Page 26 of Merry & Wild
But I understand that she has things to do.
“Okay, let me call my mom real quick to see if she’s heard anything. She’s in touch with someone whose husband is on the snow removal crew.”
“Oh, good idea,” Joy says as I dial the number.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mom, it’s me. Are the roads open?”
“Yes, they are. Your father should be back with Missy any time. Are you headed to town?”
“Yeah, I shouldn’t be long.”
“Be careful, son. Talk to you later. Oh! How did the tree turn out?”
I glance over at the decorated tree in the corner and the woman standing beside it.
“It’s all really great.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it. See you soon.”
Once I’ve hung up, I turn to Joy. “Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
It’s as if we’ve been in our own sexy bubble for the past couple of days at the cabin, and now that I’m driving her to her car, the bubble has burst, and I’m kind of sad about it.
If the silence coming from the passenger seat is any indication, I’d say that I’m not alone there.
Neither of us says much as I drive us into town and make my way over to the fire hall.
“It’s amazing how much snow they cleared,” Joy says, pointing to the big snow piles along the side of the streets. “That storm was a doozy.”
“I personally enjoyed the storm.”
She looks my way and bites her lower lip. “Yeah. Me, too.”
I park next to her car, and when she is about to get out of the truck, I motion for her to stay.
“I have to brush all the snow off. I hope it starts. Give me your keys. I’ll get it warming up, and you can stay here.”
“It’ll start,” she says with confidence as she passes me the keys.
The car does, indeed, start right up, and I set the heat on high before I close the door and get to work clearing off the snow from the windows and the roof. It’s not long before I see that the heater is doing its job, and the snow that’s left on the windshield starts to melt.
Joy gets out of the truck, and I join her, waiting for her to put her purse inside. She stands and turns to me, and I take her face in my hands and kiss her, long and slow.
“That should melt the snow,” she says when I come up for air. “Thank you for a really great weekend, John. I had a lot of fun.”
“Me, too.” I kiss her forehead. “When can I see you again?”
She smiles, obviously pleased, and shrugs. “I’m free most evenings.”
“Tomorrow night, then. Dinner?”
“I’d like that. Would you like for me to do some grocery shopping, and I can cook something for you at the cabin? I can just drive out there.”
“If the roads suck again, I’ll come get you.”