“Something like that.” I grin and gesture for her to get her ass over here. Thankfully, she does what is now becoming her patented eye roll and obliges me. I don’t know why, but it pleases me to have this woman in my car. Like it’s mydutyto chauffeur her around. I’ve never had a thought like that before.
“So, why don’t you tell me all about your travels?” Dottie says once we’re on the road. “Duke says you’re only in Cedarwood Valley for shearing season these days? What happened to taking over the farm like you always said you would?”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “You remember that, huh? Well, seems I wasn’t the son for the job in the end. My father left the farm to Josh instead of me.”
“Josh is your brother, right?” I nod. “I don’t think I remember him much.”
“He didn’t hang much around the rest of us. Too tied to the farm even as a kid. Which, really, is why I think Dad made the right choice leaving it to him. Josh is a great farmer, and I’m happy to play my role in helping him orchestrate the shear each season. Especially since it means I get to travel in between.”
“Where have you been?”
“To all fifty states, and a decent number of countries too.”
“Do you have a favorite place?”
“I love island life. So places like Bali, Greece and Thailand are great destinations.”
“Do you see yourself ever settling down and living somewhere like that?” she asks, and I take a deep breath as I ponder for a moment. People often mistake my desire to travel with a restless soul. But I’ve never seen it that way. I simply enjoy exploring, learning, and experiencing new things. Home for me was always the farm, and I happily return to it over and over again. But as far as settling down and finding a home of my own goes, I’m yet to find somewhere that gives me that sense of belonging that’d anchor my feet and keep me from wanting to roam.
“You know, I’ve never really seen myself settling anywhere,” I say, momentarily taking my eyes off the road ahead to glance at the beautiful lady by my side. It’s then two words enter my mind without warning—until now…
When I set my eyes back on the road, a furrow creases my brow. Am I really that sure about my attraction to this woman that I can make a claim so bold? From the moment I saw her again, my ability to breathe stalled, and now my mind struggles to think of anything but her. And I know I promised Duke I’d keep my distance, but what if I can do more than just start something with Dottie? What if I can finish, stay, be with her permanently? Is that something I’m capable of? It’s something that could cost me the longest running friendship I have. But at the same time, it’s something I feel the urge to take a chance on. After forty-nine years on this earth, I’m well aware that feelings like this don’t come along that often. In fact, this is the first time in my entire life that I’ve felt an attraction so intense. I have to have her.
“Valentine’s is just up ahead,” Dottie says, pointing to what looks like a brightly lit log cabin in the distance. As I get closer, I can make out the pink neon ‘Valentines’ positioned at the front of the roof. There’s a cocktail glass at the side of it, flashing like it’s a lure and we’re the fish it’s trying to attract. Based on how full the parking lot is when we pull in, I’m guessing it works.
“Well,helloooo,” a woman I recognize from Duke and Ava’s wedding says as soon as we step inside. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Jade. Kellen’s wife.” She points at the burly man behind the bar. “We met at the wedding on Saturday. Nice to see you’re still in town.” That last part is directed at me, but I don’t miss that Jade’s eyes go to Dottie’s and widen in silent communication. Dottie seems to shake her head imperceptibly, but it all happens so fast that I can’t figure out what’s really going on.
“We’re just here for a friendly dinner,” Dottie says, putting an emphasis on the word ‘friendly’ and giving me a little insight into what went unspoken just now.
I’ll have to fix that. By the end of this meal, she’ll have no doubt that being friends with her is currently the last thing on my mind.
I place my hand on the lower part of her back, a clear signal to every other man in the room that she’s mine. “Is it OK if we take that empty booth?” I ask Jade, nodding to where a server is bussing and resetting. “It looks nice and quiet.”
“It’s all yours,” she says, a knowing smile taking over her face. “You two get yourself situated, and I’ll be over with a menu in a few.”
DOTTIE
“Tell me how you got into tattooing?” Theo asks, his attention solely focused on me even though I clocked at least six beautiful single women between the door and here who looked as though they wanted nothing more than to eat this tattooed, bearded,muscularbeefcake right up. He could snap his fingers and they’d flock over here, their backs to me as they gave him their rapt attention and vied to be the girl he chose to take home. I’d be sitting here feeling invisible, but with the way he’s looking at me right now, I’m the absolute center of it all. What’s with that? And what was with his hand on my back before too? It’s almost like he’s being…protective of me.
I try not to let my thoughts heat my cheeks as I reach behind me and pull the elastic from my tightly braided hair. I tell myself internally that it’s because I’m not at work anymore, so I can let my hair out in a literal sense, but really, it’s just because I think I look prettier this way.
“My art teacher at school,” I start, focusing on a spot over his shoulder as I run my fingers through my crimped hair to loosen it from my work style. “She had elaborate tattoos all up her arms and legs, and even up her neck. I thought she was the coolest person on the planet, and I decided I wanted to be the person to create these very personal pieces of art for people. The moment I could get an apprenticeship, I dropped out of school and haven’t looked back since.”
I finish finger combing my hair and slide the hair tie in my pocket, shifting my gaze back to Theo because he still hasn’t said anything. The way he’s watching me, it’s as if he’s in a daze. Did he even hear what I said?
Tilting my head to the size, I’m about to click my fingers in front of his face when he suddenly snaps out of it. “What did your parents think of you going into tattoos? Were they supportive?” His voice comes out a little rough, and he clears his throat.What exactly is going on here? I thought he just wanted to be friends.
He isn’t acting very friendly, though. I feel…wanted.
“They had a few things to say about it, of course. But I wasn’t willing to be swayed. I guess you could say they chose to be supportive because it’s the only option I gave them.”
“Well, you always were very sure of yourself.”
“You think so?” I ask, relaxing into the conversation a little. “I never thought of myself as sure. I’ve questioned everything about myself about a hundred times. But I do admit that I’ve never been one to shy away from a dream.”
“Is that why you bought the vineyard?” he asks, as Jade starts heading our way with the menus and a sly grin on her face.
“That was pure spontaneity,” I say, just as Jade arrives, and I discover what that grin was about when she places a smaller version of the Whisper Valley scented candles in the center of the table. It has some tiny versions of the colorful gems that Ava made into those necklaces to thank us for organizing her wedding on such short notice. Mine is currently sitting a bush somewhere, and I suddenly feel guilty for dumping it like that.
