Page 80 of Run, Run Rudolph
I reached across the space between us and laid my hand over hers. “Your hands are cold.”
“From October to March. How are yours so warm?”
“Probably helps that I wasn’t driving around in a convertible tonight.”
“Yeah.” Her eyes danced, and a weak smile wavered. It was clear she was loving tonight’s adventures, despite the stress of it all. And who could blame her? It was pretty cool meeting these Christmas characters. Maybe tomorrow, we could meet up and take the time to let it all sink in.
I gestured to the store when she yawned again. “Do you want me to take over so you can get some sleep?”
“This isn’t your mess.”
“I’m used to late-night animal emergencies.”
And while there wasn’t anything more I could do for Rudolph, I was unfamiliar with healing a concussed Santa, and wasn’t sure if my handyman skills would extend to fixing a flying sleigh, I’d try, for Tamara’s sake.
Snowflakes gently floated down, melting on the truck’s warm hood.
“Think she’ll show?” Tamara asked, shifting so she was facing me better, her hand rolling under mine so we could clasp palm-to-palm.
“She’ll show.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“You need her help, and my brother will be there.”
“I don’t know. The vibes I’ve been getting off her since I returned home haven’t exactly been friendly.”
“She’ll love that you need her.”
“For a middle-of-the-night ‘herbal emergency?’ It’s stupid.”
“She likes Kade.”
“And she thinks I’m a barrier to getting him back? Great. That puts her in the unstable, mean girl category.” She shot me a wicked smile. “Think I could push Kade into her waiting arms?”
I really liked hearing that there were no hopeful ‘what ifs’ rolling around in her mind about another chance with Kade. In fact, I probably liked it too much.
Tamara sat forward, looking down the street for Jannifer’s approaching vehicle. No sign. “We should break in.”
Instinctively, I glanced upward, checking out the spot above the insurance agency for a glowing cigarette tip.
The streets were deserted, and it likely wouldn’t be long until the town cut the power to the lit-up decorations lining the street to save a bit of money.
Tamara yawned again, her eyes watering.
“Quit yawning,” I muttered through a huge yawn of my own. “You wouldn’t even know how to break in.”
“We could break the glass and just…” She let go of my hand and flung her arms out like she was trying to hug a big oak tree. “Grab everything.”
“You’d chicken out. You don’t even speed.”
“A speeding ticket doesn’t seem worth it, in terms of cost-benefit analysis. You gain a few extra seconds in your day, and risk paying several hundred dollars for it? Plus, getting pulled over would eat up all those extra minutes you’d gained, anyway.”
A knock on the truck’s passenger side window made her jump, and I wondered how I’d missed Kade’s truck rolling up. I put down the window, wishing he was on my side so Tamara wouldn’t have to deal with the bitter wind whipping into the cab.
“Hop in,” I told him, hitting the power locks button to release the doors.
“I’m fine,” he said.
