Page 56 of Seven Year Itch
“Oh come on, Dakota!” Cozy waves me off. “You were telling me earlier how hard it’s been for you to find something to fit those two awkward spaces. You need a custom build, and Calder is super talented at that. You should see some of his furniture pieces. He’s way better than me. Aren’t you, Calder?”
She turns her big eyes to me, and I shake my head like a moron. “No.”
“Nonsense. He’s great. Send her some pictures of your stuff, and I’m sure he can figure something out.”
I swallow the knot in my throat. I’ll figure something out, all right. I’ll figure out how the hell to get out of having to spend more time with the woman I can’t get off my mind.
Chapter 18
Got Wood?
Dakota
I hate to say it, but the photos Calder has texted me the past few days of his outdoor furniture pieces are intriguing. Damn Cozy and her damn good ideas and her damn meddling bullshit. I swear she knows something happened with me and Calder, because why else would she spring him on me at my store? She could have mentioned he was coming by to pick up Ethan... That’s a common thing to tell a friend, right? That you’ve invited a hot mountain man into my business after hours?
But no, I had to be assaulted by his devastating good looks without warning. I would have gone to the bathroom and fixed my hair, maybe freshened up my makeup. Instead he saw me in leggings, an oversize T-shirt, and a fair share of lip sweat from hauling inventory up from the basement.
Mortifying.
But not as mortifying as my thoughts. I actually wondered if he was there to like... I don’t know... ask me out or something? It was so silly of me because the man has never stepped foot in my store, even when we were working on a house renovation together. Of course he wasn’t there for me.
But if Cozy had told me he was coming, I would have tidied up more. Made the store really shine. I have this irritating urge to one-up Calder. He’s like the asshole from high school who never gave you the time of day, but now as an adult, you’re wildly successful, and all you want to do is impress him and let him know all that he missed out on. That’s the vibe I have with Calder. I want him to see me as more than just a bumbling sex-repressed divorcée with lip sweat.
Maybe that’s what he wants from me too. Maybe that’s why he texted me the photos of his work. He could have easily just dropped the ball and let the deal fall into the oblivion of nothing. Does he want to work with me? Does he want to see me again? What does this mean?
It means that I am hauling my ass up to Fletcher Mountain to see his stuff in person because the photos just don’t fully do it justice, and I need to touch everything to really get a sense of what he can do for me. And while I’m doing the touching of wood, I’m going to forget about the touching of Calder’s body because, as it turns out, he could do more for me than just make some shelves.
What can I say? I’m a control freak.
I drive up the winding gravel lane flanked with pine trees toward the top of the peak, feeling like I’m disappearing into another universe. I’m a born-and-bred Boulder girlie, and while I can enjoy the view of the Flatirons from time to time, it’s always been city living for me. Driving into the rural mountain areas freaks me out. There are some suspicious mountain towns off the main highways that I would not want to be caught alone in at night. I will admit, though, that Jamestown is the exception. It’s got that perfect amount of small-town vibe with civilization just a stone’s throw away. I can see why the Fletcher brothers choose to live up here.
I’ve been up here a couple times before with Cozy throughout the years and just last year for Trista and Wyatt’s gender-reveal party. Though, originally it was a gender reveal for Wyatt because Trista was just the surrogate at the time. My, how quickly things change.
Maybe not quickly enough when it comes to me.
The big red barn comes into sight, and I stop when I see Trista stepping out of the Dutch barn doors and waving violently at me. She has Stevie strapped to her chest, and she’s holding a bucket in one hand. I stop and park in front of her, hopping out to say hello.
“Oh my God, Dakota! To what do we owe this unexpected visit?” Trista sets her bucket down and walks over to me, kitted out in overalls and knee-high rubber boots.
“Look at you, country mama!” I smile at how calm and at peace she looks with a baby strapped to her in front of a barn.
“This is like my permanent uniform these days.” She laughs and turns so I can get a look at Stevie who’s wide-awake and blinking up at her surroundings. “Although, I prefer themountain mamalabel overcountry mama.”
“Both suit you just fine,” I reply, crossing my arms and fighting off a feeling of jealousy over how happy she looks. “Married life suits you too. You and Wyatt thinking about going on a honeymoon?”
Trista shakes her head. “I feel like that trip was our honeymoon and wedding all in one.”
“It was all so beautiful. Thank you again for letting me tag along.”
“Oh please, I was glad you were there!” She waves me off. “It wouldn’t have been the same without you. And it was nice to have someone else around to help me keep Calder’s ego in check.”
I grumble knowingly. “I’m actually here to see Calder.” I glance up to the log cabin up the lane past Wyatt’s house to see if I can spot him before refocusing on Trista.
“Calder? Really?” Trista gets a coy look in her eyes that’s so obvious it’s not even funny.
“He’s hopefully building some custom shelves for my store. Cozy kind of forced him into it, I think.”
“Sounds like Cozy.” Trista pats Stevie on the back when she begins fussing. “Actually, it sounds like Everly too.”
