Page 30 of Christmas with the Cowgirl
Ridiculously, Riley felt her eyes start to sting.She lowered her gaze to the mug in her hands, only realizing then that she was holding it a lot tighter than she needed to.She consciously relaxed her tense fingers.
“Why did you tell me that?”she asked, her voice sounding a little rough even to her.
“So you would know what kind of man he truly is.”
“Why?”
“You know why, Riley.”
She looked up then, into the eyes of the woman that child she had taken care of had become.Wise eyes, eyes that had gentled a great deal since the love of her life had arrived.
“Give him a chance,” Nic urged.
“What makes you think he wants one?With me, I mean.”
“Because he’s asked both Jackson and me a lot of questions about you since Jeremy’s birthday.”
Riley blinked.“He has?”
Nic brushed back a strand of blonde hair that had escaped her usual braid.“He has,” she confirmed.“And Jackson said he’s usually about as wary as you are, if not more so.Because he has to be, given his position.”
“So, what, you two are conspiring now?Starting a matchmaking business?I mean first his sister and Logan, then Tucker and Emily…”
“Maybe we just want the people we care about to be as happy as we are.”
“And here we are, back at square one,” Riley said.
Nic laughed and held up her hands.“Yeah, yeah.Okay, hands off from here on.You know the important part, so now it’s up to you two.”
“That looked like a surrender,” came a voice from behind Riley.
She recognized the voice, so she was smiling when she looked up to see petite, golden-eyed Sydney Rafferty.She was thankful for the interruption, and she’d come to know and like the woman who had been a large part of the success of a certain item that was carried on her website.Riley also knew that Nic and Sydney had become friends since the successful entrepreneur had arrived in Last Stand and ended up married to Keller Rafferty.
Simultaneously they offered the free seat at the table to their friend, but Sydney reluctantly shook her head.“I have to get back to my office.This is my craziest season, and I have to keep on top of things.”
Riley could only imagine how busyThe World In a Giftkept its creator.The online marketplace had a huge reach, and this time of year, as Christmas got close, it had to be like wrangling a cyclone.
“I just wanted to tell Riley that as usual, there’s a certain item that’s topping the lists.”
She was smiling widely, and Riley shook her head ruefully.She didn’t understand the ins and outs of that kind of business, but Sydney clearly did.And after their friend had departed, Nic gave her a teasing look.
“Good to know, huh?”
“I suppose,” Riley said.
“You should be proud.”
Riley laughed out loud at that.She was still chuckling when her phone chimed a notification.She grabbed it, saw a text from her father, and tapped the screen.
“Damn.Dad took a tumble with his crutches.I have to get home.”
Nic set her mug down sharply.“Is he hurt?”
“He says no.”
“So would my dad, even if he’d broken something,” Nic said.“He’s home, let me call him and have him head over.He’ll beat us there by at least fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks,” Riley said gratefully, meaning it.
