AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That I do. My granddaughter’s house. Which used to be my house too, so it’s the logical place for me to go. She’d be very disappointed if I didn’t, even though I never like to cramp her style.” She pointed at Galen. “Can you give me a ride there?”
Galen glanced at Thomas, who shrugged his assent. “I can,” he told her.
Was that too abrupt? Should he add a “ma’am”?
Might as well. “Ma’am.”
“Don’t be absurd, I’m hardly the Queen of England. After all, I’m still kicking.” She shot him a cheeky grin, and bent to pick up her bag. He rushed toward her to take it from her. She didn’t object to that, and no wonder. That thing was heavy, and seemed to hold mostly books. He led her to his truck, hoping she wasn’t too shocked by the mud on the tires and the dent in the bed left by a fallen tree.
“Sorry it’s a mess,” he muttered as he swung her bag into the bed.
“At least it’s not on fire.”
“Yet,” he joked. Then blanched. “Sorry. Bad joke.”
“No worse than mine.”
Unfazed, she waited for him to open the passenger door for her. He suspected that was because the door was heavy; she seemed like an intrepid type who liked to do things for herself, in general.
He opened it and helped her onto the step so she could slide onto the seat. Not sure if he should help—maybe give her a push? Let her use his hand as leverage?—he lingered.
“Give me a wee shove, would you?” she finally asked.
He obliged, as matter-of-fact as possible. There were many occasions when he had to manhandle his guiding clients. Sometimes they got stuck climbing a rock face, sometimes they couldn’t get out of the canoe, all kinds of things could happen out in the wild.
“Thank you, you’re very kind, despite that barbarian appearance of yours.”
Was that a wink? He grinned at her. “You’re a little wicked, aren’t you?”
“I hope much more than a little. Now get a move on, if you would be so kind. I’m sure my granddaughter is starting to worry.”
He hopped into the driver’s seat and put his truck in gear.
“I’m Cecilia,” she announced once they were underway. “But I go by CeCe. And you’re Galen Cooper.”
He wasn’t sure how or why she knew who he was, but it wasn’t surprising. He’d lived here twenty years now, and he looked like a black-haired ogre.
“Yup. Where am I going?”
She gave him directions to a house in a pretty neighborhood built around a circular road near the west side of the lake. He never went that way because it had the worst fishing in the lake.
“So Galen,” she said after an extended period of quiet. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
The question startled him so much he jammed his foot on the accelerator and the truck lurched forward. He quickly adjusted. “Sorry. Uh, no.”
“Why not?”
Her directness was disarming. He appreciated that in a person. Kids were direct, which might be why he got along so well with them. Also because they seemed to see him as some kind of fairytale cartoon character.
“I’m not the eligible bachelor type,” he growled.
“How so? You own a thriving business. You’re fit, you have strong community spirit, you’re clearly a kind person.”
He gritted his teeth, then went for the embarrassing truth. “Women either think I’m too uncivilized to bother with, or they see me as a challenge and want to tame me themselves.”
“And you don’t want to be tamed?”
“I am what I am.”
