Page 39 of Love in the Details

“I’m supposed to give you the first ride, as per the request of Mrs. Grace Wakefield.”

Kassidy pointed toward the house. “That sounds great and all, but you see, this is a very big party, and I’m kind of the organizer.”

The man only gestured to the bench. “Mrs. Wakefield said she would take care of any problems while you’re gone.”

Thinking of the older woman, Kassidy knew she couldn’t say no to the feisty woman. That’s why she was out here in the first place. She took the man’s gloved hand and slipped into the seat, pulling up the blanket to avoid the chill that filtered straight through her dress.

The man finished what he was doing and walked away, leaving her to wonder what was going on. She dug out her phone and tried to do a mental checklist, just hoping the night didn’t get all screwed up by her taking a few extra minutes outside. She hoped the ride only entailed a trip around the parking circle.

“Are you ready for the first ride?” Dustin asked, leaning over the side of the sleigh and catching her off guard. His handsome features reflected the moonlight.

Her heart jolted at his unexpected closeness, and her knees trembled as she looked up at him. Irritation swiftly followed. She frowned. “If this is your idea, I have a lot to do before the guests arrive.” Throwing off the blanket, she tried to get out of the sleigh, but he’d hurried around the backside and stood next to the opening.

“Please, Kassidy. Just let me have one trip around the house. You promised, remember?”

If only she could go back and undo that promise. She clicked on her phone to see the time. “Okay, but you have exactly ten minutes before I have to be back in the house ready to receive your guests.”

He slid in next to her, his legs touching hers on the slim bench. Picking up the reins, he guided the sleigh onto the path they’d designated for the party. The moon was bright, shining over the snow, making it look like they were in some kind of movie.

“You know this is important to me, to my future. Are you trying to sabotage that too, just like the fabrication plant?” she snapped. She’d tried to let it go, but the pressure of not being in control of what was going on inside with the party setup was getting to her.

“Kassidy, this will only take a minute. I promise that everything is on track for a great night.”

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe normally, wishing the nearness of him wouldn’t cause her insides to go crazy. Traitorous heart.

“Why did you come back?” she finally said.

He turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised in confusion. “To Coldwater Creek? Originally because of my grandmother, but I’m hoping I have another reason to be here.”

“You didn’t fly to California?” She paused a moment and said, “Your grandmother said you had to go back.”

“I’ve been in meetings all day but I haven’t left Coldwater Creek.” He turned to glance at her before guiding the horses through the woods at the side of the property. “I’m not closing down the plant.”

“Wait, what?”

“When I went there on Monday, I found out the real cause of the problem. They were understaffed. Things will be fixed there after Christmas, when they’ll be hiring several new people to operate the machines. And, at the request of several employees, we’ll be implementing an onsite daycare and preschool. Hopefully, that will ease some of the worries about trying to find childcare.”

A weight lifted from Kassidy’s shoulders that she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying around. If the plant wasn’t going to close, then her future wasn’t as shaky as she’d thought. And the fact that he’d gone above his investigations and was going to help some of the workers with childcare? Her Aunt Wendy could have used that twenty years ago.

“Thank you for telling me that. It eases a lot of my worries for the people of this town and for my own selfish wants.” She gave him a quick smile before the girl from the other day popped into her mind. “Is Sage your girlfriend?”

He jerked back at that, and Kassidy held her breath, waiting for his answer. “Sage Cutler? No, a thousand times no. I took her on one date to a charity auction.” He paused a moment. “No, the person I want to be my girlfriend is you, Kassidy McBride.”

It took a few extra seconds for her mind to wrap around those words. Her head whipped in his direction to make sure he wasn’t just teasing her.

“You want me to be your girlfriend?”

He grinned, nodding. “Kassidy, I know we’ve had plenty of differences, but you are the person I want to be with. I know, you’ve thought I was heartless to think about closing down a plant where most of the town is employed, but it takes time to make the big decisions, and I really wanted it to work. My grandfather always taught me to look at it from all angles before disrupting people’s lives, and I made sure to step into a few people’s shoes, so to speak, before I made that decision. It was all because of you.” He gave her a quick smile and focused back on the horses, guiding them around the path the two of them had come up with the week before.

Kassidy laughed. “I overheard your grandmother say something to Margritte a few days ago about you working the machines.”

“And I was sore for two days after.” His laughter died down to a somber expression. “This past week with you not talking to me has been one of the worst of my life. When I’m with you, I can relax, have fun, and not worry so much about failing as the CEO of my company.”

“I guess we all worry about failing somewhat. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever figure out life, because I thought it should just be like barrel racing. Put in the time and the work and I would automatically be successful. But failure isn’t the end of the road, right? Just like you told me at the bank.”

Dustin smiled and nodded. “I’m surprised you remembered that.”

“I remember a lot of what you’ve said. This job has given me the chance to test my talents, and I’m so grateful for that.”

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