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Funny how she’d pinned all her hopes and dreams on opening a restaurant, yet she loved baking and cooking right here more than she had anywhere else. And it wasn’t just nostalgia for Gran. Fleur felt productive here. Sure of herself. Like she needed to come home to recover all the pieces of who she’d been and glue them into one whole.
She’d even had some good news from the Texas Workforce Commission. They’d taken her claims of sexual harassment seriously. Her old boss would never be able to pull those tricks on anyone else.
Seated in front of her office window with the expansive view of Central Park, Jessamyn looked thoughtful, her expression softening. “I’ve been thinking about what you said—that we should spend some time at the ranch this summer so we could share the legacy Gran left us.”
“You have?” Fleur set aside the rolling pin, giving her sister her full attention. She hadn’t really expected Lark or Jessamyn—especially Jessamyn—to give the idea another thought.
Her heartbeat quickened even as she told herself not to get her hopes up. Her sister probably just wanted to explain why it couldn’t possibly work out with her schedule.
“I’ve thought about it a lot, actually. There have been some things here—small issues I’m having with Patrick...” She cleared her throat at the mention of their father’s protégé and the man Jessamyn and been dating for months. “Nothing major. But I’ve booked a flight for the week after Emma’s wedding. I didn’t want to descend on you until you finished your catering job.”
Warmth and gratitude filled Fleur’s chest, but she tried to modify her reaction to fit her all-business sibling. If she squealed in joy or got teary-eyed about a possible reunion, she could probably scare Jessamyn into canceling.
After their mother’s over-the-top emotional displays, Jessamyn had gone the other direction. Nothing messy for her.
“I’m so happy you’re going to be here,” Fleur settled on saying, meaning it with every fiber of her being. How many times had she despaired of having any semblance of her family together again? “Thank you, Jess.”
On the screen, Jessamyn was already bending over her desk phone, asking an assistant to send in her three o’clock before she nodded at Fleur. “I need to get going. But good luck with Josiah Cranston, and the wedding.”
“Thank you.” Fleur gave a little wave to her sister before disconnecting the video call.
She would have returned to her biscuits—part of the Southern-inspired portion of the menu since she had suggested Emma serve a mix of appetizers at her evening wedding—except her phone rang.
Knowing the biscuits wouldn’t bake themselves, she thought about ignoring it, but Drake’s name was on the caller ID screen.
Again.
She’d dodged him since their night together, unwilling to hear him make any more excuses for why he didn’t want her to stay in Catamount. But with the wedding a week away, she knew she couldn’t continue avoiding him.
And maybe a part of her still longed to hear his voice.
“Hello?” Switching her phone to hands-free mode, she settled it beside the tablet and then lifted the round biscuit cutter.
“Fleur.” He heaved out a long exhale that sounded...relieved? “I was beginning to think you were blocking my calls.”
Her cheeks warmed, and she attempted to deflect that subject. “Just busy with wedding preparations. How are things going over there? Emma must be working on the barn by now.”
“She’s in full-scale General Emma mode, issuing orders faster than I can carry them out.” His tone, confiding and fondly teasing, reminded her of their time together chasing the goats.
He’d been kind to her, refusing to leave her on her own to round up the escapees and mend the fence, even though she’d told him she could manage. So much had happened between them. So much more than just the sex, although her thoughts had probably strayed to that most often over the past few days. Well, that, and how it ended.
“I admire a woman who knows what she wants.” Fleur pressed the cutter into the dough over and over again until she’d used every possible square inch. “Now that I’ve had a few more clients for catered events, I can appreciate your sister’s decisiveness all the more.”
“Your business is doing well?” he asked, seeming in no hurry to get to his point for calling.
Her nerves twisted at the thought as she used a metal spatula to lift the biscuits onto a baking sheet. Because she didn’t know what she wanted where Drake was concerned. She only knew that she couldn’t risk hurt from him when she was only just beginning to find her footing again.
“Business is better than I would have ever expected.” She’d gotten two more jobs after agreeing to cater the wedding. “Thanks in part to your sister. She’s been great about spreading the word.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Marta says the things you bring into the diner are always gone by noon.”
She couldn’t help the swell of pride about that as she slid the last baking sheet into the oven.
“The foreman over on Ryder Wakefield’s ranch has started sending someone into the Cowboy Kitchen first thing every morning to bring breakfast to all the hands.” Cleaning up the kitchen counter, she checked the time, hoping to intercept Josiah Cranston before he returned home for the evening. “Is there anything else? I’m planning to take a ride around the range roads to see if I can find Gran’s tenant so I can formally let him know that we’re terminating the lease.”
“There’s most definitely something else.” His voice pitched lower, and the effect on her was immediate.
Her breath caught. Her skin tightened. Memories of how he’d looked at her, undressed her, played through her mind in a tantalizing show.
