We hang up and Dean cocks his brow at me. “Everything okay?”
My poker face quickly sets into place. “Yup.” I kiss him on the cheek and head for the front door. “Ready to go into town?”
Chapter 23
Dean
I’m not sure what Grace was warned about on the phone, but it’s definitely changed her mood. It kind of makes me nervous about the surprise I have for her. With the plow hooked up to the front of my truck, we’re clearing the fresh layer of snow that’s laid on my road as we wind down the hill.
“When I was a kid, plowing snow was my favorite way to make side money.”
“Doesn’t the county clear these roads?”
“Yeah, but it might take them a few days. Some families can’t wait that long, so Nick and I clear the back roads whenever we can. Unless we’re all trapped in a big one.”
“The big one that’s never coming,” she teases.
I’ve been telling her a huge snowstorm is on the way, but so far nature’s making a liar out of me. We pass an old pickup truck, and Honey Pete lifts his hand off the steering wheel to wave hello as he drives by. I do the same back.
“Do you knoweveryonehere?”
“Pretty much.” I shrug. “That man’s been here since before the dinosaurs. He’s a beekeeper who sells honey at the farmer’s market.”
Grace sighs, dreamily. “Of all the places I’ve ever been, this is the best one.”
I don’t believe that for a second. “This can’t beat the French Alps.”
“It does.”
“California?”
“No contest.”
“Hawaii.”
She tilts her head, her lips pursing while she pretends to think about it. “Maui is amazing. But this place is still my top pick.”
“The thin mountain air must have suffocated your brain cells.”
She playfully flips me off and we listen to music all the way into town. She’s convinced I’ll learn to like musicals. I’m sure she’s wrong. But I’ll listen to anything she wants if it earns me one of her golden smiles. My girl leans her head back comfortably and stares out the window. “This town makes me feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie.”
We pass the old movie theater, flower shop, and music store on our right. To the left is the firehall, library, and ballet studio. A little further down is the grocery store and the bar. Benches line the street, with lit up trees and flowerpots stuffed with oversized ornaments and plastic snowflakes. Most of the shop windows are decorated with heavy garland and candy canes. There’s also a big, decorated fir tree at what we call the square in the center of town.
“The town is kicking off the holidays a little early this year. Tonight’s the Jingle Jubilee and tree lighting ceremony.” I haven’t been to one since I was a teenager. “Would you go with me?”
Her face lights up. “Dean Morgan, are you asking me out on a date, while taking metothe date?”
I suck at this. “Yeah?”
“What if I don’t want to go?”
That wipes the smile from my face. “Then I’ll take you back home.”
“Well, now I’m torn.” Grace frowns. “Cute date or go home and fuck. This is unfair.”
“No one said I can’t take you on a cute date, then go home and fuck your brains out, sugar.”
“You always say the best things.” She flips the visor down and checks her mascara. “If I’d known, I would have put on something cuter.”
