“I think I’ll pass. Say hi to Bailey for me.”
Slipping into my car, I turned the engine, waiting patiently as she struggled to turn over. Brody looked at Delilah like she was amenace, but my girl had been with me since high school. I wasn’t about to let her go now.
I stopped at the general store on the way home, getting only enough to make something decent for dinner. Mr. Callahan was just as grouchy as ever, but I never gave up that one day I would convince him to smile, even though I didn’t care if I ever saw his son again.
Delilah pulled smoothly into my drive, only chugging once she was sitting idle.
“That’s okay, girl. You got me home in one piece. You can rest now. You’ve had a hard day,” I whispered lovingly.
Grabbing my paper bag filled with groceries out of the back seat, I headed for the house, but didn’t make it five feet before I slipped on the ice accumulating now that the temperatures were dropping for the night.
I grabbed Delilah, laughing at how I almost went down. “Did you see that? I totally caught myself. That would have been funny, right? Well, not funny for me. I would have landed on my butt, and that would have really hurt. Thankfully, you were here to save the day.”
Chuckling, I righted myself and took only a single step before sliding once again, but this time, my hand slid right off Delilah.
“Delilah!” I shouted as the groceries went flying. My feet flew out from under me, and I landed hard on my butt, then my back. My head bounced off the drive, but thankfully, the slush broke my fall just a tad.
Sighing, I stared up at the setting sky. Cold and water seeped through my pants, darkening my mood slightly. Ever the optimist, I put a smile on my face and refused to be mad about any of this. I would survive.
Rolling over, I carefully got to my knees, then crawled to gather the items that flew from the paper bag. I was just reachingfor an orange that had landed several feet away in the snow when I saw a boot attached to a leg.
Slowly, I raised my eyes for what felt like miles until I finally met the gaze of the man attached to said boot. Gray eyes stared down at me with mild interest, but the scowl on his face made it perfectly clear he was not the happy-go-lucky person I was.
But at least the scowl was attached to a handsome face with a strong jaw covered in a few days’ growth. And that mess of hair on the top of his head was just long enough to run my fingers through.
If I was so inclined to do something like that to a stranger.
There was a lot I could forgive for a good-looking man, even if he did look like he was irritated by my very presence.
“Can I help you?” I asked, even though I was the one in the position of needing help.
“You live here?” he grunted.
“Uh…yeah. Right there,” I pointed at my house.
When he didn’t say anything, I snatched the orange and started gathering the rest of my items. Yet the man didn’t move an inch. He just stood there watching me. And even when I started to get up and slipped on the ice a second time, he still didn’t shift even the slightest.
Finally getting to my feet, I plastered a smile on my face, pretending I hadn’t just fallen on my butt in front of the man.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
He held out his hand, and then keys dropped into a dangle at his fingertips. “Woman in town is letting me stay here.”
“Ah, at the rental. Lizzy.”
He nodded in confirmation.
“Well…” What was I supposed to say to that? Was he asking for help? Did he not know how to unlock a door?
“The door isn’t opening.”
I glanced at the small house next to mine, then back at his handsome face. This wasn’t the first time someone had trouble getting into the house. Though, usually people asked an actual question instead of just grunting out words like a caveman.
“I can help you with that. It’s tricky, and the lock tends to stick. Let me just set this down inside.”
“Sure. Take your time,” he muttered, though it sounded like he was annoyed by my request.
Shaking off his bad attitude, I carefully made my way to the house and unlocked the door, setting the bag just inside. I was nearly down the steps when my feet flew out from under me again, only this time, I caught myself on the railing.
