Chapter Three - Trudy

When the truck finally rolled up to the front walk of the inn, Trudy was relieved to see that Chad had remembered to leave the front light on. 

Christmas lights were twinkling in the library as well, which meant the young groundskeeper was still up. 

Ward pulled the truck into a parking space, then turned off the engine and got out. 

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” Trudy said, fumbling with her door.

“Nonsense,” Ward said. “I’d like to see you to your door. The Garcias would never forgive me if anything were to happen to you, especially that little fella.”

“Mateo,” Trudy said fondly. 

She waited as he opened her door for her again. 

“He’s a great kid,” Ward said. “It’s good to have them all in town.”

Trudy nodded and sucked in a breath of the icy night air. 

The snow glimmered in the moonlight, and the world felt still, as if it were waiting for something important to happen.

When they reached the front door, Ward paused for a moment, as if he were waiting for something, too. And Trudy could only think of one thing that might be. 

A kiss.  

But that couldn’t be right. Could it?

Trudy felt a shiver of anticipation, and suddenly she wasn’t so sure  she would mind being kissed.

No, no, don’t give him the wrong impression.

“Thank you so much for the ride, Ward,” she said politely. 

“The pleasure was all mine, Trudy,” he said. “Hope to see you again soon.”

He gave her a warm smile and a wink and then he was moving through the shadowy night back to his truck.

Trudy hurried into the house and closed the door behind her, leaning on it for a moment to catch her breath and organize her thoughts.

But she hadn’t anticipated that Chad would be sitting on one of the lobby chairs, with his still-swollen ankle up on another. 

“Hey how was your night?” he asked. “Wow, nice jacket.”

“Oh, for heavens sake,” Trudy said, looking at the coat she was still wearing.

Obviously, Ward had been waiting for her to give his coat back, not wanting to kiss her. 

She laughed a little, shook her head, and shrugged off the coat.
Oddly, she felt a little lonesome the moment it was off. 

I just need a warm cup of tea, she told herself as she hung the coat on one of the hooks by the front door.

“What is it?” Chad asked.

“Oh, I borrowed the coat, and forgot to give it back,” Trudy said, too embarrassed to tell him the rest.

Chad grabbed his crutch and swung himself up onto his feet in a single fluid motion. The boy was so physically gifted that he sometimes seemed to defy gravity. Only a horrible blizzard and a window well hidden by snow could have caused him a bad enough fall to hurt himself.

“That coat is familiar,” Chad decided. “Who does it belong to?”

“Professor Sullivan,” Trudy said, resisting the urge to clam up. After all, nothing had happened. Ward was just a new friend.

“Nice guy,” Chad said approvingly. 

Goodness, but Trinity Falls was a small town. Her new groundskeeper was from two counties over, and still recognized the name and coat of a retiring community college professor who was probably twice his age.

“Yes, he’s very nice,” she agreed primly. “I hope you didn’t stay up waiting for me.”

“Are you kidding?” Chad laughed. “I was definitely waiting for you. It’s Christmas, time for a movie marathon.”

“A movie marathon?” she echoed. 

“In my family, on Christmas night, we all put on our gifts and watch movies,” Chad said. 

Sure enough, he was wearing the hat she had knitted for him. 

“What movies?” she asked suspiciously. 

Chad was lovely, but he had strange taste in movies. Half the time he seemed to watch mindless action movies, and the other half, he amused himself with incomprehensible independent films. 

At least they were incomprehensible to Trudy. Chad seemed to enjoy them. 

“Christmas movies,” he laughed, as if it were a silly question. “How about Home Alone?”

“It always seemed awfully violent to me,” she admitted. “But I do like the house, and the little boy.”

“Let’s do it,” Chad said. “I’ve got bowls set up for popcorn in the kitchen, and the kettle’s ready for your famous peppermint hot chocolate.”

“Go and sit,” she told him. “I’ll fix it.”

“No way,” he told her. “You have to go put on your Christmas pajamas.”

He was referring to the gift he’d given her of red and green flannel pajamas, which had almost made her cry because they reminded her of Phillip’s favorite shirt for chopping wood.

“That sounds nice,” she said. “I’ll come help once I get changed.”

She hurried up to her room, looking forward to a relaxing evening at home, and the chance to enjoy the Christmas spirit for a few more hours.

The pajamas fit perfectly. They were a little too big, just like she liked them. She shrugged on a fluffy cardigan and her favorite slippers and headed back down. 

Chad was still in the kitchen, carefully pouring heated chocolate into mugs. 

“You look great,” he told her enthusiastically.

She twirled to show him her pajamas, laughing a little.

“And you look happy,” he said when she stopped to face him. 
He tilted his head slightly, like a puppy trying to figure something out. 

“What?” she asked. 

“Oh, nothing,” he chuckled. “Come on, let’s get our snacks out there and start our movie. I can’t have you nodding off on me before the kid’s family comes home.”
​
“The family comes home?” she asked, widening her eyes.

“Oh, shoot,” Chad said right away. “I’m so sorry, Trudy. I didn’t know you hadn’t seen the whole thing.”

“I’m kidding,” she said with a smile.

“You’re a whole new woman,” he teased right back, shaking his head, as if in defeat. “How am I supposed to keep up with you now?”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll manage,” she laughed, grabbing a tray to load up their snacks.

As they settled onto the big sofa, and Chad worked his magic on the remote, she gazed out the window. 

A few big, lazy snowflakes drifted down, sliding against the window glass and frosting the trees.

Trudy gave a sigh of contentment. Here she was, after a lovely party and caroling, ensconced in cozy pajamas in her beloved inn, getting ready to watch a Christmas movie with the closest thing to a son she had ever had. 

It was just what she wanted. 
​
So why was she still thinking about Ward Sullivan?

​​Be sure to stop by each week for the next chapter of Trudy's Holiday Suitor! If you want to be sure you never miss a chapter, click here to sign up for my newsletter, if you haven't already!

Are you new to the series? Click here to grab the first two Trinity Falls Sweet Romances, or read them for free in KU!