“I was not expecting that information dump. I’m a little dizzy from it, I think.”
He chuckles, digging into the macaroni and cheese first. “You think?”
I give him an eye roll and pop a fry into my mouth.
“Dip it into the ranch,” he suggests, pushing his bowl of ranch dressing in the middle of the table.
“Why?”
“You’ll see.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“Trust me. Is that a reason?”
I do as instructed and groan. “Holy shit.”
“Told you.”
I give him a look that goes right over his head because, well, I’m suddenly ravenous and I’m shoveling food into my mouth at the speed of sound. I’m like a high school wrestler who’s just made weight and he’s been told he can eat again.
“Good, right?”
“Oh my word, yes. Where has this combo been my whole life?”
“On top of the rock you were living under,” he quips.
I snort and then we fall into a comfortable silence while we eat our delicious meal. I’m sure I’ll be regretting it later, but I practically lick my plate clean.
Once we’re finished, I lean against the back of my chair. “I’m so full.”
“Me, too. But I just have a food baby in there. You have a baby, too. Dang, I still can’t believe that. It feels weird to even say it out loud, you know?”
“Oh, trust me, I know. So what’s your plan for the rest of the day?”
“You tell me. I’m all yours, remember?”
“I had some pretty big plans of heading home for a nap since it’s my day off and I just ate more food than I normally do at Thanksgiving.”
The waitress comes by to take away our empty plates and drops off our ticket which Nik grabs immediately.
“You don’t have to do that,” I protest.
“Shut up,” he says playfully.
After paying and a quick stop at the restroom for me, I join him outside by his truck which we rode in together after my appointment.
He opens the door for me and waits until I’m settled before closing the door and joining me in the cab. “Want to go for a walk?”
“It’s freezing out.”
“So? We’ve got coats. I have extra gloves in here,” he lifts the lid in the console that separates us, pulling out two pair of gloves, “and a couple stocking hats. Let’s go for a walk. Get some fresh air.”
“Really?” I don’t think I’ve ever gone for a walk with a guy before. It seems so… relationship-y. Domestic.
“Yup.”
“Okay, yeah. Sure. Sounds fun.”
“Ha! Something tells me you just broke your own rule about lying to me but I’ll let it slide for this one.”
Damn. He’s already got my number. The next several months should be interesting.
Chapter Ten
Nikolas
“Cold?” I ask a question I already know the answer to. Of course she’s cold. I’m cold. Everyone in the state of Michigan is cold. Except middle school boys who don’t think it’s cool to feel outside temperatures so they’re still wearing shorts and refuse to admit they own a winter coat. Even if the temperature wasn’t a dead giveaway, the fact that she keeps huddling into herself would be.
“Nope.”
I nudge her with my shoulder as we walk through town. The store fronts are still decorated for Christmas and there are Christmas flags hanging from light poles and twinkle lights strung up in the otherwise sad looking trees. It’s a beautiful small town, Liberty, Michigan, under normal circumstances, but in the winter, it’s spectacular. “Liar.”
She chuckles. “Busted.” She turns to me, her elbows bent and arms raised, her hands clasped together tightly. “In my defense, though, the walk is actually fun but it’s literally freezing out here. Less than freezing. What is it, twenty? At the most?”
“Actually, with the wind chill factored in, I think it’s only twelve degrees out here.”
She wrinkles her cute little red nose. “No wonder my face hurts.”
“Lovely to live in an area where going outside in the winter hurts your face, huh?”
We walk a few more blocks, past the police station and the public library. A woman walks out with her arms loaded down with library books, her young children bundled up and sliding on the sidewalk from the slight layer of ice. They giggle and squeal as they slip and slide their way to their snowy black minivan. The side door slides open and the kids jump inside.
“I’m not driving a minivan,” Ashley says beside me.
I didn’t realize it, but we’d both stopped walking, entranced by the ease in which this mother guided her three young kids out of the library and into her van, all while dealing with her arms full of bags and books and walking on the icy sidewalk herself. She made it look so easy, natural.
Maybe it’s because social media is a weird place, but I had this image of parents always being stressed out, frazzled, and at their wit’s end. Heading home to chug on a bottle of wine because they can’t manage their life otherwise.
“Nik?” Ashley calls my name, gaining my attention.
“Yeah?”
“You okay? You know her? Want to go say hello?”
Her question startles me and I turn to face her. “No. It’s just… I guess now that I know I’m going to be a dad, I’m noticing more parents and kids, I guess.”
“Oh. Yeah, my sister told me that I’d see pregnant women everywhere now.” She nods in understanding and we continue walking, turning down a street that takes us away from downtown Liberty. The street is lined with old, historic houses that are unique and enormous and the owners seem to be in a competition for who can put up more lights during the holiday season.
“Wow. This is amazing,” Ashley says, her eyes trained on a house that I know was built in the early 1980s and has an all brick exterior.
“It is. I can’t imagine their electrical bills, though.”
She nudges me. “You would think of the electric side of it, Mr. Electrician.”
“Guilty. I can’t help it, it’s how my brain is wired.”
Ashley groans. “Oh, boy. You’re already using dad jokes.”
We laugh together and continue our walk. “Warming up at all?”
“No. But I like this. You’re right about needing the fresh air.”
Nodding, I explain, “I try to get outside for a while every day. Even if it’s cold or, heaven forbid, wicked hot.”
“Not a fan of the heat?”
I wrinkle my nose. “It’s not that. I like summer just fine, but I definitely prefer cooler temperatures. What about you?”
“I could live forever in sixty-five-degree weather.”
As we walk, we continue to talk about nothing at all, but in reality, she’s opening up to me more and more without even realizing it. Giving me little details about herself, her likes and dislikes, what her childhood was like, what she wants out of life, in little blips, anyway.
“This is one of my favorite houses in town,” she says, pointing to a house I’ve never taken a second look at. It’s definitely cool, though. Kind of reminds me of a cottage or glorified cabin you’d see next to a lake or in the mountains.