Page 7 of A Mistletoe Mix Up
“Promise you’ll be fine?”
“I was fine for the many years living here on my own before you came, and I’ll be fine for a couple of hours while you’re out with your girl—” I tilt my head and stare at him. “If you’d let me finish before giving me sass…I was gonna say your girl friend. She’s a friend who’s a girl, right?”
I roll my eyes and shrug. “Yes, a friend who’s a girl.”
“I think you oughta drop that space between the two, but what’s this old man’s opinion, hmm?”
“I’m leaving now,” I say, grabbing my hiking boots and the food container. “Jet, keep an eye on him.”
Chapter Four
Tandy
Idrop my bag and water jug onto the chair next to the front door and slam the door shut. I try to take off my shoe while I hop over to my bed. I trip over my own foot and fall onto my thick comforter with a humph. While I’m not a big hiking girl,I do enjoy hiking with Grayson. Even when I’m slow or stop to snap a picture to sketch later, he’s always patient with me.
My place is a little back house in the Johnsons’ backyard. They are the sweetest couple I’ve ever met—and I’ve met a lot of people in my short lifetime. It’s a small studio but has the basics. There’s a kitchenette (that I rarely use) to the left, a queen bed against the back wall, with a love seat in the middle. It’s small and quaint, but it’s been home for the last year. There’s a full bath, and they didn’t skimp on the soaking tub. Mom and I have always been on the road, so I was never a “bath to relax” kind of girl. But now, I see the appeal, and it’s become my favorite way to wind down.
I’m wrestling with my other Mary Jane shoe as I hear a knock on the door.
“Tandy?”
“Grayson, is that you?” I finally manage to free my foot from the shoe’s clutches.
“Of course, who else would it be?” he teases through the door as I roll my eyes.
“It could be a handsome prince to sweep me off my feet.” I rise from the bed and walk over to the door, opening it to reveal Grayson in all his hiking gear glory.
When he’s not in his cop uniform, he’s in jeans and a button-up flannel. Most of the time, it’s left unbuttoned with a formfitting shirt underneath. He’s tall and lean but muscular. Now that I think about it, aside from his wardrobe, he kind of looks like a prince. That pretty boy, the one all the girls swoon over.
“Hate to break it to you, Tandy. But princes don’t normally show up in pickup trucks.” There’s an amused smile playing on his lips.
“What do they drive? Or do they have drivers still?”
Without warning, my foot slips on something wet, and I gasp as I begin to fall back. Grayson’s arms swoop behind my back and prevents me from falling to the ground. My arms instinctively wrap around his neck, my face inches from his.
“You alright?” His eyes search mine, concern filling his expression. His arm is still snugly around my waist, and for a second, I forget to breathe.
“I’m fine…I slipped on something.” I stand upright and look at the wooden floor. “Water? It must have spilled from my water jug.”
I walk to the cabinet next to the bathroom and grab a towel. My back is growing cold from where Gray’s arm was.
“I was in a rush and dropped it on the chair. Looks like it rolled onto the floor. I mustn’t have tightened the lid enough.”
I finish wiping it up and throw the towel half-heartedly into the bathroom. “There. All done. Let me just change!” I go to the pile of clothes strewn across the couch and start searching for my jeans.
“I’ll meet you at the truck.”
“Ah ha! Found them!” I shout as I find the pair of jeans I’m looking for. “Okay, be right out!”
I quickly get dressed and run out the door. I skip over to the car as a whoosh of cold wind makes me wish I had dressed in layers or grabbed my winter coat.
“Ready?” Grayson grins at me from the driver’s seat, the sound of the engine humming in the background.
“As I’ll ever be,” I say, sliding into the passenger seat and pulling the door closed.
“No penguin sweaters this time? I thought you were getting into the holiday spirit?” Grayson says as he pulls away from the curb.
“Har har.” I roll my eyes. “What about you? The holiday spirit on your end is lacking, Officer Grinch.”
