Jackson’s smile turned into another chuckle. “I wish we could spend more time snowed in.”
“With that much time together, we would have more than one argument.” I got to my feet and headed for the bathroom to brush my teeth.
He wiggled his dark brows. I didn’t have to ask what he was thinking, but keeping the silly grin from my face was not easy.
I got the pink toothbrush that I had claimed from a drawer, squirted toothpaste on it, and stuck it in my mouth. My reflection in the mirror had changed a little from the day before. I could see a couple of frown lines, especially across my forehead. After only knowing him for a short while, Jackson had mentioned hiring a housekeeper and children. He might not realize it yet, but he was ready to put down roots. Even after that horrid nightmare, seeing him standing over me and weeping, I wasn’t totally sure what kind of future I wanted.
Chapter Fourteen
I’m home,” I called out when I walked into the trailer.
Scarlett ran down the hall and wrapped me up in a fierce hug. “Thank God. Rosie and I are bored out of our minds. We need someone else to talk to.”
Rosie came out of her room with a big smile on her face. “Welcome back, and it’s good to hear you say that you are home. Did you see Ada Lou? Is she going stir-crazy? How did you get home, anyway? The roads are still closed, aren’t they?”
Scarlett didn’t give Carla time to answer Rosie’s questions, but went on with her own. “Have you had dinner? We just made sandwiches, but Rosie has a ham in the oven. We figured we could eat it tonight, then slice up what’s left to make sandwiches in case we lose power. Are you glad to be back? What’s it like living in a trailer with Jackson? And where did you get that sweat suit?”
I could not possibly remember all those questions, so I fired back some at them. “Did you already clean the café? Scarlett, how are you handling not seeing Grady? Rosie, how in the world is the church getting along without you? Did y’all miss me?”
Rosie chuckled. “Looks like we’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“The past forty-eight hours seem like a month,” Scarlett said with a sigh. “I didn’t realize how much I miss my routine.”
Rosie sat down on one of the recliners and patted the sofa arm beside her. “We’ll each ask one question and take turns. First, haveyou seen Ada Lou? I’ve been praying for her and Nancy, even though Nancy doesn’t come to the Tumbleweed very often. Poor soul must be lost without her husband, may he rest in peace.”
“I had lunch with Ada Lou before I came home.” The wordhomestill sounded strange when I said it. “She is sassy as ever. Yesterday she shoveled a path from her back door to Jackson’s trailer and invited us over for cinnamon rolls. And ...” I paused for a breath. “She made them from scratch and baked them herself. Then today she made a pot roast for us to share. Oh, and yesterday, Nancy made her way to the trailer using snowshoes, and all four of us played Scrabble. Now it’s my turn. Scarlett, how are you holding up without seeing Grady?”
“Holy smokin’ hell!” Scarlett gasped.
“I know,” I agreed with a nod. “Now, tell me about Grady.”
“I’ve seen him with FaceTime, but that’s not holding him or kissing him good night, or ...” She blushed. “Did you at least get a few kisses when you were holed up with Jackson?”
“Not a single one,” I answered. “But all three of us—Ada Lou, Jackson, and I—had crazy dreams that first night.”
Scarlett finally sat down in the recliner at the other end of the sofa. “Rosie is good at interpreting visions. Tell us about them.”
I started with Ada Lou’s dream and what she thought it meant.
“She is right about the meaning. I’ve been telling her that same thing for years,” Rosie said. “I guess she just needed to hear it from Robin. Maybe now she can really move on.”
“She says that I’m like the granddaughter she might have had. Did she say that same thing to you, Scarlett?” I asked.
“Nope, but she has helped me get through some really tough times,” she answered. “So, you and Jackson are really just friends?”
The idea of a real house, a yard, and especially children and a kitchen still scared me. After the few role models I’d had, how could I ever be a good—or even decent—mother? “To be honest, I don’t really know what we are.”
“Now, what did Jackson dream about?” Rosie asked.
I couldn’t lie, but repeating what he had shared about his dream still made me sad enough to cry. Did that mean this attraction between us was more than a passing thing? I couldn’t remember a single guy I had known in the past who could make me that emotional.
“Okay, here it is ...” I sighed and told them the details of his dream.
Rosie made the sign of the cross and then said a prayer before she said anything. “That’s his inner spirit telling him that it would be dangerous, even fatal, for him to go back into the army.”
“I thought that might be the meaning,” I whispered.
“You’ve saved the best for last, haven’t you?” Scarlett asked.
