I grabbed my coat and joined him on the back deck.
At least, that’s where I thought I was going.
It was a deck, but it was small and had stairs that led down to a patio level, where he stood with a grill and more seating.
I assumed it was a table and seating under the snow coverage.
He’d swept off the concrete but not much else. The charcoal grill was giving off that wonderful woodsy aroma that only charcoal could give, but I noticed he also had a gas grill next to him, that had some foil trays on it.
“What’s that?” I asked, gesturing to the gas grill. “You said you were a charcoal man.”
“I prefer cooking over coals. But for veggies, I find the gas grill lets me roast them better.”
I looked around. Even in the snow, it was an impressive outdoor kitchen. “You have quite the setup out here.”
He nodded. “The thing I’ll miss the most is this, for sure.”
“You said you were downsizing, what prompted this?”
He gestured to the house. “This was for Heather. She wanted a big fancy house. I’m a simpler guy. I don’t need all that. Well. Except maybe this,” he said, smiling.
“What do your kids think?” I asked. “I assume you have children?”
He nodded. “Grown and out of state. Both got good jobs down in Dallas. While they come up sometimes, it’s a lot easier for me to go down there than for them to wrangle their kids and come up.”
“Dallas, that’s nice.”
“You go there often?”
I shook my head. “It’s been a while, actually. But I liked it when I did go. Some salon expos were down there, and I went with my mother and sister, to make sure they didn’t bankrupt the salon.”
He smirked. “So, you’re the warden of the money.”
“I am the warden of the money,” I replied. “My mother likes to think I’m a little too tight with the money. I like to call it cautious.”
“Are you cautious about everything?”
“Most things.”
He stared at me for a minute.
Then looked down at the steaks.
I glanced at the steaks. “Medium rare, right?”
“What other way is there?” he asked and smiled again.
Damn that smile.
It was unnervingly charming.
I glanced at the gas grill. “Do you want me to take those in for you?”
He shook his head. “I invited you. Relax, Winter. You don’t have to do a thing except enjoy yourself.”
“What if I can’t?”
“Then I guess you oughta leave,” Shaun said.
