“Another piece of pumpkin pie?” Maisey suggested.
“Not for me,” Anna Louise replied. “I feel as if I ate that entire turkey all by myself.”
“You couldn’t have,” Richard countered. “I ate most of it.”
“That must explain why all I had was that piddly little wing,” Maisey teased. “If you don’t want any more dessert, how about more coffee?”
“No. I really should be getting home,” Anna Louise said. “I want to call my family before it gets to be too late. My parents should be back from my sister’s by now. Everyone was planning to spend the holiday with her in Memphis so they could see the new baby.”
Richard watched her closely and thought he detected a trace of wistfulness in her expression. “Are you feeling homesick?”
“Maybe just a little,” she admitted with a sigh. “I wonder if I’ll ever get used to not being at home for the holidays.”
“But, dear,” Maisey said gently, “you are home.”
Anna Louise suddenly smiled as if she’d just been given another gift. “Yes, I am, aren’t I? Thank you for reminding me of that.”
“Are you sure you need to leave?” Maisey asked, her expression radiating disappointment.
“Yes. I want to make that call and you need to get some rest. I know how much effort goes into preparing a meal like the one we had.”
“Hey, what makes you think I wasn’t responsible for the turkey and stuffing?” Richard demanded.
“Maisey’s described your pitiful cooking skills to me.”
“All lies.”
“I’ve seen the evidence for myself. Remember that entire loaf of bread you burned trying to make toast?”
He laughed. “Shh. You weren’t supposed to tell Maisey about that.”
Maisey chuckled. “Did you honestly think I couldn’t smell all that burning bread? I worried we’d never get the smell out of the house, to say nothing of whether you’d remember where I keep the fire extinguisher.”
Richard feigned a scowl at the pair of them. “And here I was about to volunteer to walk Anna Louise home.” He glanced across the room and saw the color rise in Anna Louise’s cheeks at the suggestion.
“Really, it’s not necessary,” she protested.
“Yes, it is,” Maisey insisted. “You can argue with Richard, but you shouldn’t upset an old lady.”
“Maisey, you’re not old,” Anna Louise said. “You’re going to outlive all of us.”
“I just hope I’ll be around long enough to see my grandson happily married and maybe my first great-grandbaby.” She shot a pointed look straight at Richard. “There’s not a lot of time to waste, young man.”
He leaned down and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “Some things just can’t be rushed.”
“Rushed? You’re slower than molasses.”
Richard looked at Anna Louise. “I think we’d better get out of here before she calls Orville Patterson over to perform the ceremony.”
Outside, he tucked Anna Louise’s arm through his. “Don’t let Maisey’s teasing bother you.”
“I’m not the one she’s pestering to get married.”
“That’s what you think,” he retorted.
They took their time walking over the packed snow, partly because the footing was treacherous and partly to draw the time out. The moon showed them the way. Richard glanced up the side of the mountain and saw half a dozen kids with their sleds racing down the slope, their excited shouts carrying on the night air. He glanced at Anna Louise and saw that she’d seen them, as well.
“I dare you,” he teased.
Her gaze flew up to his. “You’ve got to be kidding. I haven’t been sledding in years.”
“Neither have I.”
“But you’re a daredevil. I’m not.”
“That gleam in your eyes says otherwise.”
“We don’t have sleds.”
“Oh, I think we can talk those kids into loaning us two for one run down the hill.” He grinned at the temptation that was written plainly all over her face. “You game?”
Her thoughtful gaze remained pinned on the laughing children for another minute, then she grinned. “Let’s go for it.”
At the top of the hill, Richard spoke to the two youngest Hall boys and borrowed their sleds.
“Are you really going to race him, Pastor Perkins?” sixteen-year-old Jason Hall asked, his eyes wide.
Anna Louise looked startled. “Who said anything about a race?”
Richard trained his most innocent expression on her. “Afraid of a little competition?”
“No, I’m afraid of breaking my neck,” she said as she settled herself cautiously on the sled.
Richard shot a conspiratorial look at the gathered kids and gave her sled a gentle nudge.
“Why you rotten...” she shouted as the sled began its rapid descent.
“Tsk-tsk, Pastor Perkins,” he called out as he hopped on his own sled and sent it racing down the slope after her.
“How do you steer the blasted thing?” she shouted with a note of alarm in her voice.
Richard suffered a moment’s absolute panic at the thought that she really might not know what she was doing. An image of her slamming into a tree flashed through his head with sickening clarity. Dear Heaven, what had he done?
Concern had him trying to maneuver himself into her path, so he could save her. Only when she whooshed by, her laughter carried on the crisp night air, did he realize he’d been had.
At the bottom of the hill, when he caught up with her, she was still laughing.
“You deliberately distracted me,” he accused, tumbling her from the sled into the snow and pinning her down.
“You’re the one who insisted on a race,” she reminded him, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
“I expected a fair race.”
The kids arrived just then, anxious to have their sleds back. She gave him a saucy wink and slipped out of his grasp. “I guess you
