Page 8 of The Cowboy and His Beauty
The walls are light gray, and the floor is wood. There are wood accents everywhere, in the beams and floating shelves. The couch and the dining chair cushions add splashes of dark pink and red.
The furniture is basic, with a table, chairs, a couch, and a bed. All the place needs is the small stuff like plates, decorations, and my clothes—all of which I have.
"This is beautiful. Can I think about it and get back to you?" I ask, not wanting to commit to moving in with a stranger, no matter how badly I want to take this chance.
Dash nods. "Of course."
He's a perfect gentleman and walks me to my car, thanking me again for the meal. The moment I turn onto the main road, I call Sarah.
"How was dinner?" she asks.
Sarah is the one person who knows everything. She’s my best friend in the whole world and has known me the longest. I can't remember a day when we haven't talked, even if only by text.
"It went well. Too good, maybe?" I say, trying to figure out my feelings.
"Sky! You did not sleep with him!" Sarah gasps.
I almost drop the phone. "What? No! Good lord!" I laugh because her mind went there.
When you have a husband like Mac, who looks like a hero and puts in the work for you, I'm sure she gets laid every night. Sex is always on her brain.
"Oh, thank God. So, what happened?"
I tell her all about dinner on the drive back to town, what Dash and I talked about, and finally, the job offer.
"So, what do you think?" I ask once I'm done.
"I can tell you want to take the job. I just don't know why. Is it solely because you don't want to tell your parents what is going on?"
I sigh. "I think it's more that I don't want to deal with my parents once I tell them."
"But that isn't a reason to take the job. You can stay here as long as you need, you know that. What’s the real reason?"
I pull into the county park before making the drive along the lake to my parents’ house. What is the real reason?
"Honestly, Walker Lake is my home, and I have wanted to come back for a while now. Not to my parents, but to the town."
"So you want to take it," Sarah states.
It’s not a question, but I answer anyway. "Yes."
"What do you know about this man? Did Corey's parents sell the land to him?"
"No, he's taken over running it for them since Corey is off playing GI Joe. But I don't know much other than they call him The Beast, but his real name is Dash. He was nothing but polite and nice when I was there."
"If the Michaels’ trust him to run their ranch, he must be a good person. I don't know anything about him, but I’m a bit out of the loop. Have you talked to Jenna?"
"Yeah, and Austin. They don't know much."
" I think you should talk to Ben. Since he's a cop, he’ll be honest with you about what you should do, and if he doesn't know, he’ll dig," Sarah advises.
She's right. Having a cop as a friend is never a bad thing. He helped Sarah when she needed it and know he’ll be straightforward with me.
"If Ben says he's all right, I think you should do it," Sarah adds.
We catch up a bit more before saying goodbye and I give Jenna a quick call to update her too.
"Ben has lunch at the diner almost every day during the week. You could stop by and chat with him. It’s less formal than going down to the station," Jenna says.
