Page 6 of Love in the Details

The party wrapped up, and as Kassidy sent off the last of the mini treats with some of the guests, she couldn’t get Dustin’s words from the day before out of her mind, that it wasn’t the end of the road. She wondered if that been some sort of insight into what he was doing here in the valley. That he was about to let all these people go and just tell them it wasn’t the end of the road.

Now the words that had comforted her less than twenty-four hours ago burned in her throat as she closed one of the fold-up chairs with more force than she thought, causing a loud bang.

Eyes turned in her direction, and she forced a smile and kept going, knowing she wouldn’t have to deal with him again anytime soon. And if by chance she did see him, she’d give him a piece of her mind.

As much as there were times when she thought their town was too little, that everyone knew her business before she did, there was so much to love about the people. And the thought of it withering away to the few ranchers who lived in the valley would make it a lonely existence. Not to mention she’d eventually have to leave to find work, and at the moment, she’d had enough of the city.

Several ladies, relatives or citizens of the community, walked by and complimented her on how beautiful the shower had been. One asked if she’d thought about doing something for weddings. It was a temptation to go full-on with this, but she gave a tentative yes. With enough time to plan things, she might be able to pull something off.

But what if she failed?

That was the overarching question of all of it. She’d never failed at something so big as a life-changing decision like her career. Falling off a horse during the middle of a race was a failure, but this felt ten times as hard as that, like her entire ego was at stake.

But if that’s the only way she was going to move on, she would have to put her head down and work through it. She’d been through tough situations, and as hard as they’d been at the time, she’d managed to make it through them. Whether she was supposed to be an event planner or a girl on the line at the fabrication plant, she’d have to just take things one day at a time in the hopes that she’d figure it out.

Chapter 4

The sign in the diner window said closed, and Dustin’s stomach growled in protest. He’d forgotten that most stores closed early in Coldwater Creek, especially on a Saturday night. He’d meant to get into town earlier, had planned to get several things checked off his to-do list, but he’d gotten held up on a call from a client back east. His grandmother had then asked him to join her for lunch. After that, it seemed like a time warp had sucked the day away.

At least the grocery store was still open. He’d already gone through the cupboards and pantry, cringing as he saw all the healthy stuff, including fiber and prune juice well-stocked. Sure, he was twenty-nine, but that didn’t always mean he ate like a responsible adult. Sugared cereal and microwaveable entrees were what he kept in his cupboards for when he was sick of takeout and dinner meetings.

It had been a long time since he’d actually made time to cook a full meal, usually grabbing something between calls and emails. Margritte did well enough making the food for his grandmother’s meals, but he was going to have to stop at the fast-food restaurant on the way back home. The gluten-free bread and stale chips just didn’t satisfy.

With a shopping cart loaded with bread, peanut butter, chips, and cookies, as well as the handheld frozen pizzas he craved, he turned down the aisle, looking for dry pasta.

A message pinged, a quick echo of the tone bouncing off the shelves. He pulled out his phone, still steering the cart around the corner. His eyes were on the phone for so long that he didn’t see anyone through his periphery.

The cart smacked into something, and he jerked his head up, trying to figure out what it was. He was relieved to see it wasn’t one of those large displays of goods tumbling to the ground. But as he stepped to the side of his cart to see what he’d bumped into, a familiar face glance up. She was bent over holding her ankle. The teller from the bank.

He walked around the cart and reached out a hand to her. “I’m sorry about that. I—” He broke off, gesturing to the phone in his hand.

“There’s a reason why they say not to text and drive. Maybe you should heed that advice,” she said, scowling at him. She avoided his hand and stood up on her own, brushing her hands together. She must have discovered who he was. He wasn’t used to a reaction that harsh, but the people of Coldwater Creek could be very protective.

Dustin allowed his lips to turn up just a bit. “True. When it’s something for work, I sometimes get tunnel vision.” He paused, not knowing what else to say. He ran a national company, and it wasn’t often that he didn’t have the right phrase on the tip of his tongue.

“A little time off never hurt anyone,” she said, picking up the small basket she’d set on the floor.

Before Dustin could stop himself, he said, “How’s that working out for you?” He bit his upper lip, trying to curb the emotional rollercoaster she’d set him on. One minute he was attracted to her, and then next, she was spewing venom all over him.

She glared at him, her jaw twitching a few times before she stepped toward the shelves. “I’ll give you plenty of room before you run into me again.”

Dustin chuckled and took that as his cue to leave. He gave a curt nod and continued on, grabbing a couple of boxes of pasta and pasta sauce. With a quick glance back before he turned out of the aisle, he saw the woman turn her head quickly to focus on the products in front of her. He’d caught her watching him walk away. That shouldn’t even interest him, but there was something about her that made him want to know more.

No. He didn’t have time for that. He’d be heading back to California after Christmas anyway. No time to get tangled up to leave again anyway. And his luck with women in this town was abysmal. Okay, so there had just been the one betrayal in the valley, while the other two were from California. That just solidified that the two places he’d lived in his life were blacklisted as locations to find someone he could have a lasting relationship with.

He scooted the cart up next to the register and waited in front of the credit card reader, watching as the cashier checked the items through.

“Did you find everything you needed?” the young girl asked, swiping things with almost a second instinct about where the bar codes were. Dustin had tried the self-checkouts back in LA, and he was sure it had taken him almost twice the amount of time as a seasoned professional.

“I did, thank you.” He paused a moment. This girl looked to be about seventeen, eighteen. Maybe she had an idea of someone he could contact about a party planner.

“Is there some kind of event coordinator or business here in town?”

The girl chewed her gum a couple of times and kept sliding things over the scanner. She shrugged. “My parents won’t let me plan parties. The one old lady who used to do it retired last year. Although if you ask me, that lady was destined for fifty cats and a bookshelf full of romance novels.”

Dustin tried to smile, not sure why the girl had given that much of an explanation. He wasn’t sure how to react to that one.

“If she’s got the room for them, cats can be quite the company.” He pulled out his card and handed it to her.

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