The words materialized and vanished on her tongue over and over.
“Almost ready,” Juniper called out from behind the desk.
“There’s no rush.”
Juniper approached Rowan, dropping her large bag from her shoulder to the chair beside the door. “We did it.”
“Mhm,” Rowan mumbled her agreement.
“Thank you for everything over the last few weeks. I know I didn’t make it easy, at first. I don’t think I could have done this without you.”
“Yes, you could have,” Rowan responded tenderly.
“I don’t know. We couldn’t have ended up where we did without some of your ideas. And I’m sorry I doubted you.”
“Hey, don’t be sorry. I deserved your skepticism. We earned each other’s trust. And we’re here now, okay?”
She looked down just in time to catch Juniper trail her fingers down the lapels of her jacket before dropping her arms back to her sides.
“Okay.”
“Can I take you somewhere this weekend?”
Juniper gave a feeble smile that made Rowan’s own waver.
“I can’t.”
Unwarranted jealousy uncurled itself in Rowan’s stomach. “You have other plans?”
“I have to work the food truck this weekend.” Juniper cringed.
Rowan shook her head in immediate acceptance. “That’s okay. What about the following weekend?”
“So, that’s kind of the thing. I still have to do that. A lot, especially, now that we’re heading into powwow season.”
“What? Like all the time? Who’s helping you?”
Juniper shrugged, and Rowan found that unacceptable. How was Juniper ever going to truly focus on what made her happy and fulfilled if she was always bearing the full weight of taking care of her family?
“Where are your brothers?”
“Somewhere being useless. Except Sam. He’s mostly useless but still redeemable.”
“You always did have a soft spot for that baby brother.” Rowan slid her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Juniper. “Put Sam’s number in my phone.”
“Huh?”
“We need to catch up.”
Juniper furrowed her brows in confusion and hesitated before she took the phone and typed the number in to save it. She handed it back to Rowan who pocketed it without looking.
“I’ll work the food truck with you.”
Juniper scoffed. “Everyone makes it seem like food trucks are so cool until they’re stuck in the stifling heat sweatingthrough a backlog of fried food orders for hours.”
“I don’t know. I’d get to be with you.”
Juniper gave an incredulous half smile. “It’s a lot of work. I’d have to train you.”
