Page 45 of Welcome Home for Christmas
“Bah humbug. He needs to make the first move.”
“David is a mule. He’ll never make the first move,” Rhonda told him.
Troy shrugged. “Then we won’t be making up.”
Rhonda focused on Allison. “He must like you to bring you home. Troy doesn’t bring girls home. Ever. Not anymore.”
“Allison and I aren’t like that,” Troy objected, but Allison stepped forward and offered Rhonda her hand to shake.
“I’m Allison Carmichael. We’ve only been dating a short time,” she said, casting him a look.
“And there’s an expiration date hanging over us,” Troy said.
“Oh, Troy.” Rhonda shook her head. “He’s such a jokester. Always has been.”
“So I’ve learned. I’d love to learn more, though,” Allison said, walking side by side with his sister-in-law.
“Well, I could tell you stories all day long. Come on back with me.”
Troy stayed rooted. The last thing he wanted was to listen as Rhonda dug up his most embarrassing moments, and there was no stopping that woman once she got talking. “I’ll just stay back and look for the Betty doll,” he called after them.
He cursed under his breath. He hadn’t thought about the repercussions of bringing Allison here. Now his brothers would be calling tonight to find out the status of his so-called relationship. They wouldn’t buy the truth, either, that he wasn’t even sure of what the status was. He was confused and just vying for time with her.
Troy ran his eyes over the selection of dolls. There was a doll that peed. And one that burped. He continued to look for the Betty doll, and then his eyes landed on a small baby doll with black hair and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. It was the Feed Me Betty doll, the one that Lucy from Mercy’s Place had her heart set on. Well, she wouldn’t be disappointed this year. Not on his watch.
He scooped up the box and carried it to the front of the store, scared to know what Rhonda had been disclosing to Allison over the last several minutes. Rhonda was a lot of wonderful things, but she also had a big mouth and couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. Not that Troy had a lot of secrets to keep. He liked to think of himself as an open book. But his book didn’t need to be open for Allison. Not when whatever they had going on would be over after the weekend. That realization settled in his gut like a fine layer of disappointment.
“Hey, you two,” Troy said, walking up on the two women huddled together behind the cash register. “What are you talking about, dare I ask?”
Rhonda waggled her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Probably not,” he said with a laugh.
Allison grinned and swiped away that sexy lock of hair that was always falling onto her cheek. “Rhonda was telling me about all the trouble you caused growing up.”
“I see. Well, I stand by the fact that it was always Jason getting me in trouble,” he said of Rhonda’s husband and his older brother.
“I don’t doubt it,” Rhonda said.
Troy held up the doll. “Found it,” he said.
Allison squealed with delight. And, if he didn’t know better, she was just as excited about the doll as little Lucy would be on Saturday. He liked to see her excited. It did something for him. Everything about Allison did something for him.
“So if you two are done trading dirt on me,” he said, “then we’ll pay for the doll and go to lunch.”
Rhonda waved a hand. “If that doll is for one of the orphans at Mercy’s Place, then it’s on the house,” she said. “I think it’s wonderful that you two are playing Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and delivering all those toys to the children.”
Troy nodded. So that’s what Allison had been telling Rhonda over the last few minutes. He could live with that, although his brothers might rib him for dressing up as jolly Saint Nick.
“Are you taking Allison to Aunt Mabel’s?” Rhonda asked.
“I thought I would.” He turned to Allison. “My aunt Mabel makes the best honey ham sandwich you’ll ever taste.”
Allison’s eyes widened. “You weren’t kidding when you said your family owns most of the town’s businesses here.”
Rhonda laughed. “It takes some getting used to, but I’ve never regretted joining the Matthews family.” She gave Allison a look that said maybe she thought Allison might be joining them, too. Troy hated to break it to her, but Rhonda’s new best friend wasn’t going to be joining the Matthews family. In fact, Alison wouldn’t be sticking around long enough to meet most of his other relatives.
Which was a shame. Even though he and his brother David were at odds, he loved his family and thought maybe Allison would, too.
