Page 28 of Christmas Home

I smiled. I didn’t run on treadmills. Usually, the only running I did was away from my exes, but I knew how Southern food could put weight on. My pitiful small frame would likely always be next to nothing but skin and bones, no matter what I ate.

Before I could go through my normal self-deprecating internal speech about how unattractive I was, Ruther came out of a back bedroom. He was buttoning the top button of his shirt, and I caught a glimpse of his delightful chest hair. I swallowed hard and had to force my eyes to the floor and try to remove the vision of running my hands through that fur.

“This is a nice surprise,” Ruther said, causing me to look up at his smiling face.

“I…well, I tried out the donut place this morning and thought since we’re having wine for lunch, maybe you’d both like something to fill your stomachs before, you know, we go do that.”

“Smart thinking, and I love jelly donuts. Someday, when you come to New York, I’ll take you to my favorite bakery. It’s been inthe same family for generations, and the donuts are so delicious they make you want to weep.”

I blushed this time because even if I were to throw caution to the wind and jump into bed with Ruther, I would likely never visit him in New York. It was a sweet comment, though.

“Well, Corey said you’ve got somewhere to be soon, so I won’t linger, but y’all enjoy those, okay?”

“No, wait, why don’t you join us? I’m sure Jake and Lance would enjoy your company as much as me, um, us,” he said, looking toward a bemused Corey.

“Oh, no, I don’t want to impose. Besides, I’d like to go wander around the park. I haven’t been over there yet, and I should probably stretch my legs a bit since I don’t do much of anything when Mrs. Cole gets her clutches into me.”

Ruther laughed and nodded, but I could tell he was disappointed. I probably should’ve stayed, but I was too nervous about just popping by. That, and I was still hot and bothered by the too brief glimpse of his chest. That image gave me way too many feels to deal with while sitting in front of him and his assistant.

“I’ll see you around noon. Enjoy the donuts,” I said, then made a beeline out their front door.

I sighed heavily and left the way I’d come, thankful I didn’t have to go through the hotel lobby to exit, so no one noticed me acting like a nutjob just because I’d been foolish enough to bring donuts instead of leaving well enough alone.

I checked the street, and not seeing any signs of the black pickup truck, I darted off toward the park.

It only took a few minutes to get there, and I sighed with relief as I walked under the canopy of some old trees that cast comforting shade, blocking out the already hot morning sun. It would be ridiculously hot this afternoon in these dog days of summer, as my granddaddy called the last days of the season.

Usually, I was inside running around the café, and although it got hot while I was working, I at least had some nice air-conditioning to get through the worst of it. I wandered around the park until I came to a swing set that sat mostly abandoned. It was older, and the newer set of swings across the park, closer to town, had clearly been used significantly more than this one in recent years. For me, though, it was perfect. Sorta concealed but with a view of Ruther’s building across the way.

My motel lay just around the corner from there. I swung myself up and watched to see if there was any evidence of the pickup truck. Luckily, there wasn’t, just the regular folks I’d met while working at the café. I let that comfort me, convincing myself I was being overzealous. Which with how good things were going, it was like me to be looking and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The breeze swept through my hair, and I felt the telltale signs of a thrill from swinging higher than I should. For a moment, the sensation made me feel like a kid again. Not the kid who spent most of his life afraid of his dad, but a kid who was free just to be happy.

I slowed my swinging and thought how odd it was to feel like that after so many years being afraid. I felt the emotions overtake me and quickly reached up to wipe away a tear that had escaped. I thought I’d long ago cried out the tears of my difficult childhood.

This time, I felt for the little boy who was never allowed to be a little boy. Too many years tiptoeing around an abusive jackass father and a codependent mom. I pushed off again and let myself embrace the joy of the moment.

I leaned back flat on the swing as the air rushed around me, and I laughed. I don’t know what magic they were brewing in Crawford City, but it felt like the right kind to heal my damaged heart.

twenty-five

Ruther

“That was strange,” Coreyteased, biting into the jelly donut.

“Hush, he was just being kind.”

“Sure…kind,” he said before moaning with pleasure. “This really is good.”

I took a bite of mine and had to agree. Not as good as the bakery I frequented in New York, but still delicious. Not that frequented was the right word. I let myself have donuts maybe twice a year. The gesture, though, coming from Clyde, made my heart soar.

I tried not to make too much of it as I took another bite.

We finished the donuts, then took the elevator up to Jake and Lance’s place. We’d been there before, but the beautiful, open architecture bewildered me every time. It wasn’t something you’d expect to see in downtown Crawford City.

“Hi, guys,” Jake said as he led us inside. “I hope you don’t mind. Amos and Doc were both available, and I wanted them to weigh in on your ideas.”

I almost cringed. It was too early to get the mayor involved, and the way Corey tensed beside me, I knew he had the same thought. “No, that’s great. Why don’t you show us more of your plans, Lance?” I said quickly to avoid any misunderstandings about how I felt having them here.

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