Page 72 of River Wild
“Maybe you overlooked it.”
“Even if I did, I didn’t buy it. And there is no way it got in there by accident. Unless it came to life and choo-chooed its way into my box.”
“Choo-chooed?” he echoes.
I can tell he’s fighting a smile.
I glare at him. “Yes. Choo-chooed.”
“You do realize that it’s your shoe size that’s six and not your age.”
“Har-fudging-har.”
Also, he remembered what size shoe I wear. That does surprise me. I didn’t think he’d care to remember such a minute detail about me.
“Maybe Ellie gave it to you,” he says.
“Why would she?”
“Because she’s a good person. And you bought a tree from her and a shitload of tree decorations. Maybe it was a free gift.”
It’s my turn to lift a brow. “A fifty-dollar free gift?”
He folds his arms over his chest and lifts those big shoulders of his in a shrug. “She’s a generous woman.”
Mirroring him, I cross my arms over my own chest. “Even if it was a free gift … it would be weird that, out of all the ornaments hanging in that window, she would pick out the one I loved most to give to me as a free gift—which she didn’t tell me about. That’d be one heck of a coincidence, don’t you think?”
His lips purse. “Sure. But coincidences happen every day.”
“Yeah … you’re right. I should probably call Ellie up and check with her though and also thank her.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Why?” I’m fighting a smile.
His shoulders lift. “Well, it might embarrass her.”
“Why?”
“Because she clearly gave you a gift and didn’t want you to know it was from her.”
“Uh-huh.” I nod. “But it’s also an expensive gift. One that I don’t feel right about accepting.”
He sighs. “It’s just a fucking ornament, Red.”
“River … did you buy me the ornament?”
“No. But, if I had and you were my almost friend, then I’d expect you to take the fucking ornament and not stand there, complaining about it.”
“I’m not complaining.”
Silence.
“River.”
“What?”
“Thank you. For the train. It’s beautiful.”
