Pride Falls Like Snow - Part 1

Part 2

Davis looked out the window. Christmas was only a couple of weeks away. He had been looking forward to spending time with friends and relatives. He wondered what Kelly would get up to this holiday season.

The snow was over two feet high, and there didn't seem to be any end in sight. While Kelly was getting everything ready, he went back outside. He pulled the folding shovel from the pocket of his cargo pants and cleared a path back to his store. If it kept snowing, it would take him awhile to dig out in the morning. As long as he and Kelly were safe and warm inside while the snow and temperature dropped, he was fine with it.

They walked back to his store and Davis watched Kelly prepare their food in his tiny kitchen. He liked it. He would have loved to be home together with her cooking and living like this. It would never happen. He was a simple man who loved his life in the country. Kelly was a city girl. He had no idea what she was doing out here in the Midwest in an area where the tallest things around here were the trees.

Davis stepped out his back door to set up the propane grill. It would heat and cool faster. The temperature was dropping; he didn't have time to wait for charcoal. He used charcoal in the summer. He always hoped the smell of the food would entice Kelly to join them, but she never did. It encouraged some of her customers though, and he was happy to have them.

The cookouts were always a good time, and he looked forward to them. Mostly because Kelly would be in his shop with her hands on her hips telling him off. He fired up the grill and waited for it to heat up. He would make sure dinner was cooked to perfection.

Kelly was perfection. She was beautiful, smart and caring. She seemed angry though. He wondered what had happened that had made her that way. People said she was kind. If Davis hadn't seen the way she treated others, he would have never believed it. If he based his opinion of her solely by how she treated him, he wouldn't have bothered with her. Davis thought the level of irritation in her voice was just for him.

Right now though, her voice was softer, gentler. This was the voice she used with people who knew her. She wasn't a mama bear coming to tear up, she was just Kelly. Davis liked Kelly.

"Is everything ready for the food?" Kelly asked from the doorway. He had been standing in front of the grill staring out at the snow falling.

He turned to smile at her. She was dressed in a sweater and jeans, still wearing the socks and boots he gave her. Her brown eyes were bright by what little light they had. The concern he had seen etched on her face had been replaced with a relaxed, sexy smile. God he wished he could see her like this every day.

***

Kelly stood in the doorway and admired him. His thick brown hair was covered by the cap on his head. She admired his broad flannel covered shoulder as he stood there. Carrying their foil packets of food to him, she watched him open one up to take a peek inside.

"I need to know what's in it to make sure I know how long to cook it. Looks good," Davis said. "Can't wait." Kelly nodded her head. He resealed the pouch, checked the seal on the other one and put them both on the grill and closed the lid.

"We should be eating in about a half hour," Davis said."I'll check it after about twenty minutes to see how they're doing."

The phone rang inside the store. Davis smiled at her then walked past her to answer it. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It was only five-thirty, but the sky had taken on the color of night. There was only the sound of the grill to keep her company. The phone rang as she was holding it in her hand. It was her best friend Crystal.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kelly, I looked out my window and saw your car wasn't home. I went to knock on your door. Where are you?" Crystal asked.