“Do you have a comb?” I ask her as I settle in.
“Yes.” She pulls a wide tooth comb out of the drawer and hands it to me.
I run the comb through her curly, dark strands a couple times to ensure there are no tangles. “I’m going to section it first.” I drag the comb in a straight line from her forehead to the nape of her neck.
She listens to me as I tell her all the steps of making the braids. Once I finish I take two small ribbons and tie them into bows at the end of her braids.
“Thank you.” She turns and gives me a big hug. “Daddy, look how cute my hair is.”
“It’s so cute, Bug.”
“I’ll get going.” I push to my feet.
“You should buy Daddy tonight, Willa. He said he hopes no one gets him.”
“Oh really?” I turn my attention from her to him. “Why is that?”
“Just nerves, I guess. I haven’t done much dating in the past few years.”
“He needs a girlfriend,” Izzy says.
“What do you know about girlfriends?”
“Jaxon says his dad has a new girlfriend every week.”
“Who is Jaxon?” I ask.
“A boy in her class with a big mouth.” Drew rolls his eyes and steps out of my way, so I can walk past him into the hall.
I stop in my tracks when he reaches out, his palm resting on my stomach. “Thank you for doing her hair. I’ll have to have you show me how to do it sometime.”
“Anytime. Have fun tonight.”
“Hank’s Saloon.” His fingers flex over my shirt. “The auction is at Hank’s Saloon.”
“Hank’s is always a good time.”
“Come.” His sapphire gaze locks on my eyes.
“Is that a question, a demand, or a promise?”
It feels like all the oxygen has just been sucked from the air as we look at each other. The pull is back. If I go to this auction tonight, I know I won’t be letting anyone outbid me for him.
“It’s whatever you want it to be.” His eyes dip to my lips.
“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” I give him a slow smile as I slip past him and walk down the stairs.
I call Maya, and as soon as the cold air hits me, I release a long breath. My cheeks burn against the chill, but the sharp winter wind is what I need to clear my mind from the cloud of desire fogging my brain. I only have a couple minutes to stand out here and try to find some sort of clarity, some reason why I shouldn’t go to the auction tonight.
Maya nudges my leg and then sits, her tail swishing through the dusting of snow on the wooden planks of the front porch. He did mention the auction is benefiting the local animal shelter. I love animals. So it’s not like it isn’t a good cause to support.
Who even says I have to go on a date with him? Izzy said he was hoping to not be bid on. I could just bid on him and release him of any date expectation. That would actually be a great way to thank him for letting me stay here. It’s so obvious now, of course I can do this for him.
The first thing I notice as I pull into the parking lot at Hank’s is a banner hanging over the front door announcing the Hunks forHounds Auction. I chuckle at the name and pull down the visor to check my lipstick. Since I’m always outside and rarely wear makeup, I check myself compulsively in case I mess something up. Luckily everything still looks good.
I picked out one of my sweater dresses that hugs my body. It doesn’t matter that it’s a turtleneck and the hem hits just above my knees, the fit is perfect and leaves little to the imagination. Not that I’m expecting anything to happen tonight, it’s just always nice to look cute.
A blast of warm air hits me as I walk into the saloon. There’s a table set up with a jar for extra cash donations and a woman selling tickets just inside. She smiles as I approach her.
