“All the above! Plus, you’re missing the cookie party.”
That took the bluster out of him. The cookie decorating party was another big tradition in their family. They both breathed heavily. If this argument took place in person, they’d be wrestling on the barn floor by now.
“Are you gonna help me or not?” Drake growled.
“Not.” Pax hung up on him.
Drake stared at his phone. “Well, that’s a fine how-do-you-do.” He tucked his phone into his pocket. “He’ll be eating his words when I pull up with Felix in the trailer.”
For a minute, he contemplated calling one of his other brothers, but it was unlikely that he’d get a better response from any of them. His family loved each other fiercely at times. If any of his brothers had taken off like he did, he’d be ticked at them too.
The anger drained out of him.
He rummaged around the shop and piled spare parts up next to the sled. It took him an hour to do what Pax could have done in ten minutes, but whatever. At least he could make progress and avoid Clove for the rest of the day.
By the time he turned the lights off in the shop and shut the door, it was dark outside. That wasn’t saying much. It got dark at 4:30 in the afternoon in these parts. He tucked his hands into his winter work gloves and trudged back to the bed-and-breakfast.
The lights were on in the house, and Christmas lights wrapped around the porch railing. Those decorations hadn’t been there when they checked in. Maybe Judy decided to spruce things up because she had paying customers.
He stepped into the smell of beef stew and homemade rolls. His spirits instantly lifted.
“There you are!” Hannah called from a rocker by the fireplace. Her hands flew as she knitted away at the candy cane blanket. “We were starting to wonder if you’d gotten lost out there.”
He glanced around and didn’t find anyone else in the room. “We, huh?” He teased her lightly as he shucked his shoes and set them on the rubber mat. The snow would melt there without leaving a mess on the hardwood floors.
Hannah watched him, her hands not even slowing down. “I might have had a conversation with Judy and Clove over dinner.”
Drake perked up. “Now this I have to hear.” He plopped onto the couch next to her and set his chin on his fist. “Serve the tea.”
“Tea?” she asked.
He chuckled. “It means give me all the gossip. You know, like women do over a cup of tea.”
Hannah squared her shoulders. “I don’t gossip. But I will tell you that you’re making quite the impression on people around here.”
“People or a person?” He lifted one eyebrow in question.
Hannah regarded him. “Are you interested in one person in particular?”
He had to tread lightly here. “I’m interested in talking a certain someone into letting me take Felix to North Dakota without a fight, if that’s what you mean.”
“It’s not at all what I mean.” Hannah’s eyes danced. “I’m not old, but I ain’t in the spring of life anymore and I’d like to see Clove with a family of her own. She needs roots.”
Drake shook his head. What was with people wanting to marry him off today? “I’m not the man for the job. Trust me. Confirmed bachelor.” He pointed his thumb at his chest.
Hannah burst out laughing. “There’s no such thing.”
Drake leaned back. “With all due respect, people say the same thing about flying reindeer, ma’am.”
Hannah’s joy didn’t recede one bit at his logic. “And we can both prove them wrong every day of the week.” She stopped to undo a knot in her yarn. “I’m not going to push tonight because you’re hungry and a man with an empty stomach is as dangerous as a grizzly just out of hibernation.”
Drake couldn’t argue with that. Maybe he should have asked Pax if he was hungry before he argued with him.
“All I’m going to say is that you’ll never be the man you want to be until you find your better half.”
Drake scowled. “You’re saying I need a woman to make me a better man?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s not a knockdown, it’s a fact.” She bobbed her head once, making her soft gray hair sway around her face.
