He Priced Me At A Penny So I Married Another Chapter 17
He caught the coat rack before it tipped over, took out his phone, and stepped toward the door.
“Mom, we’re not coming tonight. Lydia wants to rest. I’ll bring her another day.”
Mrs. Hale’s voice came through the receiver.
“Did someone start spreading things again? Tell her none of those relatives who like to gossip were invited. It’s just us.”
“I know. Let her rest tonight. Save me some peanut brittle.”
After he hung up, he rolled up his sleeves and hung the clothes I’d spread across the bed.
“Dinner can wait. Let’s go for a walk by the river. It’ll be dark soon. We’ll only stay out for a little while.”
I followed him downstairs, still unsteady on my feet.
Only after we walked into that patch of reeds and the cold wind hit my face did I start to breathe normally again.
Everett moved fallen branches out of the path for me.
“There’s frost on the ground. Step where I step.”
I followed him, but the toe of my shoe sank into soft mud. He turned to steady me and nearly slipped himself, splashing mud all over his pants cuffs.
I grabbed his sleeve. We were crowded together on the narrow path, neither of us daring to move.
He glanced down at the mud on his pants and laughed.
“Good thing we didn’t go to dinner tonight. If my father saw this, he’d ask me again why I’m this old and still can’t watch where I’m going.”
A few ducks swam by on the river. The wind combed through the reeds with a dry whisper.
My hand was still clutching his sleeve. He glanced down at it and stayed perfectly still.
I slid my hand lower and took hold of his fingers.
“Everett, next time you come over, tell me first. I want to take you somewhere, too.”
He looked up, and it was as if his breathing stopped for a moment.
“I used to live around here when I was little. There’s a donut shop nearby. The fresh ones are the best. Don’t be late.”
Everett closed his hand around mine.
On the way back, he saved the date in his calendar and asked which intersection the shop was on. While we waited at a red light, he kept smiling at the road ahead.
When we got downstairs, I slipped my hand from his, then caught his sleeve again.
He bent closer. I rose onto my toes and kissed the corner of his mouth.
The winter wind was freezing, but his ears turned bright red.