“Carla didn’t tell you that we were going with y’all, did she? It’s not that we don’t trust you. Don’t get that idea in your mind, because we do. This is just what we always do.”
Rosalie came down the hall wearing her faded chenille robe that she changed into every evening when we got to the trailer. Her hair looked like it had been combed with a garden rake, and she was barefoot.
“I’m running a little late,” she said, and went into the bathroom.
“Did you think we were going to let Carla go out without chaperones?” Scarlett asked. “That doesn’t happen until the third date. Rosie went with me on my first two with Grady to be sure that he was a decent man.”
“Whoa! Y’all wait a minute.” My voice sounded like a hoot owl in my own ears. “I amthirty years old, and you are not going on a date with me. No way! No how! So back off.”
“Neither of us knew the rules, but it’s okay,” Jackson said calmly. “I will call the café and tell them that we need a table for four.”
Scarlett hip-bumped me. “They don’t take reservations—and we’re just messin’ with you. But rest assured that Rosie and I will come looking for you if she’s not home by midnight.”
I popped my hands on my hips. “Oh, no, you will not!”
“Okay, okay, she can stay out until one o’clock, but not a minute longer,” she teased. “And yes, I’m joking.”
“Thank God!” Jackson grinned.
“I will get even,” I whispered as I passed Scarlett and got my coat from the rack.
“I’m sure you will try,” she said.
Jackson helped me with my coat, opened the door for me, and then heaved a sigh when we were in his truck. “I thought she was serious.”
“So did I, but it was not happening.”
He started the engine and then turned to look at me. “You look beautiful.”
“You clean up pretty good yourself.” I wanted to put the words right back into my mouth and swallow them. “And that sounded like a line from a bad movie.”
He made a U-turn and drove out to the road. “So did what I said, but I meant it. And, honey, I’ll take a compliment however I can get it.”
“Forget what I said before,” I told him. “You are one handsome, sexy guy, and that green shirt makes your eyes sparkle.”
His smile got wider. “So, you think I’m sexy, do you?”
“I have twenty-twenty vision.”
“What does that have to do with me being sexy?” he asked.
“It means that you are probably used to seeing women’s heads turn when you walk into a room. That means you know you are sexy.”
“Maybe so, but I like thatyouthink I am,” he said and pointed ahead. “Look at that.”
“It’s dark, Jackson. I don’t see anything. Did a deer run across the road in front of us? I saw a whole herd of them on my way back from Cloudcroft last evening.”
“No, it’s starting to snow. I wonder if the blizzard is arriving a little early. Have you heard the weather report today?”
No, I was too busy worrying about this date and what to wear.
That’s what I thought, but my reply was, “No, I haven’t. Ada Lou talked about it but said it was supposed to hit tomorrow morning.”
He eased into a parking spot in front of a small café in Dell City. “That’s the last report I got, too. We’ve shut down all the work at the rig until the storm blows through.”
I had always loved snow. There’s something about it that brings peace to my soul when it covers the world with a beautiful white blanket. And there was plenty of ugly in this area that badly needed it. I stopped in the middle of the parking lot and caught a few flakes on my tongue.
“I’m so glad you did that,” Jackson said.
