Dating the Cowboy Read online

  Alice spun his chair around, anger building in her gut. She wasn’t going to let him push her away. If the only contact she had with him was going to be because she was still working for the business, so be it. “Why wouldn’t I? This is still my business too. I told you before we started this, Crease, if I do go away to work at Zapper, I still want the input and some say in how we build up this business.”

  He held up his hands. “Okay. I was only giving you an out if that was what you wanted.”

  Fool of a man. “All I want right now is a big feed of ribs and a cold beer.” She sat on the edge of his desk and he turned the chair around. Crease looked as exhausted as she felt. “I can’t be bothered cooking tonight and you look beat. Let’s go eat and then we can crawl into bed.”

  His lips twitched.

  “Don’t get smart with me. You know exactly what I mean. Go freshen up.”

  He stood and saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She was going to miss him so much. Alice walked over and turned the lock on the front door before she followed him upstairs to their apartment to freshen up for dinner.

  Once they were seated at the pub and had placed their orders for ribs, the waitress brought them each a beer. Crease clinked his glass with Alice’s. “Here’s to getting an interview for you.”

  “Thanks. Now I’m half wishing I didn’t do it. I keep thinking I’d be better staying here and getting the business more settled. Give us a decent track record. I don’t have to do it anytime soon. Zapper isn’t going anywhere.”

  Crease put his glass down with a frown. “Why? It’s not like we’re going to be selling the business anytime soon, so it’s not a big deal if we try to slow down. There isn’t anyone to impress besides the two of us. We don’t need the bottom line to look fabulous even though it does. It’s doing everything we ever wanted and more. The profit alone will keep you in shoes even if you decide you never want to work again after you nail your dream job. You could probably afford to retire in a few years.”

  “I know that.” She put down her beer and picked up a coaster, running her nail around the edge of it as she tried to sort out her feelings so she could put them into words. “I wonder if the timing is all wrong. I know I said I wanted to do this, work for Zapper, but I feel like I’m deserting my baby somehow.”

  He reached for her hand, put down the coaster, and smiled in his usual calming manner. “You have cold feet. Same as I did when I asked you for a date the first time. My tongue was thick in my mouth, I felt light-headed, and I swear to god that if you smiled so kindly at me any more than you already were, I’d have melted like a chocolate on a hot summer day.”

  “Really? You think that’s it?” If only it were so easy. Still, Alice wasn’t convinced.

  “Pretty sure that’s what it is. You’ve wanted this for so long, it stands to reason you’re scared.”

  “I don’t know. You may be right, but I have a funny feeling about it. Like the world will crumble if I go.”

  “Nerves. I promise you that. You remember what Nash was like before he went on that date? The poor guy wanted to throw up. His face was almost green when he called in to meet us. I still can’t believe he actually asked her out.”

  “They’re cute together, but you’re changing the subject.”

  Crease ran his thumb over her knuckles. “I know, but I really do want to hear how they’re doing. Was he at the book club meeting this week?”

  Alice sighed with a smile. So far, despite her idea of spending time at the library, she’d only managed to get there once. “They’re so cute together. Nash can’t stop following her with his eyes. Everything she does, he just adores.”

  “But does she feel the same way? I’ve been trying to call him but never seem to have the time.”

  She gave him a really? look.

  “I get it. I’m doing too much, but that’s still not a good enough reason for you not to follow your dream. You didn’t answer my question. Does she feel the same about Nash?”

  “Yes. Sandra told me at the double date that she liked him and wasn’t going to drag out a courtship if they liked each other. Seems they do, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s sporting an engagement ring soon. Both of them are more than ready to settle down and not being as young as most of our clients—her words, not mine—they don’t want to wait.”

  “Wonderful. I’m really pleased for them.”

  A waitress paused beside their table and placed down two plates of ribs in front of them. “Here you go, folks. Enjoy your meals.”

  Alice leaned over her plate and closed her eyes, letting the aroma tantalize her senses. “I love ribs.”

  “Me too. I missed these when I was in college. Nobody makes them quite the same away from Marietta.”

  A shadow encroached over their table. “That’s good to know.” Troy Sheehan stood looking down at them. “I hear you’ve been doing some matchmaking with Taylor’s temporary help at the library.”

  “Looks like it. She seems quite happy with her new beau.” Crease picked up his fork.

  “So long as he’s not going to take her away. She has six months on her contract, and I want my wife to have a decent break when she has this baby.”

  “Yes, congratulations on the pregnancy, Troy.”

  “Thank you, Crease. Now I know you’re not deliberately trying to steal her staff, but if you could give me a heads-up if you hear any whispers about Sandra moving on, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure. You know who she’s dating though, right?” Alice asked.

  “No. Who?”

  “Nash Mitchell. So even if they hurry to the altar, I doubt you’d lose her. She loves her job anyway. Tell Taylor not to worry. It’s the last thing she needs to focus on in her state.”

  Troy seemed to relax. “Well, that’s okay then. I didn’t want to go talking out of turn, but since you were the one responsible, it made sense to speak to you first. Don’t want to go making waves by interfering in Sandra’s life if I can help it.” He shook Crease’s hand. “You guys enjoy your ribs and have a great night.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Let’s hope you’re not too successful and annoy anyone in this town.” Alice picked up her beer and took another drink. “He looked ready to chuck you out of here.”

