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He shook his head, and she stepped back to open the door for him. He walked to the kitchen and set her groceries on the table, then pulled his notepad from his inside pocket with an invoice for her to sign.
She scribbled her signature and handed him back his notepad. “What happened to the electronic pads you had?”
“The power outages created too many issues for us. So, we’re back to pen and paper until we can count on it again.”
“Yes, we’re all struggling these days.”
“Have a great day, Lara.”
He strode out of her kitchen and she followed him to the back door and locked herself inside once again. Taking in deep breaths, she forced herself to be brave and keep on moving through her day. She had a meal to prepare for her boyfriend’s parents. At least, she assumed Tate was her boyfriend. They hadn’t had that conversation. Was that even a conversation adults had? They were having sex. She would not call herself his sex buddy. Certainly not to his parents. She was still old-fashioned enough that she only dated one man at a time. She didn’t sleep around, and she definitely wouldn’t date someone else while she was having sex with Tate. She didn’t know how he felt about that though.
Taking a deep breath, she moved her freshly frosted cookies to a side counter and turned the little fan on to speed the drying of her frosting. She unpacked her groceries and set aside the brisket for dinner tonight. Pulling her Instant Pot from the shelf, she began preparing dinner for tonight and set aside thoughts of how Tate felt about her and their relationship. They’d have the chat soon enough. She knew right now he was working hard.
Chapter41
Tate knocked on the back door and called out. “Lara, it’s me.”
He listened, then heard her footsteps approach and the locks twist on the door. When she opened the door, she stepped back, and he saw the worry on her face.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
She nodded but didn’t make eye contact, and his stomach twisted. He stepped inside and closed the door. Turning the locks, he faced her and saw the hard set of her mouth.
“Tell me what’s happened.”
“I’ve been—it’s stupid. I worked myself up. It’s all so immature. I don’t even know what to say.”
He shook his head and pulled her to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “You sure feel good against me, baby.”
She sobbed, and he squeezed her closer. “You smell good. Cookies and bread and all things delicious. I can’t wait to introduce you to my parents. They’ve waited forever for me to meet someone special.”
She mumbled into his chest. “I’m special?”
He chuckled. “Of course, you are. How can you not know that?”
She lifted her head and wiped her eyes. Stepping back, she sniffed and let out a long breath.
“I’ve been driving myself crazy with all the things. I’m meeting your parents, but I didn’t know if I’m actually considered your girlfriend. I didn’t know if adults still talked about being boyfriend and girlfriend and I worried I looked too old-fashioned. But, I am old-fashioned. Sort of. I mean, we’ve had sex, so that’s not old-fashioned. But, you are…there’s something special about you, Tate. I’ve thrown away many of my reservations because you are… I feel different about you.” She swiped at her face once more and dried her fingers on her thighs. “Ugh. I’m sorry. It’s just been a lot lately and I’m overreacting and making things much bigger than they need to be and then that lady came in here and I just got all…weird.”
“What lady?”
“The one from the hill.” She sniffed lightly again, and his heartbeat raced.
“The hill? As in Hickory Hills? Someone came in here from up there?”
She froze as her eyes searched his face. “Yeah.”
“What did she want?”
Lara wiped under her eyes again and blew out a breath. “She had a message for my dad.”
“What message?”
She cleared her throat lightly. “Um. She said he should honor his word.”
“What word?”
“She wouldn’t say.”
