Page 58 of Out of the Cold

“Okay. I’ll keep it in my backpack,” she said, taking it from him. “Thank you.”

He folded the map back up and passed it to her. “Have fun.”

“Right, fun.” She gave him an uncertain smile and turned to go.

“Don’t forget these,” he said, handing her the bag with her long underwear and socks.

She didn’t look thrilled to be accepting so much from him, but at least she didn’t argue. He could live with that.

***

?Gabe waited for a LexusSUV to pull out of a spot downtown and stared down another driver who was eyeing the same spot.

“Not today, buddy,” he muttered, pulling in.

It was only ten o’clock in the morning, the roads messy from the snow that had started a few hours earlier, but already Christmas shoppers clogged the streets and sidewalks, spilling out of boutique clothing stores and specialty toy emporiums. He’d waited too long to do his holiday shopping, and now he was going to have to contend with all the tourists.

Turning off the engine, he blew out a long breath and steeled himself for crowds and frustration.

He found some lotions and candles for Natalie in the inaptly named Essentials, which carried nothing essential whatsoever, then headed across the street to the bookstore to look for gifts for his parents.

Turn the Page was even busier than Essentials, so he didn’t immediately notice the books on display in the fiction section. Then the crowd parted and there was Lucy’s book, piled high on a center table with several copies on easels. A sign announced her reading and book signing.

This afternoon.

He picked up a copy and turned it over to read the description on the back. There was Lucy’s face, smiling out at him. His smile in return was pure reflex, but it quickly faded.

Why hadn’t she told him she was having a reading today? Did she think he wouldn’t be interested?

Or maybe she didn’t want him there.

Strangely hurt at the thought, he put the book down and started to walk away, only to turn back again and take a copy from the table.

He’d only seen her a handful of times since he’d given her the warm clothes, mostly when she set out or came back from one of her snowshoeing excursions. But all they ever did was say hello. He got more interest from the dog.

The image of her sweet little body in long underwear that clung to every curve tortured him regularly now. Which did him no good, since they barely spoke, and neither of them had any intention of letting things go in that direction.

By the time he’d found books for his parents and gotten in line to pay, he was hot and annoyed by all the people, and still bothered that Lucy hadn’t told him about her reading.

The line moved forward, and he caught sight of another display table, this one with books for children and teenagers. On it, the cover facing him, was his favorite book as a kid. Abandoning his spot in line, he headed straight for it.

A rush of pleasure went through him as he picked it up. It wasn’t the original cover, but it was still like seeing an old friend somewhere unexpected.

He hadn’t planned on getting Lucy anything. She’d been so bent out of shape about the long underwear—who knew what she’d do if he got her a Christmas gift? But he wouldn’t call it a Christmas present. He wouldn’t even wrap it. He just wanted to be able to talk to her about it.

He got back in line again, this time anxious about the gift as well as hot and irritated. It was a relief to head home, except he still wasn’t sure what to do about her reading.

Pulling into the driveway, he saw that Lucy had chains on her all-weather tires. Judging by the amount of snow covering her car, she hadn’t gone anywhere, so she must have put them on herself.

He couldn’t help smiling at the thought. She was going to make him take back everything he’d ever said about her not making it up here.

He spent the rest of the day working, except for a break for a quick snowshoe. He followed the trail Lucy had broken through the snow and smiled at Hilde’s zany tracks around and through Lucy’s.

He could imagine it clearly, but he’d never gone out with her.

He wanted to, though. The thought surprised him, but it was true. For the first time since Ricky died, he wanted company. He wanted to see the world he loved through her eyes. It was starting to seem like she might love it out here, too. When bears weren’t nearby, anyway.

By the time he made it back to his cabin, four inches had fallen. Another five inches had fallen by four o’clock. Even with snow tires and chains, driving in this would be no picnic, especially for someone completely unused to it. He picked up the phone to call her, then noticed her outside cleaning off her car, the dog nosing around her.

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