Page 28 of The Cowgirl's Chosen Love
Lisa rolled her eyes but made sure her face was set to innocent when she turned toward him. She dried her hands on a cloth as she looked him over. “Do you know what you want? I mean, the other day it sounded as if you were warning me off dating your friend, but now it seems you’re trying to shove us together. Which is it?”
“I warned you offhurtinghim, but I’d love to see you guys get together.”
That was an unexpected twist after his comment the other day in the barn. “Really?”
Caleb shrugged. “If he’s good enough to be my friend for all these years, he’s good enough to be with you.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. “Thank you. I think.”
He lifted his phone in the air. “Want me to call him?”
A laugh rolled across the room as Tamara made her way forward and settled in one of the kitchen chairs. The swell of her belly was covered by a bright pink sweater that matched the frames of her glasses. “Caleb? Are you setting up a date for my sister?”
“She doesn’t seem to be doing it on her own,” he grumbled.
“Shebarely has her hands out of the dirty dishwater,” Tamara pointed out. She glanced at Lisa. “Of course, I could call him instead.”
Lisa snorted. This was hysterical. “You know what? I would hate to take your fun away, so why don’t wealltext him? See who can get a response faster. Ten dollars to the person who—”
Tamara already had her phone out. Caleb patted his pockets, looking for his, which was really funny until Lisa realized she’d left her phone downstairs.
She raced away, taking the stairs two at a time, listening to their laughter.
Her phone lay beside the bed, and she sat on the mattress as she typed in a quick note.
Lisa:Got the day off. What are you up to?
She headed upstairs, announcing her return with a cackle of laughter as her phone vibrated before she hit the top landing.
“Take that, suckers,” she said with glee.
Only when she glanced down at the phone, the message wasn’t from Josiah.
Sonora:I need to talk to you.
Lisa strolled forward, typing in a response:Phone me?
Sonora:I don’t have good enough reception. Remember the big maple tree? How soon could you be there?
Lisa was thoroughly intrigued and a touch worried. Her phone buzzed as a message came in from Josiah, but she ignored it, stepping into the kitchen to discover both Caleb and Tamara holding their phones in the air toward her. “Hold that thought, guys. I’ve got another hot date on the line.”
She typed in a quick message to Sonora:Thirty minutes if I grab a horse. Fifteen if I use an ATV.
Sonora:I think you should bring the horse. Don’t rush, but please get here as fast as you can.
Well, there was a contradiction. Lisa sent a final acknowledgement then lifted her face to Tamara and Caleb. “I gotta go.”
“Something wrong?” Tamara asked, the amusement on her face slipping away.
Lisa shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know. Sonora Fallen asked to meet me, and it sounds as if she’s out on the trail. Something’s off.”
Caleb moved toward the door. “Want me to come with you?”
“I don’t think so. Could be she just comes across a lot more abrupt in text than in person, know what I mean? I’d hate for us to show up and have her think we overreacted.”
Caleb pulled on his coat anyway. “Tell you what. Grab what you need. I’ll saddle Licorice for you.”
“Thanks.”
