She’d seen him nearly every evening since the day he put up her grandma’s Christmas lights the week before. And every day that she’d seen him, she’d grown more and more fond of him. He was thoughtful, witty, and very masculine. Since the day he’d leapt off the roof to help the little boy across the street free his head from the iron fence bars, Jesse had continued to prove purely heroic. All the Christmas lights he’d put up aside, he’d pushed an older lady’s car down the street to the gas station when she’d run out of gas nearby. He’d replaced some missing shingles on his grandfather’s roof. When he’d been chopping more firewood for his grandfather, he filled her grandmother’s woodbin as well. There were several other things Cozy had witnessed that demonstrated Jesse Bryant’s capability and good character, as well. Therefore, just knowing him—just being in his company and being the recipient of his dazzling smile—inspired thoughts of gratitude and delight in Cozy.
Naturally, she didn’t tell anyone about Jesse, other than Mindy, and even then she didn’t share much. She liked keeping him a secret. She liked to pretend that no other woman in the world knew him—only her. Somehow the pretense had allowed her to be more comfortable in his company, and she had become quite comfortable with him. Cozy loved the way Jesse made her feel—pretty, witty, and interesting. He always chuckled or laughed at her silly puns—always encouraged her toward confidence. Furthermore, she simply loved the way he’d wink at her, softly growl, and start whistling “Li’l Red Riding Hood” whenever he saw her in her red hooded coat. Cozy determined she’d never own another coat she liked more—not in all her life, even if she lived to be a hundred.
Yes, Jesse Bryant was something to be thankful for. Oh, Cozy knew he was probably just interested in nurturing the growing friendship between his grandfather and her grandmother—that she was just a byproduct of it. Still, she enjoyed his company. More than enjoyed it—savored and craved it.
Thus, as she stirred the sautéing vegetables in the skillet, she smiled—for what woman wouldn’t smile at the thought of Jesse Bryant? As goose bumps broke over her arms at the lingering thoughts of him, Cozy tried to avert the musings of her mind. She glanced to her grandma—her rosy-cheeked, Christmas-carol-humming grandma.
Dottie Robbins has been on cloud nine since the day Buck Bryant moved in next door. Cozy thought that if there were only nine clouds in the sky—the ninth being the highest and closest to heaven—then her grandmother was skipping around on top of it. Cozy hadn’t seen her grandmother that happy since before her grandfather had passed away. Sometimes, late at night, Cozy would worry about what would happen if Mr. Bryant’s interest turned from her grandmother. But each time doubt would enter her mind, she would simply push it away. Still, she kept hoping for a moment alone with Jesse somehow—a moment that would give her the opportunity to ask him about his grandfather’s true feelings toward her grandmother. Did Buck like Dottie better than he liked most women—or at least differently than he liked most women? Buck’s treatment of Cozy’s grandmother led her to believe that he did favor her. Yet Buck was like Jesse—considerate to everyone, friendly and helpful to anybody.
Turning down the burner flame under the skillet, Cozy hoped that she would have a chance to talk to Jesse about it sometime during the day. With everyone that was coming to her grandma’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, surely she would be able to pull him aside for a moment.
“Did I tell you that I invited that nice Brittany and her little boy, Tyler, to have dinner with us today?” Dottie asked.
“What?” Cozy gasped, frowning. “Why?”
Dottie’s face scrunched into an expression of confusion. “I thought you’d want me to. She’s alone, you know, with her recent divorce and everything, and I thought Tyler might have fun with Carol’s kids. They’re all so close to his age, and I’m sure he needs some friends and playtime.” She frowned. “I really thought you’d be glad I invited them.”
“Oh…oh, I am,” Cozy fibbed. “It’s just that…well…it’s just that…”
Dottie smiled with sudden understanding. “Don’t worry, sweet pea. You’ve got Jesse Bryant eating out of the palm of your hand. Believe me…he’s not going to give poor little Brittany the time of day.”
Cozy blushed, mortified that her grandma had read her so easily. “I wish I had him eating out of the palm of my hand,” she confessed in a whisper.
