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Dad put down the newspaper. “Erin Moore?”
“Yeah.” He wasn’t sure how to feel about the discussion as a whole.
Dad nodded. “She’s going to talk to Wiz?”
“So she said. Well, actually that’s not exactly what she said. She said she’d see what she could do but to not expect anything soon, or at all. Guess I’ll just have to get over it, whatever ‘it’ is.” He shrugged. There wasn’t any other choice.
“Sorry, son, sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
“Yeah.” It didn’t seem fair that letting go of a woman he’d met exactly once made him feel worse than Evon dumping him. He grimaced. In hindsight, he’d been lucky. Evon was shallow and not the brightest woman in the world. She hadn’t shown her true colors until he brought up moving back to Montana. Maybe his connection with Wiz would turn out the same way; one interaction wasn’t enough to get to know someone. He could be completely wrong about her. And his imagined connection could be just that—imagination.
Tom sighed and surfed channels. Maybe a good cowboy movie would take his mind off it. Or a bad cowboy movie. Yeah, that would be better. A spaghetti western where everybody loses. That would be about right.
Chapter 6
Wiz sipped her delicious iced mocha; Ryan was an expert. It was almost too cold outside for iced drinks, but not quite. Erin shivered, making Wiz crack a smile. Happiness came a little easier these days. Having real friends made an enormous difference.
“I have some news for you.” Erin wiped the counter.
“Oh?”
“Tom Borde agreed to stop bothering you.”
“Oh.” Relief warred with sadness and a little frustration. “Why am I feeling disappointed? That’s what I wanted.”
Erin raised her brows. “That’s what you said you wanted. It may not be what you really wanted or need.”
“Huh.” Erin should be a therapist.
She wetted her cloth again. “If it’s any consolation, he also apologized for making you nervous because he didn’t intend to. He said he wasn’t really sure why he was being so insistent, but something about your eyes,” Erin pointed her elbow at Wiz, “your sad eyes—called to him. He suggested that if you needed something from them, you should call his dad, Pete.”
“That was nice.” More than she deserved when she did nothing but brush him off.
Erin moved to the next table. “Tom seems like a nice guy.”
Ryan, cleaning the sinks, joined in. “I know his dad is a nice guy. Pete’s one of the regulars here for the Friday veterans’ meeting. He doesn’t say a whole lot, but what he does say is smart or funny. He lost his wife to cancer a few years ago, which is really too bad. I guess she was a great lady. I never got to meet her.”
Wiz nodded but wasn’t sure what to say. She had the ranch phone number if by some weird chance she needed it.
“You know, I might have a solution to the neighbor problem.” Erin turned to Ryan. “Why don’t we have a little dinner party? It will be us, Wiz, Pete, and, hmmm, who else? Just one or two more.”
“Deb. We already know Wiz loves Deb’s cupcakes, right?” He flashed a grin.
Erin smiled sweetly at Ryan. “Good idea.” She turned to Wiz. “What do you think? That means just one new person. Too much?”
“Noooo. I’m...not sure.” She should tell Erin what she was thinking. She could be honest with both of them. “You know, I used to be almost fearless. Now, the thought of meeting two new people turns me into a big bowl of jello. I’m so tired of being worried and scared all the time. But I can’t seem to break out of it either.”
“Wiz, it’s just going to take time.” Erin shrugged. “Remember, you can leave at any time if it gets to be too much. None of us will be offended.”
She had to take the next step soon or she wouldn’t do it. “Okay. When?”
“Friday night? Ryan, check with Pete. I’ll talk to Deb.”
“What should I bring?”
Erin’s smile turned into laughter. “Ooh. Didn’t you say Tom was trying to talk his dad into going all natural?”
Ryan laughed. “You are so tricky, babe.”
