Page 29 of Christmas with the Cowboy
“Because you’re going to?” Reed knew from firsthand experience that Audrey Keller had a nose like a bloodhound. There was no way Daniel could smoke cigars in his shop without her knowing.
Daniel cleared his throat. “Exactly.”
*
Trenna dipped thebrush into the sample-size container, then painted a rough square of Sunset Red next to the square of Tuscan Red, which was next to Ripe Tomato. She stood back and studied the three shades, separated from one another by a good foot of dingy white wall, then glanced toward the front of the house as a vehicle pulled to a stop.
Please, not Jay again.
Unlikely. She’d seen him at the hardware store that morning, and he’d pointedly dodged her, wish made her wish she’d been more direct with the guy a long time ago.
“Hello?” Dawn’s voice drifted into the house before she rapped on the frame of the open door and stepped inside.
Trenna started to set down her brush, then thought better of it. Chances were that if she balanced it on the sample container, she’d spill it.
“Ah. Big choices,” Dawn said as she walked into the kitchen, looking so put together that it made Trenna feel kind of dowdy in her painting jeans and summer top. “Accent wall?”
“Considering it.”
Dawn studied the colors. “Good for you. I’m evolving away from the neutral kitchen.”
Which was what she had in the lodge. She’d been taxed with upgrading the kitchen to modern standards while keeping the design within the lodge aesthetic. No easy task, but Trenna had a feeling that Dawn’s unerring good taste was one of the reasons her father had married her.
“The middle one, I think, but you’ll need to see it in a different light as the day progresses.”
“Would you like to stop by say three or four times today?” Trenna gave her dad’s wife a sideways look. How was it that she got along with Dawn better than with her own parent?
“I would, but I’m booked.” She adjusted her sweater as she turned toward Trenna. “I hope you’ll be able to attend the fundraiser.”
“Yeah. I never found out what it was for. A local political candidate?”
“No. Thank goodness. This is to help fund library renovations.”
“Nice.”
“It is. And it would mean a lot to your father if you were there. That’s why I thought I’d give you plenty of notice.”
Trenna wondered what optics her dad was trying to manipulate, but didn’t ask Dawn. It wasn’t fair to drag her into the private issues she shared with her dad.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Dawn said in a way that made Trenna believe her. “But even though you two have your issues, he loves you.”
“I know,” she said simply. “But he doesn’t respect my decisions, and honestly, I don’t respect a lot of his.”
Dawn tilted her head. “But can you have cocktails together?” she asked on a gentle note of irony.
Trenna fought a smile. “I think I can.”
Dawn reached out to give Trenna’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “Don’t let this issue with the Keller Ranch sidetrack you from what’s important.”
Trenna hoped the issue with the Keller Ranch was done. That for once her dad listened to her. “What’s that?”
“Family.”
She almost said that Carter was the one who ruined the family dynamic once she stopped deferring to him, but bit her tongue. Playing the game wouldn’t kill her, and he had made an effort in his own way.
“We need to stick together now that we’re living in the same community.”
Optics. “Right.” Trenna gestured at the wall. “The middle one?”