“Honey,” her grandma began, lowering her voice as if conspiring, “if I wiped rubber cement on your palm, Jesse Bryant would eat it. He’d lick it right off!”
Cozy laughed. “Rubber cement, Grandma? You’re so funny!” She shook her head, entirely amused and feeling much better about Brittany and her son attending the dinner. After all, her grandma was right. They were alone and needed friendship and support. Though she did not believe for one second that Jesse Bryant would eat rubber cement or anything else out of her hand, she did feel better—a little.
“I understand, sweetie,” Dottie said. “Vicki Murray is coming today too. And I know the second she lays eyes on Buck…well, I’ll be lucky to get a word in the rest of the day.”
“Vicki?” Cozy whined. “Oh, Grandma. She drives you crazy!”
Dottie shrugged. “I know. But she doesn’t have any family nearby, and no one offered to have her. So…I did.”
“Well, Buck Bryant really does eat out of your palm, Grams,” Cozy assured her. “He’s over here every evening. Do you really think your mulled cider is that good?”
Dottie smiled and then shrugged again. “I don’t know. I worry that I should be a little more mature and a little less like a high school girl when it comes to my feelings toward him. But I can’t help it! He just gives me the worst butterflies in my stomach. It’s awful!”
“It’s wonderful!” Cozy giggled. “And he likes you. I can tell by the way he looks at you.”
“That’s just because his eyes are blue. People with blue eyes always give you the sensation that they’re looking right into your soul.”
“Oh, it’s not that,” Cozy argued, however. “He smiles too. He can’t keep from smiling at you. That’s proof that he thinks you’re hot.”
Dottie laughed. “Oh, yes…I’m sure that’s it. He thinks I’m hot. After all, I’m so sexy these days with all my wrinkles and age spots and things.”
“You are, Grandma,” Cozy assured her. “I’m going to watch him today…because I’m sure I caught him looking at your bum the other night.”
“Cozy Robbins!” Dottie exclaimed. “What a thing to say!”
Cozy could see the delight on her grandma’s face, however. “It’s true. I saw him.”
“Hello? Mom?” It was Cozy’s Aunt Carol calling from the entryway.
“We’re in here, dear,” Dottie called.
A moment later, three children came bounding into the kitchen. “Hi, Grandma!” Cozy’s eight-year-old cousin Andrew greeted. He threw his arms around Dottie’s waist and hugged her tight.
“Well, hello, sweetie,” Dottie said, returning his hug and kissing him on the top of his little blonde head.
“Hi, Grandma! We’re here!” Kimberly and Lisa chimed as they skipped into the kitchen.
“Hi, Cozy!” Kimberly said, hugging Cozy first.
“Hi, Kimberly,” Cozy giggled. “Are you excited for Thanksgiving?”
“I am!” the six-year-old giggled. “Especially the pie!”
“Me too! Me too!” Lisa pouted. “I’m as excited as Kimberly is, Cozy.”
“I know you are, Lisa,” Cozy said, hugging her five-year-old cousin.
Cozy smiled and sighed. The serenity was over. Soon her own brothers and sisters would arrive, and Aunt Carol’s husband, Ethan (whose booming voice would begin reverberating through the house like a thunderstorm). Still, Jesse and his grandpa would arrive too—and even though she might never have the chance to talk to Jesse all the day long, she could look at him. That in itself was something to look forward to. She wondered if having children and teenagers bouncing off the wall a
ll day would scare either Mr. Bryant or Jesse away. She hoped not.
❦
Thanksgiving dinner with family, neighbors, and friends came and went in the usual flurry of chaos. It was an enjoyable meal, but Cozy wondered how anyone managed to get through it without a serious case of indigestion. Furthermore, several things Cozy had fearfully predicted did, in fact, transpire. First and foremost was the fact that Brittany Jackman talked a blue streak to Jesse any time the opportunity presented itself. Though Cozy felt hot with jealousy and irritated with the entire situation, she noted that, although Jesse was kind to Brittany, he was in no way smitten with her flattering and attention. It helped soothe her anxieties a little.
