Page 50 of The Birchwood House

I can do this,she thought determinedly, steeling herself.I’ll just sit here on the bench, and after my arms get a rest here and on the bus, it won’t be so bad carrying these to the house. I’ve dealt with tougher stuff than this.

She was making her way toward the bench, which was pleasantly located under the shade of a beautiful maple tree, when she heard a car honk. Curiously, she turned around.

“Hey there.” Theo leaned his head out of the window of his truck, grinning at her. “What are you doing there?”

“Flying a plane, obviously,” she said tartly.

“Waiting for the bus? Is there something wrong with your car?”

She shook her head. “No, but I walked here. I didn’t intend to buy all this today. We’re in the middle of sprucing up the mansion and I got a little carried away. It’s all good stuff we can use, but I guess I should have waited until I could come back with a vehicle. But it doesn’t matter—like I said, I’m waiting for the bus.” She flushed slightly, wishing she didn’t feel the need to defend herself in front of Theo.

“The bus?” he echoed. “But hardly anyone uses the bus in Coral Sands, unless they’re taking one of the buses that go from town to town. Our local bus route doesn’t have a lot of pickup options, if I remember correctly.”

Michelle shrugged nonchalantly, but the subtle movement caused the bouquet of flowers to tip precariously. She froze, glancing at it in concern, worried that it might tumble out of the bag onto the sidewalk.

Theo chuckled. “Waiting to take the bus is silly if you’ve got your arms full like that. Come on, I’ll give you a ride back to the Birchwood House.” He said the name of the mansion with goofy precision that made him sound hoity-toity, as if he was making fun of it.

Although she knew he meant the tease in good fun, she scowled at him. “We’re very proud of the hotel,” she said. “And I think the Birchwood House is a wonderful name.”

“Oh, it’s a great name.” He grinned impishly. “But does it count as a hotel if you haven’t had any guests yet?”

Her mouth popped open in protest, but she couldn’t think of a clever retort. As her brain floundered for a response, the wind picked up again, blowing fiercely against the grocery bags shewas carrying. The plastic sleeve surrounding the roses flapped and snapped in the wind.

“Come on, you don’t want to lose your goodies,” Theo insisted. “Come on and get in the truck.”

“I’m fine here, thank you,” Michelle said, sitting down primly on the bench. She hugged the bags to her side, trying to hide her sigh of relief. It felt great to no longer be holding up the weight of the bags, and her heart sank when she thought of the walk from the next bus stop to the mansion.

Theo made a tutting sound and turned off the engine of his truck. He hopped out of the driver’s seat, leaving his vehicle in the middle of the road. Michelle gaped at him as he strolled toward her casually, not acting at all as though he’d just left a truck in the middle of a public thoroughfare.

“What are you doing?” she squeaked at him, glancing up and down the road. “What if someone comes?”

He shrugged cheerfully. “They can drive around me.” He strode up to her and grabbed one of the bags out of her arms. “Oof, this is heavy.”

“Hey!” she protested, jumping up and trying to tug it away from him. “What are you doing?”

“Come on,” he said, unphased by the way she was jumping around him like a puppy trying to get at a toy. “Grab the other one and get in my truck.”

“I—what—you’re—this is stealing!”

“It’s not stealing,” he called over his shoulder. “I’m bringing it to your house. You can walk or take the bus with your other bag if you want, but this one is coming with me.”

Michelle watched him for a moment, dumbfounded, and then she let out a noise that was a mix between a growl and a squeal of frustration. “I can’t let you just walk off with my stuff!” She grabbed the other bag and started to scamper afterhim, looking both ways before crossing the road even though the street was silent and she knew no cars were coming.

“Why?” He opened the driver’s door of his truck and leaned inside, placing the bag in the back seat of the cab. “Don’t you trust me?”

“No,” she said, huffing a little as she reached the truck. Even one bag was uncomfortably heavy.

“Then you’d better babysit me while I drive,” he said. “Hop in.”

Michelle made another noise of frustration and shoved her bag onto the seat before scrambling up into the truck after it.

“Careful,” he said. “I think you’re the one you shouldn’t trust with your belongings, not me. Look at now nicely I stowed that bag back there.”

“You—you’re—ugh!” Michelle spluttered. “I?—”

Theo grinned. “You’re welcome.” He turned on the engine of his truck and started to drive it down the road.

“It’s so bumpy,” Michelle grunted, surprised by how much she was being jostled by the vehicle.