Page 102 of That Rush

“Did the creek dismiss her formally?”

“There was a rock-related disagreement.”

“Serious business.”

I reach for her again, but she plants one palm against my chest. “Your daughter is waiting.”

“Not yet.”

“Your confidence is inspiring.”

She kisses me once, quick and firm, then ducks beneath my arm and picks up her hat.

I walk her to my truck. As I reach for her door, she hooks two fingers through my belt loop and gives me a final kiss.

“Thank you for showing me your world without thirty witnesses,” she says.

“Next Saturday?”

“Ask me on Friday.”

After driving Paige home, I return to the ranch. Before I collect Josie, I stop beside the office. Through the dusty window, I can see the sunlit wall where Paige had stood, now empty, and the space she’d imagined for her desk beneath the mountain-facing window.

For the first time, I can see exactly what the room needs to be.

Chapter 14

Paige

Aiden holds up two copies of the same romance novel and studies the covers.

“These are identical.”

“They have different sprayed edges.”

He turns both books sideways. One has pink flowers along the pages. The other has tiny silver stars. “The words are the same?”

“Yes.”

“And people need both?”

Three women in the signing line turn in unison. One lowers her glasses. Another puts a hand on her hip. All three are staring at him.

I take one book from his hand before the visiting author loses sales. “Collectors appreciate choices.”

“One woman bought four.”

“Those were alternate covers.”

Aiden looks at the line, then at the display of special editions behind me. “I’m beginning to think I’m the only unreasonable one here.”

“You walked into a romance event and questioned special editions. This is a predictable consequence.”

I add the book to the stack waiting for signatures. “You’re doing remarkably well for a man who spent the first twenty minutes asking why everyone brought tabs.”

“They color-code emotional damage.”

“And spice.”