Sighing, I maneuvered around the door just enough to lift my cup in acknowledgment. I figured that would be enough, but when she skipped my way, I knew I wouldn’t get out of the drive in the next five minutes.
“Hey, do you need to borrow my scraper?”
She waved the thing around like a damn flag, and that smile on her face…who the hell was that chipper at seven o’clock in the morning?
“Why would I need it?”
“To scrape the ice off your windshield, silly.”
My eyes slid to the window, and for the first time, I saw the thick ice built up from the overnight rain.
“You’re not from around here, are you? I could tell. I mean, you arrived in a light coat instead of a winter coat. Well, that and your plates say Tennessee.”
“You caught that, did you?” I muttered sarcastically.
Laughing, she acted like the whole thing was so damn funny. “I know. That would be the first sign, right? Did you need a warmer coat? I mean, technically, this is beautiful spring weather. You’ll even see people driving with their windows down to enjoy the warmer temps.”
“No,” I answered, hoping that would be the end of it.
I shifted back to the truck, but she stopped me again.
“So, did you need the scraper?”
I had been so damn close, and yet, she was right. I did need to borrow her scraper.
“Thanks,” I grumbled, setting my cup inside before slamming the door.
“I can do it for you, if you want. I have gloves.” She wiggled her thick-gloved fingers in front of me, waggling her eyebrows.
“I think I can handle it.”
“Okay, well, have at it,” she said, pretending she was going to whip it at me. Then she tossed her head back and laughed. “Sorry, just trying to cheer you up. You look a little grumpy.”
“It’s seven in the morning.”
“I know,” she sighed, closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply. “I love this time of day. And even better is when you sit out on the porch with a hot cup of tea. Of course, I like to snuggle under a blanket.”
I grunted, taking the scraper from her. With any luck, I could get this done quickly and she would leave me alone. But the moment the scraper hit the windshield, I realized this was going to take some elbow grease.
“So, what are you doing up here from Tennessee?”
“Visiting a friend.”
“Oh, do I know him?”
“Why would you?” I asked, jamming the scraper against the window and chipping away at the ice.
“Well, I know everyone in this town. That’s what happens when you grow up here.”
I grunted in reply, but kept my back to her and continued to scrape the damn ice.
“Do you want to borrow my gloves? They’re one size fits all. Although I’m not really sure how that works. People have varying degrees of large and small hands. How can someone with large hands wear something the same size as someone with small hands? Wouldn’t the person with small hands get lost in the glove?”
Sighing, I turned to her. “Do you always talk this much?”
“Yep!” she smiled.
“And no one ever told you that?”
