Cadence of Cranberries - Valerie Comer Page 0,65

little hilarious to watch? All of us like Charlie.”

She took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I’m ready. To move on from your dad.”

Gabby’s expression turned serious. “Is it you who’s not ready? Or are you worried others will think it’s too soon? Because Dad’s been gone two and a half years now. And honestly, it’s no one’s business but yours. Everyone who matters knows you loved Dad.”

“You’re right.” Winnie squeezed her daughter, caught a whiff of perfume, and pulled back to look at her. Gabby’s hair was up in a semi-formal do, and she wore the necklace her daddy had given her for her sweet sixteenth. “Are you going out tonight?”

“Uh, yeah? Grayson Williams. I told you.”

She had? Possibly.

“Oh! He’ll be here any minute, and I need to finish getting ready.” Gabriella dashed out.

Winnie’s brain wobbled. Somehow tonight seemed significant. Valentine’s Day. A ritzy restaurant. And now two dozen roses to top off the cheery bouquets he’d sent weekly since the family skating night. He’d told her he was serious, and it looked like he’d meant it.

Which meant…

No.

Winnie blocked her brain from that line of thinking. She took a step back and examined herself in the mirror one more time, smoothing down the front of her sheath. Truth be told, she didn’t look so bad for fifty… especially since she’d finally had her roots touched up.

The doorbell rang. Was it Charlie or Grayson? Would her sons be okay home alone? Of course they would. As they kept reminding her, they weren’t children anymore.

“Please, Lord, make Your will very, very clear. Thank You for loving me so much.” And she headed for the living room.

Winnie was gorgeous in that black dress, dressed down a little with a chunky necklace and matching earrings in gold, turquoise, and cranberry.

The atmosphere was perfect. Red tablecloths, white linen napkins, roses at each table, Bing Crosby, and candlelight. Great food, too. Probably. Charlie’d never believed he’d be that guy whose nerves got away like this, but here he was.

Was this the right moment? Had they dated long enough? Would she say yes?

Part of him wanted to pull the little box out of his pocket right this minute, blurt out his speech, and see what happened. But, no. He didn’t want anything this public. He had a plan, and he’d stick to it.

The evening was still young when they left the bistro and he opened the Mustang’s door for her.

Charlie chuckled as he slid in on the other side a moment later. “Katri calls this my midlife-crisis car. I can’t decide if she’s right or not. I should probably sell it and get something more practical.” He cast a glance over at Winnie. “This might never have been sensible in Seattle, but much less so here where we get so much more snow. Maybe I’ll sell it and get an SUV.”

She ran her gloves across the leather dashboard. “I guess that would be up to you.” She offered a questioning look.

He pulled away from the curb. “I’ve always had the money to buy whatever I wanted, but I guess you figured that out. What I don’t know, not for sure, is how you feel about it.”

Whitney pulled in her lips thoughtfully.

Now there was a temptation for Charlie to pull off to the side of the road and kiss her, but he was a patient sort of guy.

“I know we’ve already established that I over-reacted about that part,” Winnie said pensively.

Charlie reached across the car and clasped her hand. “I believe what we really established is that I was presumptuous. Please let me take the lion’s share of the blame. But I still want to know how uncomfortable the thought of me having money makes you. I’d rather not throw it all away.”

Her eyebrows rose, and there might have been a little glimmer of humor beneath them. “Why, Charlie! I hope you’re not telling me that you robbed a bank or something like that. That would make me uncomfortable.”

He knew she meant it as a joke, and he appreciated it. “I’ve robbed something much more precious, and that’s my daughters’ childhood. If I could go back, I’d do so many things differently.” He focused on driving across the Maple Street Bridge and took the corner for West Riverside. “One thing I wouldn’t want to do differently, though, is moving to Spokane and buying Redband Roasters. Without that, I would probably never have met you.” He flipped on the signal light for his driveway.

Winnie had just figured out