She sighed. “We’ll argue over who pays later.” She rubbed her mitts together. “Let’s go. I’m excited to take a ride. I haven’t been on a sleigh in way too long. Thank you for this. Where are we going?”
“We’re going for a ride.” His smile said he was keeping their destination a secret to increase the excitement of the trip. “Climb in and cover up. The blankets will keep you warm.” He held out his hand. She grasped it and climbed up.
The seat was padded in plush red velvet. One of the horses nickered, and somewhere close, chickadees sang. The air was fresh and cold but not frigid. The fresh fallen snow glistened in the bright sunshine. It was perfect for a winter outing. There was even a hint of pine in the air, reminding her of how close Christmas was. The only thing missing was holiday music. She hummedWalking in a Winter Wonderland.
Owen climbed up and draped a fuzzy blanket around her shoulders. He sat beside her and draped a matching, plush, plaid blanket over their laps. “Togetherness to keep us warm.” He winked. The man had entirely too much charm. “We’re ready when you are,” he called to the driver. The sleigh started forward with a slight jolt which turned to smooth gliding.
She couldn’t help the giggle of happiness which escaped her. She hadn’t been on a sleigh ride since junior high. What an amazing way to spend the day, and beside this adorable man too. Her heart soared and she felt freer than she had in ages. This, right here, right now, was perfect happiness.
They glided across the yard, down the snowy driveway to the road. It was plowed enough to be drivable, but still snowy enough for the sleighs to travel easily.
“Where are we going?”
“Wait and see. You’re very impatient, Amaryllis,” he teased.
“Rill, please. My friends call me Rill.” She had always hated the name Amaryllis; it was too fancy. But she wasn’t going to admit that she was starting to like him calling her by her full name.
“And are we friends?” His gaze caught hers, freezing her breath in her lungs.
She swallowed the sudden lump of discomfort in her throat. “Yes, we are friends.” But man, oh man, would she like to be more than his friend. She tore her gaze away before she blurted her true feelings. They pulled off the sunny road onto a track between the trees. It was several degrees cooler in the forest. “Brrr. I’m glad we have these blankets.”
“Warm enough?” He slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight to his side.
It was presumptuous of him, but since she was glad to be there, she let the action go unremarked and leaned against him. “It’s lovely,” she sighed. Blissful. Happy. Content. Excited. Thrilled. There were entirely to many adjectives she could use to describe this moment and not one of them came close to the perfection of reality. She wanted to stay here, snuggled into his side, for a long time. Maybe forever.
She shook off the folly. The letter sitting on her dresser beckoned her. She really should open it, only she didn’t want to spoil the bliss of the moment. With luck, she’d have a job to return to when Auntie O got home. If not, she’d figure out the next step. Later. Maybe she could find a job in Snowy Hollow.
City, country; they both had good points. She wouldn’t let worries of the future ruin her day. She would enjoy every minute of it, but not let it sneak further into her heart. She would resist Owen’s charms, and his enticing spicy scent wasn’t pulling her in and making her need to taste his lips. Nope. Not her.
She would also enjoy the happy flutter of her heart at being home. She was strong and smart enough to know that this was temporary. Even if her soul whispered that she’d been dreaming of a relationship with Owen since she returned home. For over three weeks she’d been fighting the urge to take their relationship to new territory.
“You’re thinking very hard,” Owen said as they exited the trees to cross a wide field crisscrossed with animal tracks. “What’s on your mind?”
He was too perceptive by half. “Food. I didn’t eat much this morning. I got distracted. I’m hungry.”
“I think it’s more than that, but if that’s what you’re going with, I’ll let you keep your secrets.” He gave her a little shoulder bump. “We’ll be at the picnic site in twenty minutes. Relax and enjoy the scenery. Look, over there.” He pointed to the west.
Just at the edge of the trees, a doe and two fawns stood, ears twitching, watching them cross the field. The doe stamped her front hoof and they turned in unison and leaped into the forest, disappearing down an almost imperceptible path. Magical.
“Oh, they were beautiful. What kind were they?”
“How do you not know that? You grew up here. They were mule deer. Almost no tail.”
“I knew that. I was testing you. I didn’t expect you to know.”
“Not know? As soon as I was old enough for a hunting license, I hunted for food. I kept Mom and my siblings in meat. I also worked part time shoveling manure on two farms. It took a huge burden off Mom. She still worked too hard, but at least we ate better and didn’t have to worry about the heat being shut off because we used the money for food.”
Her heart blossomed with pride at what he’d done. “You must be so proud of what you did. You were a good son. How is your mom?”
“Good. She’s enjoying working part time for fun. Mom and I are disappointed that my brothers and my sister and her family can’t be here for Christmas this year.”
“I’m sorry about that. At least your mom can come spend it with us. And you? Are you happy, Owen?”
“I’m ...” He seemed to be struggling for the right word. “I’m content. I love my job and I’m excited to have my own apartment. It’s weird to be thirty and living with your mother. Technically, she lives with me, she has since—since the accident. She moved in when Kiya died. I wasn’t fully able to look after myself and needed assistance with a few things. But outsiders always think I live with my mom, like I’m a lazy gamer living in her basement. You know the stereotype.”
Rill laughed. “I do. But you’re so far from the stereotype, it’s laughable to try to make it stick to you.”
“And you’d never strike me as the office type. I can’t see you wearing power suits and high-end stilettos either, but you do.”
