“Is that coffee for me?” she asks, smiling up at me.
“You can have it if you want it. But it’s black.”
“No thank you. As you know, I like my coffee sweet and creamy.”
“Come inside, I’ll fix you some.”
I wrap my arm around her and we climb the porch steps together.
“Were you out here waiting for me?” she asks with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
“I just might have been bird-watching.”
“Lucky birds,” she says.
“And waiting for you.”
“Lucky me.”
My smile is instantaneous. We grin at one another like pirates who have been digging for treasure for a lifetime and finally struck gold.
Hallie follows me into the kitchen. I put a pod in the coffee maker and when I open the fridge, she gasps.
“What is all this?”
“Fun food.”
“You got me fun food?”
“Yes.” I take the flavored creamer out of the fridge door and set it on the counter. “You’d better do the honors. I won’t get it right.”
I place the mug in front of her and she pours the creamer, beaming as if I did something exceptional by picking up a few things I thought she’d like while I was at the grocery.
“So, what’s the plan today?” she asks, taking a sip and smiling.
“There’s this thing in Cookeville.”
“A thing, huh? I love things.”
“That’s what I thought.”
She giggles. “What kind of thing is it?”
“A hello spring thing.”
“Oh my gosh!” she laughs harder, putting her hand to her mouth to keep from spitting the sip of coffee all over. “Greyson. Your face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“You look like you just bought yourself a first class ticket to the underworld—and it’s crowded and hot down there.”
I chuckle. Granted, this kind of event is definitely not my thing. But it will make her ridiculously happy. And making her happy makes me happy.
“I want to go,” I tell her.
“Oh. Yeah. I can tell. Like I want to go to the dentist and have a root canal.” She laughs. “What else is on the list of options?”
“Dollywood.”
