Page 34 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
Yeah, she had kind of stepped into that one. “Okay, yes, I’m a little grumbly I haven’t seen him for a while. I thought he was interested in me.”
“Did youtellhim you want to see him again? Because I think he might need a written invitation.” Lisa wrinkled her nose. “Which is not what I expected when you first mentioned this, so you’re right. I get why you’re snappy. When a dude makes a play, he should keep on it.”
“Disagree with you on that one,” Julia said bluntly. “He’s waiting for her answer. Keeping in her face would be an asshole move. This is not being an asshole.”
Lisa paused then dipped her head. “I hear what you’re saying.”
“I mean, if he vanished completely, that would be one thing. But you said he’s still around. Sort of.” Julia eyeballed the flowers Karen had brought because her still-expanding bouquets had filled the teeny cottage to the brim.
Karen pressed her palms against her temples and let out a tired breath. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I need to make a decision and not keep dragging this out. You’re right, Julia. He’s not being a jerk. I am.”
“Maybe you need to make this not so enormous in your head. I mean, start dating and see what happens. It’s not as if beginning something means you’re making a lifetime commitment.” Julia shrugged.
The topic got dropped until the next morning when Lisa showed up on Karen’s doorstep bright and early. The cream-coloured terrier, Ollie, danced around her sister’s feet, but more importantly, Lisa had cups of coffee from Buns and Roses and two enormous boxes to boot.
Karen accepted the coffee, ignored the fact a dog was in her house, and took an appreciative sniff of Lisa’s burden. “Don’t tell me those are cinnamon buns.”
The box was opened a moment later, and Lisa dug in, gooey white icing dripping down the side of the baseball-sized treat. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”
Mouthwatering goodness was inhaled in a flash. Karen licked her fingers and gazed at her sister happily. “I brought you up right. Even though you forgot the rule about dogs belonging outside.”
Lisa snorted. She gestured to the glass on the counter that held a single crocus flower. “Finn?”
He was being persistent in a very sweet way. “Do you think I’m terrible for not giving him a straight answer yet?”
Lisa shrugged, eyeing the remaining cinnamon buns as if the weight of the world hung in the balance. “I think you have good reason to not leap. But I also think Julia was right last night. Maybe it’s time to stop worrying about how much it might hurt if it doesn’t work out and put a little more hope toward things going right.”
A flutter of something wild and untamable went off in Karen’s gut. “You have a point.”
Lisa grabbed another cinnamon bun and arched a brow. “Share?”
“Forget it. I want another whole one to myself.”
Cinnamon buns devoured and sticky hands washed, they headed out the door and into the workday.
Another reason why being in Heart Falls was right—
Lisa had only been gone from Whiskey Creek since December, helping Tamara while she had trouble with her pregnancy. But that meant it had been over six months since she and Karen worked together on a regular basis. Yet they fell back into it with a smooth rhythm, and it was good.
Finn had hired a group of guys to help with demolition and salvage. Brawny fellows with loud laughs and a few with gazes that lingered a little too long. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing either of them hadn’t faced before.
Lisa just rolled her eyes, smiling sweetly as she dropped things on the toes of anyone who got too close. After she’daccidentallycanned a second guy while rapidly swinging floorboards, the group of them backed off slightly.
“You ladies want to come see what you think of the boards we found? Finn had some idea of using them to do feature walls in the cabins.” Zach gestured them toward one of the taller buildings near the barn.
“Kind of a rustic feel. Is that what you’re going for?” Lisa asked.
“Pretty much.” This from Finn, to Karen’s utter amazement. He finished signing something then handed the clipboard back to the construction foreman who was dealing with final barn renovations. “You got room for another on that tour?”
Ollie stepped in front of him, braced her legs, and barked enthusiastically.
Karen was just about to excuse the dog when Finn dropped to a crouch and slipped a hand over the pup’s head. “Yeah, you’re invited too.”
Lisa’s eyes widened, and she made one of those faces. The ones where she was trying to get a whole message across without words, but Karen wasn’t sure if what she was saying was “dude likes dogs, so he’s got to be okay,” or if she was acknowledging the man knew exactly how to score points.
What was unfolding made Karen happy, though, and that was a convincing factor. She had enjoyed her time with Finn immensely. It had been the hurt later that had soured the experience, and that hadn’t been either of their faults but a matter of time and circumstance.
Like Julia had said, dating Finn was not a commitment to forever. It was something for here and now.
