Chapter Five

 

 

Poor Baxter. When Savannah got home from the bakery Tuesday evening, she found the guy outside working on the fence in the rain. Granted, it was more of a mist than anything. But still, it was a cold mist, and it couldn’t be fun.

She changed into warm sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt before letting the dogs outside to do their business. Baxter looked up from the picket he was nailing and gave her a friendly wave.

With the hood of his green rain jacket pulled up over his head, it was hard to see his face. Savannah imagined that grin of his and nearly smiled in return. She pushed the thought away. The dogs, who weren’t too keen on staying out in the rain, ran past her and back inside the house, their wet paws slipping on the hardwood floor.

Savannah tried to watch one of her favorite TV shows for a while. When that didn’t work, she got on her laptop to check her e-mail. The whole time, she kept thinking about poor Baxter out there in the rain.

“This is ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes at herself. The last person she should feel sorry for was Baxter. Yet, every time she looked out the window and saw him working tirelessly, her heart squeezed a little.

It wasn’t easy, but she had to admit that, as awful as he was to her growing up, he’d always been kind and thoughtful to his grandparents.

She finally groaned and dragged herself to the kitchen to make two mugs of hot chocolate. She would’ve added peppermint to them if she could’ve found some. Truthfully, the food choices were less than stellar. Savannah had bought little for herself, and it made sense that Mr. and Mrs. Potter wouldn’t want food to go to waste during their month-long trip.

Savannah put her boots on, slipped through the sliding glass door without the dogs escaping, and closed it again behind her. “Hey, Baxter!”

The hammering stopped, and he turned to face her, looking surprised.

“You up for a hot chocolate break?”

His face broke into a grin. He set the hammer down and jogged across the backyard. “You are an angel.”

He ditched his wet gloves as soon as he was under the protection of the covered porch. He reached for a mug, cupped it in his hands, and took a sip.

Savannah hid a smile with her own mug. “It’s nothing like the cocoa you can get at Sweet Hearts, but packets were all I had on hand.”

“Are you kidding?” He flexed one hand and then another. Both were red from the cold. “It tastes amazing to me.”

She sank into one of the two chairs on the porch, and Baxter claimed the other one. They sat in silence as they sipped their hot chocolate.

He’d finished the whole back of the fence and most of one side. He only had the other side to go and then the sections next to the gates at the front. “Are you planning on replacing the gates? Or leaving them as they are?”

“You know, I’ve been wondering the same thing. But I think I may leave them. I’ll ask Grandpa in January and see if he wants to get new ones. As long as the rest of the fence is replaced, I don’t think the gates will look too bad. Do you?”

“I think it’ll look great either way.”

He seemed content with her answer. He finished his hot chocolate and set the empty mug on the wicker table between them. “I guess I should get back after it. Thanks for the much-needed break.”

There was no missing the hesitancy in his voice. He stood, flipped his hood back over his head, put his gloves on, and clomped back out into the yard.

Savannah took their mugs inside. She thought about turning on a Christmas movie but didn’t even get as far as the living room.

Just thinking about him out there working in the rain while she was warm and dry inside had her feeling guilty. The sooner he got done with the fence, the sooner he could work on the porch or something else that had more shelter. Oh, and the sooner he’d be on his way, too. Which, of course, was the sole reason why she donned her boots again and withdrew a rain jacket from the hall closet.

She made it most of the way across the yard before Baxter noticed her. His brows rose in surprise.

“Hey. What are you doing out here?” He glanced at the back door as though he half expected her to run inside again.

“You looked like you could use some help out here.”

He blinked at her. “You’re seriously offering to help me? In the rain.”

Savannah released a deep sigh. “I figured it was practically inhumane to leave you out here by yourself. I can’t even enjoy a good cup of tea or read a book without feeling guilty.”

She could tell by his expression he wasn’t sure whether to take her seriously. Only when she gave him a small smile did he grin in response. “If you insist.”

“I do. Besides, the quicker we get all this done, the faster you’ll be out of my hair.”

“Right. Of course.” He chuckled. “In that case, take these.” He handed her a box of nails.

She hefted it in her hand. “That’s it?”

“You can help me hold the planks in place, too.”

“Oh, well, that’s better.”

 

~*~

 

When Savannah first offered to help him, Baxter wasn’t sure what her motivations were. She acted like she was joking about getting him out of her hair. He wasn’t so sure that was true, though. Even still, they fell into an easy pattern as they removed the old fence planks and replaced them with new ones. While he did all the hammering, just having her there to hand him the nails and help hold the boards made all the difference.

It wasn’t just having help, though. It was the company. The evenings he’d been working before now had been long ones with nothing but the sounds of hammering and his own humming or whistling to fill his ears.

Savannah’s company made it all a whole lot better. They didn’t talk a lot, and when they did, they stuck to mundane conversation. But her pretty voice, soft laughter, and the subtle scent of vanilla that sometimes wafted his way made the day more pleasant.

Besides, she looked super adorable in sweatpants, boots, and a rain jacket that was far too big for her. It must be Grandpa’s. He wished he could sneak a photo of her with his phone, but she’d probably smack him with one of the fence planks.

They worked together until the sun had nearly disappeared and called it a day just before five.

“You know,” he began as they put the tools away, “it is time for dinner. Any chance you might want to share said meal?”

