The Christmas Cottage(9)

“Louie, let’s go over to Miss Holly’s and see if she wants to go for a drive.” Louie slowly stretched and got up and crossed over to him. He reached down to pet the dog. Louie was one creature they could depend on. He wasn’t going to leave them. Steve was pretty sure that Louie thought Josh was the center of the universe, which was exactly what Josh needed. Steve had adopted Louie from the local rescue group right after his Mom had died. Josh missed his grandmother, and the pup had been a great distraction. Now Steve couldn’t imagine life without the Aussie, with his quick wag, cheerful blue eyes, and energy to match Josh’s. It was a good thing that Louie could match Josh’s boundless energy, because Steve knew he had a hard time keeping up with his son. What a spitfire. Not that he’d change one thing about Josh. Steve had been a carefree young man when Josh was born but from the moment Josh had looked up at him and wrapped his tiny fingers around his own, there had been nothing and no one that could have separated them. He’d matured quickly then, doing everything in his power to provide a good life for Josh.

They crossed the distance to the cottage with Louie loping ahead of him, then barging up on Holly’s front porch and barking. Steve picked up his pace, trying to get to the front door. “Louie. Hush.”

More barking. Well-behaved dog… until he wasn’t.

The door opened and Holly came out on the porch. She was dressed in slim fitting jeans and a green sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. She had on well-worn cowboy boots. Now he wouldn’t have guessed that about her.

“Hi, Louie.” Holly dropped to her knees and petted the dog. He licked her face and she laughed.

Steve finished the distance to the cottage. “Louie, polite dogs wait until I can get there and ring the door bell, instead of barking up a storm. Sorry about that.”

“It’s not a problem.”

“I was coming over to see if you wanted to go for a drive today. I have to go check on a job site. It’s about twenty minutes away. Pretty drive, though. Thought you might like to get out for a bit.”

“That does sound nice.”

Good, she said yes. He was almost surprised. It had been so long since he had asked a woman out. Well, not out. This was just a drive.

“Josh is at a friend’s house and is spending the night. So it will just be us and Louie.”

“If you come in, I could be ready to go in just a few minutes. I’ll walk back over with you.”

“Okay. Louie, you stay.”

“It’s okay with me if he comes in, if it’s okay with you.”

“Okay, Louie. But you be on good behavior.” The dog trotted inside.

“There’s coffee on if you want to pour yourself a cup. I’ll be ready in a jiff.”

He crossed into the kitchen and pulled a mug from the cupboard. He filled the mug and took a long swig of the dark brew. Good stuff. She liked strong coffee, too.

He lounged against the counter while he waited for Holly to get ready. He looked out the window to the grove of pecan trees. They were finally getting bigger. His sister had planted them when she first bought the house. Well, he’d helped her plant each and every one of them, but she’d always insisted she planted them and they were her grove. They still didn’t yield much in the way of pecans, but he figured they would in time.

He missed having his sister living next door. It had been a couple of years since she moved away. She usually came back for Christmas, but this year she said her work schedule was crazy, and she hoped to come back in January. It would be a small Christmas this year with just him and Josh.

Holly came into the kitchen. He could see she’d put on a touch of makeup and had a jacket with her. “I’m ready to go.”

He took the last gulp of coffee, rinsed the mug, and slipped it into the dishwasher.

Holly flashed him an appreciative smile. “Nice quality in a male.”

“What?”

“The ability to know where a dishwasher is and how to use it.”

He smiled back at her. “Just one of my many talents.”

* * * * *

Holly settled back into the surprisingly comfortable seat in the truck. She’d thought that trucks were hard and manly and rough driving. Not this one. It had a small back seat and Louie sat back in it. The inside of the cab had a clipboard on the front seat, a hammer, and a tape measure. All of which Steve had thrown into the back seat.

She was glad she’d said yes to this outing. An excursion that had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with Christmas.

“This is a really nice house we’re building. Set up on a small ridge that overlooks a little creek running through the back of the property. The guy we’re building it for is picky down to the last little detail, but I’m pretty much that way myself. I like to go out and check on it a couple of times a week.”