“You should find some new things,” Telford said.“Our trip could easily extend, and you didn’t bring much.It will get colder soon.”
Ayana had been looking at the styles to see what was popular, but she had no intention of spending money or buying more than a warmer coat.She didn’t want to own more than she could carry if she had to run.
So much for relaxing and not looking over her shoulder.
“Add them to my pile,” he said, expression intent on her as if he’d read her mind.
What would it feel like to indulge?To not immediately look for exits, anticipate having to run?
Both he and Joanie stared at her, and she wondered if her burbling panic showed.
Smiling, she rolled her shoulders and picked up a gorgeous cowgirl hat that looked custom.She and Joanie had started a discussion about carrying some of her knit and crochet designs, but they hadn’t finished discussing business.Perhaps relaxing and pretending to shop might facilitate a deal where Joanie would take a few of her vests on consignment, or better, buy them outright.
It was probably weird she felt more anxious about money now that she had an unbelievable—to her—chunk in reserve when only a little more than a week ago, she’d been worried about where she was going to live and work.
Don’t get used to this good life.
She reverently turned the crown in her fingers.The hat was felted and the color of an aged whiskey.A belt of dark brown braided leather with silver and different-colored beads hugged the crown of the hat, and she marveled at the workmanship.
“The designer has game,” she noted.
“She does.Arielle grew up here, but she lives up in Missoula now.She has her own shop, but we’ve been friends since kindergarten so she sends me a few to sell, and I can also help with custom orders.We do girls’ weekends a few times a year when I go up to shop for my store.”
Ayana looked at the workmanship and then gingerly put the hat on her head.It felt like a kiss.
She looked in the mirror.The color was fantastic with her eyes, and the way it fit with her shaggy pixie cut enhanced her features.She didn’t even want to think about the cost, but this might be a splurge she was willing to make.Temptation tugged and grappled with her practical, cautious frugality.
She stared at her reflection, wondering if the Family would even recognize her.She recoiled at the thought.She never wanted to see any of them.Not ever—so she needed to stop giving them space in her brain.
“It’s perfect.Like it was made for you.No one could look more…” Joanie paused and pulled her phone from her back pocket.“Amazing.Can I take a picture of you for the store’s Instagram?”
“No,” Ayana said sharply.
Too sharply, judging by the way Joanie recoiled and shoved her phone in her back pocket as if by disappearing, so would the offense.
“Sorry… I…”
“I just… I’m not photogenic.”
Joanie’s face registered the ridiculousness of that excuse.Not that Ayana was vain, but she’d worked in restaurants and bars across the US and for three years on river cruises in Europe and the Mississippi, dodging men’s attention the whole time.
“I just don’t do social media.”
“It’s fine.I was too impulsive,” Joanie said, subdued.
Ayana wanted to kick herself for her knee-jerk reaction.Now Joanie would think she was a B-word.Plus, she had Telford’s full attention.
“Sorry, Joanie,” she said, meaning it.“I promote my work for my Etsy shop, but I prefer having clients or friends or people I meet who look interesting model my work, not myself.”
“I totally understand.”
“I’m definitely buying this hat.”Ayana made up her mind quickly.She wanted it, and it would help her fit into Telford’s Montana quest.She just wouldn’t think about the cost, and the loss of the potential income by being so rude to Joanie.She usually had better self-control.
“I’m buying the hat,” Telford said, stalking over, intent in every step, and her tummy flipped in a whole different way.“It’s perfect for you.”He framed her face with his warm hands, and just as she thought he’d lean in for a kiss, and she held her breath wanting him to kiss her far more than she should.He paused, his dark blue eyes searched hers, and she felt like her secrets screamed to jump out of her soul.She clutched them.
He stepped back and disappointment crashed through her.
“We could be matching,” she teased and, wanting to hang on to the moment that had felt intimate.She grabbed a dark sand-colored Stetson from a hat rack.