  Crease roared with laughter. “Not like he hasn’t done that plenty of times before.” He shook his head, laughter still bubbling up his throat. “The amount of times my brothers and I got kicked out for drunken fighting, I lost count.”

  “But that isn’t the reason this time. I hope Sandra fulfills her contract at the library if she marries Nash, because you’ll be in trouble of a different kind with Troy if she doesn’t.” She picked up a side of ribs and took a deep breath. “Oh, the joy. In my belly.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Crease took a couple of notes from his wallet and dropped them on the bill and placed the plate near the edge of the table for their waitress. “My treat. You can get the next meal.” He stood and slid his jacket on.

  Alice laughed. “You said that the last time. You never let me pay.” She wound a scarf around her neck before picking up her handbag. “I need sleep. Lots of sleep.”

  Crease put his arm around her shoulders and walked her out to the front of the hotel. “How about a nice hot chocolate before bed? I’ll make it while you go snuggle into some warm PJs.”

  “Marshmallows on top?” Alice slid her arm around his waist. Invariably, she had to do a couple of skips every now and then to keep up with his long strides, which only ended in laughter.

  “When are you going to grow some legs, short stuff?”

  “When are you going to stop growing is more to the point.” Alice dug him in the ribs, making him double over.

  “For a little tyke, you sure do pack a punch.” He ruffled her hair and pulled her across the street, dodging cars to get to the pavement. Once there, they slowed down again.

  “I’m going to miss this. The teasing, the quiet dinners and the
conversation more than anything.”

  Not as much as he would, Crease could guarantee that. “You know you can call me anytime. Plus, flights are cheap. The business can spot you a deal every so often because I’ll need my Alice fix to keep up the punishing pace you’ve set me.”

  “See!” She whipped around to face him, her cheeks coloring. “You need me here, Crease. I can put this off. Maybe, say, a year and see how the business is going.”

  He shook his head. To put it into words would only make things worse. Losing Alice was going to be the hardest thing that could happen to him. But he wouldn’t be responsible for derailing her dream just because he had his and wanted more.

  “Crease, just listen to me.” She stamped her foot and glared at him.

  When he turned his face away, she swore and stomped off, leaving him on the sidewalk, watching her retreating back.

  “Lovers’ tiff?” Sage Carrigan stepped out of her shop and closed the door but not before the waft of chocolate rolled over him.

  “You could say that.”

  “Anything I can do, Crease? Not that I should even be offering to help out the love doctor, but the offer’s there.”

  He gave a small laugh and shook his head. “That name wasn’t my choosing, believe me.”

  Sage jammed her hands in her pockets. “Seemed appropriate until you see how upset Alice is.”

  Time to change the subject. “What are you doing working so late?”

  “Huge mail order. Me being me, I had to stay until I finished it. Nothing worse than waking up in the morning already behind schedule. But don’t try to change tack, Crease. Would a box of those dark caramels Alice likes sweeten her mood, do you think?”

  He thought for less than two seconds. If it would keep her on track toward her dream, he’d try anything. “It’s worth a shot. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure.” Sage pulled her keys from her pocket and opened the shop. “Come in. This won’t take long.” She hurried behind the counter and plucked a gift box from the shelf and started to load it with chocolates. When it was full, she closed the lid with a small gold sticker and tied it with matching ribbon before handing it over to Crease.

  “Complements of the chocolate shop for boosting my business.”

  “Really? How is that possible?”

  Sage frowned. “You don’t know?”

  Crease shrugged. “I coach people on how to date, not eat chocolates.”

  “And when they date, what do you think they give as a token of appreciation or love?” She watched while it registered in his brain.

  How did he not see that? “Chocolate. Of course. I wasn’t thinking. In that case, I’ll accept them and thank you once again.”

  “And it’s not just me who had a rise in business. The florist is going nuts too. We all love having you back home.”

  “At least I’m making someone happy.”

  “I hope they work. Alice looked pretty annoyed with you.”

  “She is. Hopefully, things will work out. Once I give her these, she’ll stop being angry long enough to let me explain myself.” He headed to the door while Sage got the lights.

  “Maybe it’s time to use some of your own advice.”

  He held the door as she stepped out onto the pavement. “Such as?”

  “Take her on a proper date. The way you two have been working your butts off since you opened the doors, I bet you haven’t had time for each other. Dinner at the pub doesn’t really constitute a date. That sounds more like an ‘I’m too tired to cook and I need a feed now’ thing. All business and no play…”

  “Yes, I hear you.” He stared down the street, but Alice was long gone. She’d be lying on her bed, her mood getting worse by the minute. “Thanks, Sage.”

  “Good luck.”

  *

  The sound of the door opening stopped her tumbling mind. Footsteps approached her bedroom door followed by a soft tap.

  “Alice, are you awake?”

  She bit into her pillow to stop the sounds of her sobbing. If she ignored him, he might go away. After a few minutes and another tap, his footsteps headed for his own bedroom.