He’d known the answer to that question the moment it left his lips. She shook her head.

“Come on. Not even if I’m buying?”

“I appreciate the offer, but no, thank you.” There was a flash of pain on Savannah’s face before she schooled her features. She motioned toward the house. “I have every intention of taking a hot shower to thaw out, nuking a Hot Pocket, and going to bed.”

Baxter feigned astonishment. “You’re seriously putting down my offer of food for a Hot Pocket? That barely qualifies.”

“Goodness, yer making great progress on the fence.” There was no missing the Scottish lilt of Granny Mary next door. They couldn’t see but snatches of her bright red umbrella through the slats in the fence. “Baxter, yer grandparents are gonna be so surprised.”

He exchanged a smile with Savannah. “I sure hope so, Granny Mary. Thanks again for promising to not say a thing to them.”

“Yer secret’s safe with me. Ye know, I just finished icing a Christmas cake. I baked it back in October, ye know. You two should come over for a slice.”

Savannah immediately shook her head. “Oh, Granny, we’re both a muddy mess. Trust me when I say you don’t want us to come in your house.”

“I wilna take no for an answer. I’ll expect ye in ten minutes.” With that, they heard her shuffling across the backyard and disappearing into her home.

Baxter turned and pointed a finger at Savannah. “See. And if you’d agreed to go out to dinner with me, we’d have plans.”

“Are you kidding? You can’t beat Granny’s Christmas cake.” She sounded perfectly serious, but there was humor shining in her eyes.

He held a hand out to her. “So will you join me for some of Granny Mary’s magnificent Christmas cake?”

He was certain she would scoff at him or, at the very least, turn and walk away. She took him by surprise when she set her hand in his. Her skin was frigid, and it was all he could do not to clasp her hand between both of his. “Is that a yes?”

“I’m saying yes to Granny’s offer.” She looked down at her sweat pants and muddy boots. “I need to run in and change shoes, at least. See you over there in ten?” She pulled her hand away.

He hadn’t even agreed before she’d disappeared through the sliding glass door. Maybe going next door for dessert wasn’t what he’d planned, but he wasn’t about to give up the chance to spend some extra time with her.

Besides, she was right. Granny’s cake was incredible.

Ten minutes later, Granny ushered them inside her home. They both took their shoes off at the front door and followed her into the kitchen. The tiny table had three chairs crowded around it. She motioned for them to sit.

“I’ll bring the cake right out. Make yerselves comfortable.”

Baxter held the chair for Savannah and helped her scoot it in. As soon as he sat down, he realized just how small the table was. His knee touched Savannah’s. It didn’t matter how he shifted, there wasn’t quite enough room under the table to maintain distance between them. Not that he particularly minded.

Savannah was looking everywhere but at him. Baxter finally nudged her knee with his own. “I won’t bite, you know.”

Her cheeks turned pink within moments. “Yeah.”

He covered a chuckle as Granny returned, a plate of cake in each hand. She set one down in front of each of them along with a fork. “Here ya go. Would ya like a glass of milk to go with it?”

“That would be wonderful, Granny, thank you.” Baxter admired his slice of cake. “This looks almost too good to eat.”

Granny patted him on the shoulder. “Aren’t ya sweet. Savannah? Milk?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Savannah took a small bite of her cake and moaned in appreciation. “I’m confident I could never produce a Christmas cake as decadent as this.”

Baxter had to agree. There had only been a few times in the past he’d tasted Granny’s famous Christmas cake. It was always worth it.

Granny returned with the glasses of milk and then joined them at the table. “I’m so glad ya both like it.”

They talked about the Christmas season coming up, decorating for the holidays, and some of their favorite Christmas memories.

A half hour later, Baxter and Savannah thanked her for the amazing dessert and waved goodbye. He walked Savannah to the front of the Potters’ house. Before she went inside, he put a hand on her arm.

“So I have a question for you.”

She turned to face him. “What’s that?”

“We sat down at the same table, and neither of us self-combusted.” He paused for effect. “Given that evidence, is there any chance you might give me a different answer next time I ask you out to dinner?”

The corners of Savannah’s mouth twitched. “You are stubborn.”

“Yep.” He was still touching her arm. He slid it down to her hand and took it in his. “So?”

“Ask me next time, and you’ll find out.” She flashed him a pretty smile. “I should probably get inside.”

“Of course.” He squeezed her hand before releasing it. “Thank you again for all the help on the fence. I couldn’t have made so much progress without you. I think we make a good team.”

“Surprisingly, so do I.” Savannah unlocked the front door, stepped through the doorframe, and turned back with a smile. “Good night, Baxter.”

“Good night, Savannah.”

She closed the door behind her. Baxter felt the first drop of rain in the next round of showers and retreated to his car before it started to pour. Thinking about his time working on the fence with Savannah had him smiling all the way home.

After his last girlfriend, he’d sworn he wouldn’t put himself in a position where a woman would make him second-guess what he wanted for his future. He’d about given up any possibility of raising a family of his own in a small town.

Then he thought about Savannah. Sure, it was early in their friendship, but he could see her happy about staying in Romance. Maybe even opening her own bakery one day. He thought about Granny and then pictured Savannah making homemade cakes for her children’s birthdays. That thought made his heart stutter.

The last thing he needed to do was get ahead of himself. He hadn’t even convinced the woman to go on a date with him. Yet.