She could also see the worry and anxiety sloshing around in her grandmother as she watched Vicki Murray shamelessly flirt with Buck. However, Cozy noted the way Buck would wink at her grandmother across the table, smile at her, and brush her arm with his as often as he could. Dottie was safe. Buck obviously liked her grandmother—no matter how hard Vicki Murray tried to own his attention.
Once the meal was over, Dottie insisted that everyone just relax and have fun. Cozy had always admired the way her grandma put people and visiting before dishes and cleanup. Dottie’s way of thinking was that there would always be dishes to do, but there wouldn’t always be time to visit with family and friends. Therefore, as everyone else began to settle in the family room or linger around the dinner table in talking, Cozy went with Lisa and Kimberly to pull out the plastic storage bins that were lovingly referred to as “Grandma’s toys.”
Soon, Andrew and his sisters, Tyler Jackman, and Cozy’s young brothers were in the den at the back of the house playing with plastic farm and zoo animals, building blocks, and little timber logs. When Cozy returned to the family room after retrieving the toys to find Brittany chattering away with Jesse, however, she couldn’t face not having his attention. She knew it was shallow—adolescently jealous and immature—but she couldn’t help it. So she returned to the dining room and sat down at the table, where her father and her Uncle Ethan were discussing the best ways to winterize a house.
After twenty minutes of listening about what the best way was to blow out a sprinkler system and which brand of storm windows was most heat-conservative, Cozy made her excuses and left the dining room. She needed some air—and some peace and quiet.
Retrieving her coat from the hallway closet, she started toward the backdoor. She paused, however, when she heard Jesse’s voice coming from the den.
“Look…see there?” he was saying. “Now you have a zoo. See, all these fences and corrals are where you guys can set up your different animal exhibits. Look, this is your tiger habitat.”
Heading for the den, Cozy smiled when she peeked in to see Jesse lounging on the floor next to a vast fencing system built of little timber logs. It was obvious he’d helped the children really make a fine project out of their toys, and the knowledge caused her heart to swell.
“That’s awesome, Jesse!” Andrew exclaimed.
“Yeah,” Jesse agreed. “Now, decide where you want to put your animal exhibits, and then you can use these dollhouse dolls as the zoo guests, and you guys can all have fun together…girls and boys. Okay?”
It was then that Cozy noticed Kimberly and Lisa sitting to one side with frowns and pouty lips.
“Okay…I guess,” Kimberly mumbled.
Jesse looked up then, catching sight of Cozy.
“Are you going outside?” he asked.
Cozy smiled as she nodded to him, for he suddenly looked desperate for escape.
“Do you wanna take a walk with me?” he asked, hopping to his feet before she even had a chance to respond.
“Sure,” she giggled as he grabbed his coat off the back of a nearby chair and hurried toward her.
“We wanna come!” Lisa whined.
“Oh, you don’t want to miss out on the zoo fun, do you, baby?” Jesse asked, taking hold of Cozy’s arm and turning her toward the backdoor. “And besides…it’s cold out there. We don’t want you getting the sniffles, now do we?”
Jesse didn’t wait for a response—simply led Cozy toward the backdoor and liberation.
“Ahh!” he sighed once they were outside.
Cozy giggled. “A little too overwhelming in there for you, Mr. Bryant?” she teased.
He smiled at her. “Maybe a little. Nothing some fresh air and a walk won’t fix.” He studied her a moment. “A little too overwhelming in there for you, Miss Robbins?”
“Nothing some fresh air and a walk won’t fix,” she admitted.
“Then let’s go,” he said, nodding toward the path that led to the front of the house.
Cozy nodded, and they started out.
Once they reached the sidewalk, she was delighted when Jesse stepped around behind her, moving to walk between her and the street. It was a very gentlemanly gesture and made her stomach do a flip-flop.
“The leaves are so pretty this year,” Cozy noted aloud as they walked beneath a canopy of gold.
“They are,” he agreed. “And they’ve hung on longer than usual.”
“Yeah. It’s been a pretty mild autumn so far…but I’m sure the winds will start soon and take them all away from me.”