  Alice lay in the dark, churning over her options, adding up the pros and cons for each with a mental spreadsheet in her brain. Of course Crease was right. She had to chase her dream while she was still young enough to withstand the pressure of such a demanding job. If she waited a year or two as she suggested, her desire to work such hard and long days could wane and Alice feared she’d never apply for the position. The problem was, she was so confused she didn’t know if she still wanted that job.

  Her parents would be disappointed to see her give up so easily too. After all they’d sacrificed to get her into the college of her dreams, she couldn’t let them down. But at least her mother would understand why Alice was fussing about going away. Love had been the big factor in the decision she’d made at college to follow her future husband instead of her own career and she’d never regretted it.

  But Alice wasn’t her mother. She had more drive, bigger dreams.

  She vowed to call her in the morning and talk it out. At least her mother would tell her to go with her heart if that was what she wanted to do. She wouldn’t force her to leave like Crease seemed intent on doing.

  Could it be that this fake relationship was giving him an insight into what they would be like if their relationship was real and it wasn’t what he wanted? Maybe now he was grateful that she’d turned him down and their friendship was purely platonic. Perhaps Alice had been reading him wrong all along.

  That thought only made the tears start up again. By the time she fell asleep, the sun was starting to peek over the mountains.

  Her cell phone’s vibrations woke her up. Alice opened her eyes to a bright room and she buried her head under the blankets, not ready to face the day. She emerged bit by bit until her brain got used to the daylight.

  She reached for her phone and screeched when she saw the time. She bolted out of bed and ran to the bathroom to get ready. Why didn’t Crease wake her up? Was he that annoyed with her that he was ignoring her this morning?

  Not that she’d blame him. She’d done the same last night. What a mess. What a god-awful mess being in love was. She didn’t know how he did it and managed to keep his good moods. Coaching lovesick fools must be draining, but Crease never let it get to him. Alice wished she was half as good as he was.

  She quickly dressed and stopped in the kitchen to grab a coffee before heading downstairs to the office when she noticed the parcel on the counter. A small note lay tucked underneath the gold box. Alice, you’ll always be my bestie, no matter how cranky you are. I’m sorry I made you cross. Love, xoxoxo

  Bestie. That said it all. She sucked back the tears and poured a coffee, downing half a cup before looking at the box again. He’d brought her caramels. Probably charmed his way into the shop after hours thinking it would make her compliant.

  Well, guess what, Crease? It worked. I’m going to take that job, and I’ll make you miss me whether you want to or not.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Building client profiles kept her incredibly busy during the next week, including interviews with a couple of likely candidates to be Crease’s new assistant. A bittersweet moment, but once she’d reconciled herself to the fact that she was going, it made sense to not leave him in the lurch.

  “What do you think?” He perched on her desk after the last interviewee left the office.

  “I like her. She’s happily married, stable, and seems to know what she’s doing. You?”

  “I agree. I don’t really want to spend my day giving dating advice to either of those younger women who applied. Besides, they didn’t really have the people skills Nancy has. I say we give her a trial. How about two weeks and then we can make a decision?”

  Alice kept her eyes on her computer screen. “Sounds like a plan to me. You call her and give her the good news. I want to run this latest lot of data through my spreadsheet to get everything
up to date.” Her mail icon pinged in the corner of her screen, and she sucked in a breath. Holy crap. A reply at last to her job query.

  “Open it.” Crease leaned over her desk, his gaze glued to the screen.

  With her heart in her mouth, Alice read the email.

  “Holy crap! You have an interview, Alice.” Crease slapped her on the back, catching her by surprise.

  She coughed to clear the sudden fear from her throat. “Shit.”

  He pulled her from her chair and danced around the office with her in his arms. Eventually, he paused and her world stopped rotating. Her gaze focused on his lips. His smile slowly faltered as she leaned up, ready to kiss him.

  Her heart pounded and stole the breath from her lungs. “Last chance to beg me to stay.”

  Crease’s eyes widened, and for a moment hope surged in her chest.

  “Not going to happen. Too much at stake here. This is your chance, Alice. Your opportunity to shine.”

  Gutted, she faked a smile and laughed aloud. “Oh, my goodness, it is, isn’t it? I’d better go book a flight.” Alice pulled herself from his arms and spun around to her desk. She dropped down in her chair and tried to read the email again, but her vision blurred.

  Crease’s hands landed on her desk beside her keyboard. “Take an extra day or two. You may as well look for an apartment while you’re there. At least it’ll give you an idea of expenses when they come back and make you an offer. Do a bit of sightseeing too. Relax. Goodness knows you’ve earned it.”

  He really doesn’t want me here. Crease is pushing me away, and I’ve given him every opportunity to ask me to stay. She swallowed the bitterness those suggestions brought up, determined not to let him see how much he’d hurt her and reread the email. “It’s a long time to be away. Look at this—they want me there for three days to do some testing, but I have to answer the attached questions first and shoot it back ASAP. They’ll let me know if I pass that within twenty-four hours, and then I can go to Seattle for the in-person interview. Guess they’re pretty stringent in their selection process. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to stay longer. With travel there and back, it’ll mean I’m away for almost a whole week.”