Page 15 of All Roads Lead to You

Anyway, he’d largely been absent since then, so she hadn’t been able to take him up on the offer. Chase had told her he’d been out taking some tourists on a two-day hike, not that she’d been looking for him or anything.

Or thinking about the way he looked at you in the truck and made you feel hot. That’s got nothing to do with anything either.

No, it really didn’t. And he hadn’t looked at her any way in the truck. He’d been annoyed she’d eaten his sausage roll, that’s all.

Sure, keep telling yourself you don’t feel a thing for him, that you’re not attracted to him in any way.

Beth’s cheeks felt slightly hot, and much to her annoyance, Izzy and Indigo were both looking at her with interest.

Double dammit.

She attempted to feign innocence. “Finn who?”

Indigo snorted while Izzy shook her head, smiling. “Okay, but the really important question is have you managed to talk to Evan about his paintings yet? We’re opening next week and I was hoping to have something before then.”

Beth had hoped to have something before then too.

“I’m working on it,” she said. “He won’t see me, but he knows Finn quite well and Finn promised to help me with him.”

One of Izzy’s dark brows shot up. “Oh, soFinnis going to help you? How…convenient.”

Beth opened her mouth to tell Izzy it wasn’t like that when the door to the gallery opened and a tall, lanky girl with dark hair came clattering in.

“Hey, Gus,” Beth greeted her with some relief.

Augusta Kelly, otherwise known as Gus, Chase’s twelve-year-old daughter, gave Beth a giant grin. “Hi, Beth. Hi, Indigo.”

Indigo’s sharp face, usually guarded, relaxed with genuine warmth since it was impossible not to smile when Gus was around.

“Hey, Izzy,” Gus went on. “Dad wants to talk to you about tonight. Can you go see him at HQ?”

“Oh sure.” Izzy stepped away from the counter, glancing at Beth and Indigo. “See you tonight, yes?”

“With bells on,” Beth said.

As Izzy disappeared through the door, Gus following behind her, Indigo sighed again, just a touch dramatically.

“Yes,” Beth said before her friend could say a word. “We have to go.”

“Oh, I know, don’t worry. I’ll be there.” Indigo pulled a face. “It only feels a bit much, especially with all this house stuff to worry about.”

The “house stuff” was some ongoing drama with a house that Chase had initially organized for the Deep River contingent to move into. It had been meant to happen a few weeks after they arrived, but first Izzy had moved in with Chase, and then the house itself was found to have an unsafe foundation. It had been vacant awhile and the elements hadn’t been kind, and while it seemed to be a good place to live in at first, Clive Grange, who used to own a construction company before he’d moved to Brightwater and bought the vineyard, had pronounced it unsound, the foundations needing to be reblocked.

All of which meant that Beth and Indigo were still living in the Rose.

The Rose wasn’t bad. While it was a bit shabby and ramshackle, it was also quite comfortable.

However, it was still a hotel. And Beth and Indigo were getting a little tired of living out of suitcases.

Not that they had much choice about the matter.

Accommodation was at a premium in Brightwater Valley since the place was tiny and there weren’t any other vacant houses around.

Chase was trying to get in touch with the owner of the house they were going to move into, to get the okay to do some renovations, but the man lived overseas and was proving difficult to contact.

“Yeah,” Beth said, agreeing. “I know. I’ll talk to Chase again tonight if you like, see if he’s managed to make any progress.” She searched around for a silver lining because there was always a silver lining if you looked hard enough. “On the bright side, we don’t have to cook. And Cait’s food is delicious.”

But Indigo must have not been in the mood to be jollied, because she sighed again. “I like cooking. I miss cooking.”

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