“She’s—” Anderson squinted.
“Yeah. Five feet of pure determination and muscle and drive.”
“Adele would tower over her.”
“Adele towers over you.” I nudged him.
He rolled his eyes. “My sister once said Adele’s father was tall. That was pretty much the only time she spoke of the guy.”
“Has he ever come around?”
“No.” He toed a piece of gravel—thereby not looking me in the eye. “I have worried about that. I loved my sister, but she rarely hung out with anyone who might qualify as agoodcrowd. I don’t even know if the guy was aware she was pregnant. She didn’t list anyone on the birth certificate.”
I gestured for us to wander toward the house.
He fell into step beside me.
“Do you worry?”
“We had a long conversation about DNA databases. That she might find out things she doesn’t want to know.”
“Yikes. Something I’d never even considered.” I held open the screen door and gestured for him to go in the bright-red-painted front door.
He did, then immediately removed his shoes.
I laughed as I closed the door. “All the flooring is vinyl. Replaced two years ago. I’d go nuts if I always had to take off my boots—unless they’re covered in mud. I just sweep up regularly.”
“That’s fair. I’ll still remove mine.” He offered me a shy smile. His eyes shone in the sunlight pouring in through the window near the top of the door.
“You want a tour?”
“Absolutely.” He clapped his hands and grinned in what I could only interpret as giddiness.
“It’s not all that exciting.”
He pressed his index finger to my lips. “This isyourhome—of course it’s exciting.”
“Well, okay, then. Why don’t we start upstairs? Then we can do the downstairs and end up in the barn where you can meet the goats?”
“I was kind of hoping to end the tour with your bedroom.” Said with just the right amount of lasciviousness.
“So you’re not worried about getting home?”
He waved off my concern. “Adele’s a good kid. Caleb’s a sweetheart. I’d be holed up in my room working anyway.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“Oh, my old bedroom. Upstairs. I converted it into a den. Sloped ceilings, a dormer window, and a view over all of Cedar Valley. I’m often distracted by the scenery.” He gestured to the mountains to the north of me, across the Fraser River. “You’ve got a pretty stunning view.”
“Yeah.” I grinned. “Okay, goats first.”
He put his boots back on and, since neither of us had removed our coats, we headed back outside.
The ground was pretty solid under our feet. We’d had snow earlier in the autumn, and a bit again last week, but it’d melted. “You, uh, think we’re going to have a white Christmas?” I opened the gate and let him through. After securing it, I kept walking.
He fell into step beside me. “We’ve had quite a few over the past few years. More than I remember in my childhood. I thought the climate was warming.”
“Stand aside.” I gestured for him to stand behind me. I opened the door to the barn and a few bleats sounded before a little horde of goats came out into the yard.
