Page 7 of Mission: Merry Christmas
When she turned away, he saw that her shirt was soaked where the sweat had dripped down her back in the very short time she’d waited outside. The temperatures were unseasonably warm even for here this week. He regretted leaving her out there like that, now.
She dragged her suitcase down the hall.
He turned up the television and kicked his feet up. He hadn’t done his exercises yet today, and had missed a few here and there, but he just hadn’t felt all that well.
It wasn’t ten minutes later when he heard her coming back into the living room. Her shoes were doing that squeaky number on the stone tile. He hated that sound.
Before he could turn to greet her, she was standing right between him and the television screen.
He leaned to the left.
She did, too.
“Okay. Yes?” Pretty or not, he wasn’t sure he appreciated her tenacity.
“I thought you’d be ready to get started.”
He looked down at himself then back at her and shrugged. “For our talk about your plan?”
“Let’s walk through some of it. You know, move your body.”
“Oh.” Reluctantly he turned off the television.
Her eyes went right to the beer bottle sitting on the end table next to him. “Is that from this morning?”
He looked at it. He honestly wasn’t entirely sure if it had been or not. “Maybe,” he said, locking eyes with her. Did she think she could just judge his lifestyle? What was wrong with a beer now and then?
“Have you had breakfast?”
He shifted his eyes toward the beer again.
“I didn’t think so,” she said. “Please tell me there are groceries in the house.”
“There’s no more beer.” The joke didn’t land as well as he’d have liked.
“Good. That’s not on the list, anyway. We’re going to have to set some rules about your nutrition.”
He smirked, flashing his best smile. “Aren’t rules made to be broken?”
“Not on my watch. Which way to the kitchen?”
She wasn’t being nasty about it, just kind of take-control and matter-of-fact. She reminded him a lot of his sister. Brooke would love Avery.
He heard Avery go down the hall, and then cabinets opening and closing. The next thing he heard was the blender whirring at high speed.
She strode back into the room looking pleased with herself and handed him a tall Yeti cup with a bright red straw. “Here we go.” She took a sip of hers, encouraging him to do the same. “This will get us through the morning, then we need groceries. Do you have a car?”
“A golf cart.”
“Good. When we’re done here, we’ll go to the market.”
“Bum knee.” He pointed to the soft cast. “It’s electric. You can drive it.”
“If you want a say in the menu, I think you should drive. You’re capable. Looks like you could use some fresh air, anyway.”
He hunched down in his chair, balancing the glass on the arm of his recliner.
“Drink up. You’ll feel better,” she insisted.