She heard him chuckle and turned to look up at him. He was smiling at her, as if she’d said something that pleased him.
“I like the way you put that,” he said. “Like the wind is some bad guy, stealing away your treasure.”
Cozy giggled and shrugged. “I guess I kind of do feel that way about it, now that you mention it.”
“I know what you mean,” he said. “I enjoy the holidays, especially Christmas, but I don’t really like winter too much.”
“I would live in perpetual fall if I could,” Cozy sighed. “I like summer too, but winter and spring…they’re just kind of not fun.”
“Today is nice though,” he said. He exhaled a heavy sigh.
They were both quiet then. The breeze rippled the dry leaves beneath their feet—tickled the gold ones overhead. The scent of neighborhood fireplace smoke lingered in the air, warm and soothing. Cozy sighed as the noise and chaos sailing through her grandmother’s house rinsed away.
“Can I ask you something?” Jesse ventured.
“Sure,” Cozy answered.
“What do you think about my grandpa and your grandma?”
Cozy smiled. “What do you mean what do I think?”
He shrugged broad shoulders—shoulders Cozy suddenly had the desire to lay her head against. “You know…would you mind if things…developed between them? Went to a different level?”
“You mean like if they started dating or something?” she asked. She was delighted to know that he’d been thinking over similar things that she had where their grandparents were concerned.
“Yeah. Or even, you know…if they…you know…” he stammered.
She giggled, for his discomfort was wildly endearing. “If they fell in love and maybe got married?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. She bit her lip to keep from giggling again, for he seemed relieved that she had said what he was thinking so he didn’t have to. “Would you be okay with it?”
“Of course!” she exclaimed. “If you want to know a secret…I’m hoping that’s what happens.”
“Me too,” he admitted, smiling with relief. “So then, are you up for helping me to move things along between them?”
Cozy was still amused—and very intrigued. Yet she was curious as well.
“How do you mean?” she inquired. “Aren’t they already spending every evening together at Grandma’s house?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. Grandpa’s been drinking so much cider that he swears it’s totally messed up his bladder.”
Cozy laughed. “Really?”
“Yep. Men can usually go almost all day without one visit to the bathroom. But Grandpa says he’s up all night now. He says your grandma sure loves for him to drink her cider.”
Cozy laughed again
. “Oh, she loves for everyone to drink her cider,” she explained. “She’s very proud of how good it is. And I think she also associates people’s happiness and contentment with it. As if her cider makes everything all right.”
Jesse laughed. “It kind of does, though…doesn’t it?”
Cozy nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
“Anyway, I was thinking that if we gave them more time alone…you know?” he continued. “We’re always over there with them…because they seem to want us there, right?”
“You’re right. They do,” Cozy said, only just then realizing the fact.
“Well, what if we just start, you know, easing into the other rooms or something,” he suggested. “You know what I mean? We can leave them in the kitchen to their cider and ruining my grandpa’s bladder…and you and I can just hang out in the front room or something. I think they need that.”
“Yeah. I do too.”
“I mean, we can’t be too obvious about it, or they’ll wise up to what we’re trying to do,” he said. “But I know there’re things I wouldn’t say to a woman if there were other people listening.”
“Really? Like what?” she asked. She understood exactly what he meant, but she was curious as to what he would actually say to a woman he was alone with.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just, like, confessions of how I really felt and stuff like that. I know Grandpa has it bad for your grandma…but he’s not going to tell her with you and me sitting right there listening.”
Cozy couldn’t help but smile. The delight rising in her for her grandma’s sake was wonderful.
“Does he really like her that much, do you think?” she asked. “I mean, she feels like she likes him more than he likes her.”
“Oh, no, he’s completely freaked out over her,” he confirmed. “It’s kind of funny to watch. When he talks about her, he gets all mushy, and his eyes kind of glaze over. It’s intense.”
“Well, good…’cause she sounds like she’s sixteen years old when she talks about him.”
“Let’s get them together then,” he suggested. “We’ll continue to chaperone—because for some reason they want us there with them—but we’ll just be more stealth. You know?”
Take a Walk With Me Page 8
