Our Now and Forever(26)
Chapter 8
Caleb wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He’d considered checking out his temporary new town, but driving around alone held no attraction for him. He’d rather explore the area with Snow. Let her show him around and share whatever it was that drew her to this place. As far as he could tell, Ardent Springs was a sleepy little metropolis with a bustling downtown and not much else. The proximity to Nashville kept the town from being remote, but without a business or family in the area, he didn’t see much of a reason to stick around.
As he parked the Jeep outside Snow’s apartment—or rather their apartment for now—he was surprised to see one of the garage doors open. The walls were lined with shelves, most holding neatly organized paint cans, canvases, a few easels, but there was no vehicle. Seemed a waste of space. This garage was made for cars, not paintbrushes and dirty rags.
“You got a reason to be nosing around my property?” Caleb spun to find an elderly woman nearly his own height staring at him through the biggest pair of sunglasses he’d ever seen. She wore a ball cap, an oversized blue robe-looking thing that buttoned up the front, and a pair of regular glasses dangling from a string of beads around her neck.
Caleb didn’t make a habit of checking out older women, but it was impossible not to notice that this one desperately needed to put on a bra. Everything was sitting around waist level.
“I’m Snow’s hus—” he started, then corrected himself. “Fiancé. Snow’s fiancé. Are you Mrs. Silvester?”
“Since when does Snow have a fiancé?” she asked, dragging out the last word into several syllables.
That was a good question. They hadn’t discussed a time line for this bogus engagement, so Caleb decided to wing it. “Since two weeks ago.”
His interrogator looked him up and down. “How long have you been in town?”
He was tempted to tell the busybody it was none of her business, but the impression she was digging for answers in protection of Snow kept him polite. “I got here yesterday,” he said.
“But you asked her to marry you two weeks ago.” The words were more statement than question. Her top lip curled as if she’d tasted something bitter. “What’d you do? Ask over e-mail or something? What kind of a boy asks for a girl’s hand like that?”
She had a point. Caleb cursed his quick answer and resented Snow for making him lie like this. “Not exactly,” he said, stalling to come up with a better story. “We talked about it over the phone and then agreed that I should come stay for a while to see how things go.” What a load of bull. He only hoped he’d remember all of this to get the story straight with Snow later on. “I haven’t actually gotten down on one knee and made an official proposal yet.”
“What the hell you waitin’ on?”
Caleb went with the first thought that entered his head. “I don’t have a ring.”
That put a hold on the rapid-fire questions. The woman slid her sunglasses to the end of her nose. “You’re certainly pretty enough for my girl. What do you do for a living?”
Refusing to throw another lie on the metaphorical pile, Caleb said, “I’m between jobs at the moment.”
Gray brows shot up. “At least you’re honest.” With a tilt of her head, she added, “Louisiana boy, aren’t you?”
Impressive. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You’re lucky,” she said, sliding the glasses back up. “I have a soft spot for Louisiana boys.” Turning on her heels, she said, “Follow me.” Caleb was so surprised, he didn’t move for several seconds, until she turned and barked, “Don’t be dillydallying now. We’ve got work to do.”
Too stunned to argue, Caleb shuffled across the driveway, following Her Geriatric Highness through the garden gate and toward the side of the big house. “You are Mrs. Silvester, right?” he asked as he caught up to her.
“I am not and never have been Mrs. anything. Call me Miss Hattie.” She floated up the six steps to reach the porch without touching the hand rail. “First, we’ll take care of the ring situation.” Resting her hand on the screen door handle, she removed the sunglasses, sliding one stem into the top of her robe thing—Caleb wasn’t sure what to call the outfit other than shapeless. “I assume you’re staying in the apartment with my tenant. You young folk might take this sort of thing lightly, but in my day, a woman didn’t live with a man without first getting the ring as well as the vows spoken in front of the preacher.” Opening the door and waiting for Caleb to hold it, she said, “I’ll let the second part slide, but insist on the first. You have a problem with that?”