“Bonus. What made you want a fiddle?”
He smiled. “I heard The Devil Went Down to Georgia and became a huge Charlie Daniels fan.”
“Then you can play that song?”
‘Yes, ma’am.”
“That number is a real crowd pleaser. How come you didn’t play it at the wedding reception?”
“Wasn’t appropriate, at least in my opinion. It’s a performance number that puts the spotlight on the fiddler. That was Jordie and Luis’s day, not mine, and the mood was all about romance, not a contest with the Devil.”
Naturally he wouldn’t want to steal the limelight from his little sis. She should have known. “Then promise me you’ll play it at the New Year’s Eve Party at the Raccoon.”
He smiled for the first time since they’d walked through the door. “Only if Sam agrees to it and you’ll be my date that night.”
