Eleanor wondered what provoked him to look at her in the way that he did, the son of her closest friend, Jacqueline. Theo Miller was a precocious young man who was now out of college, had worked for two years to gain on-the-job experience, and would soon, in a month or so, be going to a trades and skills academy to study electronics. From a young age, he had always shown an aptitude for fixing things and now she would have a use for him.
"Take the next left," he told her, gazing across the narrow space between them. She possessed a ragingly good sense of dress style that gave the impression that she wasn't trying too hard for a woman her age. She and his Mom were in their forties, Mom older by four years, and their lives had followed the same pattern, marrying early and in his Mom's case having him a year or so into her marriage. He was an only child and that never bothered him as he cut his own path in life and was happy with that decision.
Whenever it came, he would seize the moment to look at her and admit that she had gotten under his skin. He loved Eleanor's blonde frizzy hair that came down to her shoulders and framed a somewhat wrinkled but smiling face as well as the naturalness of her eyebrows that were slightly arched over her bottle-green eyes.
She wore little or no makeup, and Eleanor had applied just a smear of lipstick, pink, to her smiling lips. He loved the creases in her cheeks when she did that. He was also captivated by how she moved around the kitchen at breakfast, wearing some jeans, a brown belt, and an ethnic scoop-necked sweater with its grey and white, some black, pattern. She sure filled in nicely and, yeah, she may well have noticed him giving her the eye.
"I know the way, Theo. I've been here two times already. I just want to be sure about everything."
She laughed even as she gripped the wheel a little tighter. Jackie's boy was acting fresh, and he kept looking at her. Knowing that, she had begun to wonder how to get through the next few days if the weather remained as cold and snowy as it had been, almost from the moment that she had arrived. Jackie had her work to do, so she was left to her own devices and couldn't shut Theo out. It seemed rude to do that and like her, he had time on his hands as he was taking a break from work and getting ready for trade school.
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
"I am."
"At least the snow's been cleared off the highway...pushed to the sidewalks." His gravelly voice also had a lilt to it, an enthusiasm that carried you along.
"I'm glad for that, Theo." She had selected the right gear and braked slowly. "Even in this weather we're having, the neighbourhood sure looks good and I'll be glad that I won't have to keep driving along the highway from Fargo to be here."
She was mightily relieved that her friend had offered a room for a couple of nights so that the journey over a snowy road, straight as an arrow as it was and bringing her to Bismarck, would not have to be endured and she could plan her move. Her work, as a client advocate, had already been secured so that was off her 'to-do' list.
Theo's suggestion, over breakfast, that he tagged along also allowed her to get reacquainted with the young man beside her. She had taken to wondering how to deal with the overt, and appraising, glances that she felt were on her at dinner last night and then breakfast as they had prepared to set off. The cold weather, of snow and an icy wind, meant she wore only too practical and warm clothing.
"Mom always said it was one of the best areas to live in, but I guess you already know that too."
"I love the trees all around, the clapboarded house I'm buying, and the garden...the closeness of the Missouri River and the parks not so far away. But the house is not going to be flooded, I was assured of that by the realtor."
She caught a glimpse of him, out of the corner of her eye, as Theo unclipped his seatbelt and buttoned up his winter coat, tugged down his beanie cap as she slowed to a stop. "I'll go and check the fuse boxes and that kind of fitment in the plant room...and leave you to go around the house. There's no rush, I guess?"
She smiled at the young man beside her, unclipping her seat belt as she did so. Theo had his rugged good looks about him and she'd seen the strength in his arms as they all sat at the breakfast table, Theo in just a T-shirt and jeans, his toned arms and big hands there for her to see. His thick mop of sandy brown hair was swept back and the style lent him a rebellious look and went with his unshaven jaw.
What could he have seen in her, his mother's friend, whom he would know was over a divorce and wanted to get away from Fargo and start again?
"No, there's no rush unless I get cold and we need to get warm again in the car. Your Mom won't want us getting back much later than she does from her work, so I'll be as quick as I can" She was seen to wave as the realtor stood waiting on the snowy footpath that led up to the front door.
"Just take things as they come. Jeez, it's cold!" Theo laughed in dismay as he tugged on the door lever and an icy blast of wind rushed in. "Come on! It can't be any colder than this inside your new place!"
"It's not mine yet," she reminded him, "and I haven't fully decided! Don't say anything about how interested I am, will you?"
"No," he answered flatly, somewhat irritated that she should think he would blab. "It's your call, Eleanor."
"Yes, everything is, while I'm here in Bismarck."
Despite how it might look, she gripped the mittened hand that Theo offered as they stepped slowly over the snowy path and up to the front door, set back and shielded from the weather by the porch that extended along the front of the house. The front yard was simply grass with shrubs planted along the railing of the porch. The backyard was wild and untended, a separate timber-clad building set away from the fence. She had thought to use it as her yoga studio if she went ahead with the move.
Theo's was a strong and reassuring hold, a helping hand from an impetuous young man who stood taller than she, at six feet, the top of her head just reaching above his shoulder. She was here to buy a house and make a new home. What else might she find herself embarking upon, if his looks upon her were anything to go by?
♥
Theo waited until they were in her car and Eleanor had fastened her seatbelt. Like him, she had tugged away her muffler. She saw again how his eyes drifted over her, shamelessly appraising and, if he wanted to, Theo could now delight in her appearance. She'd made her mind up about the house and the realtor had been told. She kept from telling him the news until they were with Jackie again and they talked over supper. There would be so much to think of, at the right time.
"We've got hours to ourselves, so...so could we stop at the ice rink and go skating? It's the weather for it and there's no rush to get home. We've some time to ourselves, or...or is it a crazy idea for you to be seen with me?"
"I wondered what was on your mind back in the house. You hardly said a word even when you could have done." She was thrilled by his suggestion and doing as he asked would fill the hours and take her mind off so many things. She would deal with the house she was buying after super and send out some emails on her laptop.
"You said not to interfere, and I didn't. The place looks good and the systems are up to date. I learned enough about what to look out for from Alan, my father. So, what do you reckon...about us going skating?"
