Page 41 of The Cowgirl's Chosen Love
The guys turned down her offer to help wash the dishes, so Josiah bundled her up, her dirty clothes helpfully loaded into a tightly tied garbage bag.
He drove her back to Silver Stone, heat blasting from the vents. “Looks like temperatures are going to drop hard. We won’t be riding any time in the next couple of days.”
“You want to come over to Silver Stone sometime this week?” Lisa thought it through and made a face. “You’ll get attacked by mini people, though.”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “I know you’re busy helping Tamara, and we’ve both committed to help Sonora, so that might be where we end up spending a lot of our spare time.”
She was glad she made the promise to help, yet felt a little saddened. “I want to spend time with you. Alone, if that’s not too forward.”
“Trust me. We’ll find a way.” He lifted her hand to his mouth, kissing her fingers gently. His tongue snuck out and traced the line between two knuckles, and a shiver rolled over her so hard there was no way he could miss it. “Oh, yeah, we’ll find a way.”
There werefive at the table that night. Finn and Caleb both wore impossible-to-read poker faces. Zach looked as if he planned to spend the entire evening with an ear-to-ear grin, which was as good a way to hide information as any, Josiah supposed.
Luke, Caleb’s brother, had also made it. Both of them had been good friends to Josiah for a lot of years.
Finn and Zach were welcome additions, although their presence added a twist in the air, now that a certain tidbit of information had been revealed that Josiah hadn’t known before.
“So, you know the Coleman family.” He dealt the cards around the table, staring at Finn as he spoke.
Luke and Caleb both straightened.
“We knew that,” Luke said. “Friends of the family or something like that.” He glanced at Finn then back at Josiah. “Is that not what we know?”
“If you say so.” Josiah picked up his cards and stared at them intently.
Zach broke the silence with a long, low, chuckle. “The gig is up, Finn. To tell the truth, it lasted almost a week. I’m impressed.”
Caleb had his hand of cards tucked away carefully as he placed his elbows on the table, leaning toward Finn in a manner that most people would find immensely intimidating. “Why is Josiah making a big deal over the fact you know the Colemans?”
“You should ask him.” Finn adjusted the toothpick in his mouth as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I will.” Caleb glanced at Josiah. “Why are you being a shithead?”
Zach and Luke both snorted, Zach trailing off into gasping coughs as he tried to swallow the beer he had just put in his mouth.
Josiah shrugged. “Something Lisa said when she saw Finn this afternoon made me curious.”
“Why don’t you tell us more about Lisa and this afternoon,” Finn suggested dryly.
Oops. Damn, not a road he wanted to travel down. “I just meant it sounds as if there’s previous business between the Marlette family and the Colemans. That’s all. Seemed a little strange that you’re here all of a sudden, planning on investing in their new community.”
“Whose new community? As far as I know, Tamara is the only Coleman who’s moved to Heart Falls full-time.” Caleb put his cards down on the table and folded his arms over his chest, his annoyance only partly faked. “Why is it that you always do this, Josiah? How’s a man supposed to concentrate on the game when you keep yammering?”
“Have another drink,” Luke suggested, switching out Caleb’s beer bottle for full one. “I think this is entertaining. Finn definitely knows the Colemans. If I remember correctly, it was Karen who got us in touch with you.”
It was nice to have backup, whether they knew that’s what they were or not. Because suddenly Caleb, Luke, and himself were all staring at Finn.
The man’s expression went blank. “Not that it’s any of your business…”
Zach pointed at Caleb. “Married to Tamara.” He swung his finger toward Josiah. “Appears to be involved with Lisa.”
Finn leaned back in his chair. “Fine. Not that I expected to have to declare my intentions this soon, but because someone’s a blabbermouth and more gossipy than any old woman…” He offered his friend an intense glare.
If anything, Zach’s grin got wider.
“I plan to convince Karen Coleman it’s about time she came to her senses and agreed to be with me.” Finn said it straight up yet simple, as if announcing he was going to plow the road in the morning.
Blunt, and completelynotwhat Josiah had expected. “She doesn’t live here, you know,” he pointed out.
