AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No doubt he’d picked up on the clues and had guessed what was happening.
“I hope so,” she said.
Before meeting Barton, she hadn’t even realized a man could be so decent.
“Did you want to talk?” he offered, but not in a pushy way.
“That’s all right. We’re having too much fun to drag Ron into it,” she answered lightly. How could she tell Barton about the garbage in her past? Maybe if he was truly just a friend, she’d be more open. But she was drawn to Barton in ways that went well beyond friendship.
Still, while he was extraordinarily nice and attractive, that didn’t mean they were leaping into a relationship. If they ever moved in that direction, she’d have to tell him more…if she felt he’d understand, which he probably would. Barton was a good person and actually discussed things with her, rather than trying to tell her what to think.
* * *
BARTON WISHED HE knew the right words. He hadn’t figured on falling in love until he was good and ready, nor was he certain he’d fallen for Chelsea. But he cared about her, even if only as a neighbor and a friend.
“I know it’s probably easier to let down your hair, as my sister says, with another woman,” he finally ventured, “but I should tell you, in the interest of full disclosure, that I couldn’t keep from overhearing part of your conversation.”
Her pretty face scrunched up and then relaxed. “Sorry, that sort of garbage doesn’t belong on a hike in the mountains.”
“It’s as good a place as any.”
She was chewing the side of her lip, something he had begun recognizing as one of the signs she was feeling uncertain.
“The thing is… I kind of let my old boyfriend push me around a lot,” Chelsea admitted.
Barton frowned. “You mean he hit you?”
“Not that,” she said quickly. “He just had a way of making me feel as if everything was wrong and that it was my fault, so I’d try and try to do things to make him happier, but it was never enough.”
“So he’s trying to use guilt to get you back.”
“Yes. When I was with him, it often seemed as if I wasn’t quite sure where the ground was, if that makes any sense.”
“Like nothing was firm and there was nothing you could count on?”
“Yeah.”
“He probably wanted you to have to hang on to him to keep from falling. What a jerk.”
She smiled in what seemed to be a determined way. “Look, I don’t want to think about Ron any more. I’d rather look at trees and squirrels and mountains. Do you ever see bears or mountain lions around here?”
“Uh, that isn’t likely,” he reassured her.
Her nose wrinkled. “That’s too bad. I’d be a little nervous since they’re wild animals, but from what I’ve read, they aren’t too dangerous unless they feel threatened or you get between a mama and her babies or their prey.”
“That’s the general wisdom,” Barton agreed.
The shift to a casual subject was disappointing, and he reminded himself that he was supposed to be taking things slow.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I’LL MISS YOU,” Rachel said as Nicole drove her to the airport Saturday evening. It had been good having her in Seattle, but Rachel was due in Rome on Monday.
Nicole nodded. “Me, too. It’ll be great once you’re all in Seattle. Then we can expand even more rapidly.”
“I’m impressed by the difference having a decent office manager makes. It was the right decision to give her a pay raise, retroactive to the day she started.” Chelsea’s salary was one of the things they’d discussed on a call with Logan and Adam the night before.
“And since you’ve been here,” Nicole told her, “I’ve had time to show Chelsea more of what we need done, though she’s picked up a lot on her own.”
They hugged goodbye at the passenger unloading zone and Nicole drove back to her house.
The week had gone smoothly.
She hadn’t seen Jordan since the night they’d eaten dinner together on her deck. He had emailed saying that since the articles weren’t due for a while, he thought a break would help them catch up on their mutual responsibilities. She’d replied that it was a good idea.
