Page 48 of Once Upon a Winter
Because…
I love you.
(Sad face)
So, Merry Christmas.
Oh, and—I hate to ask,
But could you take a look at my faucet? It’s leaking.
Sorry, but you’re the only handyman in town.
Merry Christmas…
Walking away now.
How many cards would I need for all that? Too many, even for a teacher. I’d have to break into a church’s Sunday school classroom.
She turned the key in her front-door lock, stepped inside, locked the door, and hung her coat on a hook.
“Laura?”
Laura screamed and practically levitated out of her fur-trimmed boots. “Cooper! What are you doing here? You can’t just break into people’s houses!”
His dog, Duke, whose large paws seemed almost too big for his body, skidded slightly along the wooden floor as he rounded the corner from the kitchen to greet Laura. She bent down and gave Duke a neck rub then looked up at Cooper.
“I didn’t break in. Well, technically, maybe. But—sorry. I was out walking Duke, and I saw you weren’t home, so I—”
“Thought you’d break in and—”
With a wry look, he said, “There’s a key over the doorframe.”
“Not for you!”
“Laura, anyone wanting to break in would check the doormat, a potted plant, and the doorframe. It’s not exactly Fort Knox.”
“So you’re here for a home security check?”
He calmly said, “No…”
“Cooper, you scared the stuffing out of me!”
“Sorry. I assumed you’d be staying overnight at your parents’, so I wanted to check to make sure we didn’t accidentally leave a random faucet or stove on when the power went out.”
“Oh.” Realizing he meant well, she relaxed, but her frown was still fading when she said, “Thanks. That was thoughtful.”
He lifted his shoulders, which could have meant it was nothing or that he wished he’d never stopped by at all. She imagined that from now on he would walk his dog in the other direction.
Laura could have gone on imagining since neither one of them spoke. They just stared. Even Duke was unusually quiet.
At last, Cooper said, “I should go.”
“How was your Christmas?”
He looked confused by the question. “Fine. How was yours?”
“Merry.”
