“Yeah. Ruby just said she’s closing early because of the weather, so you can pick me up at any time.”
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Five-fifteen. “I can come now. Mason closed early as well.”
“Great. I’ll see you shortly.”
The unwrapped box mocked him as he started his truck. How am I going to give this to her without pissing her off or embarrassing her?
Instead of pulling around back, he parked out front and went inside. The place was empty save one guy at the counter, who turned at his entrance.
“Hey, Max,” said the man, “how’s it going?”
“Good, Billy Ray. You?”
“Bout to freeze my tail off. Haven’t had this cold a winter in a while.”
Sky came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food, which she placed in front of the man at the counter. “Here you go, Bill. Anything else?”
“I’m good. Thanks.”
Sky turned to Max, and his heart did that funny somersault thing it tended to do when she was around.
“Almost done. Just give me a minute.”
A short time later, they exited the building into a blast of frigid air.
“Oh, my goodness, it’s cold,” said Sky as she dashed toward his truck, clutching her thin jacket against her body.
“Wind chill is in the teens.” Max started the engine and cranked the heat up to high. “That better?”
Sky nodded, arms still folded across her middle.
“Do we need to pick up Maddie?”
“If you don’t mind.” Sky looked at the package between them but offered no comment.
Twenty minutes later, he sat at Sky’s kitchen table while she put on a pot of coffee. “We have plenty of leftovers from yesterday,” she said. “Won’t take long to pull them out if you’d like to stay for supper.”
“Don’t go to any trouble. I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
He fingered the box at his feet and Maddie reacted.
“What’s in the box, Max?”
“A surprise.” He swallowed hard. “For your mom.”
Sky turned toward him, face registering disbelief. “For me?”
“Oh goodie!” Maddie clapped her hands together and bobbed up and down. “Mama hasn’t had a surprise before.”
“It’s not a big deal. A little thank-you for yesterday. Just something I thought you could use.” He cleared his throat and placed the box on the table. Now that it was time to give it to her, he second guessed his impulsive action. Would she be offended? Would she get mad? Would she even like it?
“Hurry, Mama! Open it.”
“Um, maybe you should open it before supper. You might decide you don’t want me to hang around after all.”
Sky stared a beat then smiled. “I don’t see that happening.” She wiped her hands on a towel and sat down. “You didn’t need to do anything for me, Max. You bought all the food, I just put it together.”
As she talked, Max noted she carefully opened the box, almost like she wanted to extend the feeling of anticipation about what lay hidden inside.
“And it took you two days to do it, so yeah, I owe you one.”
Finally, she eased the pink tissue aside and gasped at the contents.
“I hope you don’t mind. I thought …”
She pulled the faux suede trench coat from the box and stood. “Oh Max, you shouldn’t have. This is too much.” She held the coat in front of her, running her hand over the smooth dove-grey fabric, slipping her fingers inside to stroke the soft lining.
“Wow, Mama. That will look really pretty on you.”
“The lining comes out for when it’s not so cold. And the hood comes off, too.” Her obvious joy brought a lump to his throat. “There’s a neck scarf in there, too.”
“I saw this in the window at The Sassy Sash,” Sky said softly.
She met his gaze, and the pleasure he read in her face made him feel ten feet tall.
“I hope I haven’t offended you or embarrassed you, I just…”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.”
