The doorbell rang, cutting off Vlad’s retort, and I click-clacked down the stairs in my Payless boots. To my immense relief, I opened the large door to find Tyrone instead of Wayne Jarvis. He was balanced on the only surface available, a beam, because we were in the middle of prying up the porch flooring to replace it with something that wasn’t rotting away.
“Hang on, I’ll be right out,” I said, posing in my grandma brooch.
“You look gorgeous.”
“You too,” I said, slinging a bag over my shoulder. There was a virility to him that I could taste in the air, the smell of freshly cut pine with a hint of repressed danger, Christmas as told by Bruce Willis. A heady smell that made my skin prickle with awareness.
Just as I was about to make a clean escape, Vlad came up behind me.
“Who’s this?” Vlad rumbled. He folded his arms across his broad chest.
I shot a look at him. “Vlad,” I said, “this is Tyrone. He’s our neighbor.”
“Nice to meet you,” Vlad said, holding out a hand. When Tyrone took it, Vlad squeezed a little too hard, but Tyrone didn’t blink. “I’m—”
“An old friend. He dropped by for a surprise visit,” I said.
Vlad shifted slightly, so I edged past him, leaving him to continue crowding the doorway. Heaven had come down to watch the dick-measuring contest. She looked amused.
“Rule number four of Grand Risings. Good dick—”
“Don’t make up for nothing,” I finished.
Tyrone called out to Heaven. “Hey, sis. Feeling better tonight?”
“Yup, much better.”
Before they could get to talking any more, I said, “See you both later,” waved to Heaven and Vlad, and shut the door behind me.
After Tyrone helped me off the porch, he held on to my hand. With a cute smile, he said, “I wasn’t sure we were going to make it out of there.”
“Sorry about that.” There was something so boyish and sweet about him. His lack of guile struck a chord in my heart. I wanted to be vulnerable and unfiltered in return. At least I could be honest.
“Last night, I told you Heaven was sick, but it wasn’t her.”
“Why? Was anyone sick?”
“Yes, the city inspector came by. While he was inspecting the property, some kind of animal bit him and I had to drive him to the hospital. I think it was a coyote.” My eyes cast down in shame, I said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me that?” He looked confused, probably because my story didn’t make sense.
“I was a little freaked out. He was bleeding so much.”
“How could that be your fault?” He looked like he was trying to wrap his mind around the story. “A coyote?”
“A coyote.” At this point, I had to stick to my dumb story.
As we walked down the drive, he said, “Let’s not worry about that right now. Tonight, I have a surprise.” With a big smile, he gestured to the base of the driveway. “I hope you like horses.”
I gasped at the sight of a horse-drawn sleigh. Like his truck, it was painted cherry red and decorated with the St. Nicholas Farms logo, in the same old-fashioned handwriting. “I thought Fred and Melva could give us a ride to the farm.”
I looked into Tyrone’s expectant face. He was trying so hard to impress me. Horses I could do without, but this sweetness went straight to my head. It had been a very long time, probably a lifetime ago, since someone had made such a big deal about me.
“I wouldn’t miss this date for the world.” I squeezed his hand.
“You can give them a little scratch, if you want. They’re both sweeties.” He whispered something and rubbed one of their velvet snouts. The animal nickered softly and nuzzled Tyrone’s jacket. With a chuckle, he chided the horse. “Hey, now, don’t be eating my jacket, Fred!”
Even the horses loved him.
