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I can’t let her spend Thanksgiving alone.
Not when she has me and my family who adore her and want to spend time with her. I know she said she needed time. She’s scared, but it’s the holidays, and I love her, so yeah, I’m not going to take no for an answer, even if I have to play dirty to get a yes.
Making my way up the steps of her front porch, I lift my hand to knock, but the door opens before I get a chance. “Rush. Hi,” Crosby says. “I— What are you doing here?”
“I missed you.” I can’t show all my cards just yet.
“I was actually just running out to grab dinner and pick up a few things.”
“How about I drive?” I ask.
“You want to drive me to the grocery store?” The look on her face tells me that she’s baffled that I would offer.
“Yes.” I don’t hesitate with my reply. “I get to spend time with you, so I’m all in. Come on.” I step back, and she walks out onto the porch and pulls her door closed.
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to. Come on. I’ve been trying to get you to let me buy you a meal for weeks. How about we go to the Tavern for some wings, and then I can take you to the store?”
“I’m sure you have better things to do.”
“I’m here.” I spread my arms out wide. “My sole purpose this evening was to see you. Come on.” I reach for her hand, and I’m shocked when she doesn’t pull away and allows me to guide her to the passenger side of my truck.
“How was your week?”
“Short.” She laughs. “School’s out until Monday, so I spent the day cleaning up my classroom and getting caught up after our staff meeting.”
“Short weeks are good weeks. I’m off until Monday as well, but because I took a vacation day.”
“You plan to do some holiday shopping?” she asks, teasing in her tone.
“I do most of mine online, but if that’s an invitation to go with you, I’m in.”
“Right. Like you’re willing to get up at the ass crack of dawn to go shopping.” I glance over to see her shaking her head at the thought.
“If it gets me time with you, then, yeah. I’m more than willing to get up at the ass crack of dawn to go shopping. I do have gifts to buy, and just because I usually shop online doesn’t mean I can’t change my ways.”
“Well, you’re off the hook. I won’t be spending my day off at the crowded malls. Besides, it’s not like I have a lot of family to buy for.”
Fuck. What was a teasing moment has turned heavy. “Fine, new plan. You come to my place on Friday, and we can shop online together.”
“You’re too much.” She chuckles, and I’m glad the heaviness of the moment seems to have eclipsed us.
The parking lot of the Tavern is pretty bare, which doesn’t surprise me. With tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I’m sure everyone is prepping for that at home. “How about over here?” I point to a booth in the back that will give us a semblance of privacy. I don’t know when or how I’m going to approach her coming to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ place tomorrow, but if I do it here, we’ll have the privacy we need to discuss it.
“What are you getting?” Crosby asks as soon as the waitress leaves to fill our drink orders.
“Boneless wings and onion rings.”
She nods. “The broccoli cheddar bites sound good, but so do onion rings.”
“We can share. I like them both.”
“Are you sure?”
“Definitely. You getting wings?”
“How spicy is the spicy?”
“Hot. If you’re not into that, we can get a basket of mild.”
“I can handle hot, but I think I’m going to stick with mild this time. You can get hot if you’re feeling it.” She places her menu back on the table just as our sweet teas are delivered.
“Y’all ready to order?”
I nod to Crosby. “I’ll take six boneless wings, mild, and an order of broccoli cheddar bites.”
“And for you?” the waitress asks me.
“Give me a dozen hot wings and an order of onion rings.”
“Coming right up.” The waitress grabs our menus and is off to place our order.
“I got a call from Blakely earlier,” I tell her. “She wanted to tell me about the turkey she made yesterday at school with her hand. She was pretty pumped about it.”
A smile instantly lights up her face. “They had a blast. You should have seen the way they were concentrating on tracing their hands. I had to help most of them, but they were so laser focused, I’ve made a mental note to do this activity every year.”
Her brow furrows as she says the words, and I hate the stress that she’s under. I know I don’t make it easier on her, but she’s had enough people in her life walk away. I just want her to know that I’m never going to be one of them.
