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No.
She refused to let herself believe that. Simon was far too close of a friend, and now a boyfriend, for her to assume he would do anything to hurt her, and that included keeping her from chasing after her dreams.
Katrina needed to get her head on straight and actually do what she’d come here for—to make sure Simon’s home was something he could take pride in. And at the same time, she would take pride in the thing that gave her joy—design.
Simon was aware of this. That was why he’d offered to let her have at it. And this was why they worked out so well together. Daniel didn’t know what he was talking about.
The longer she ruminated on these points, the more she realized that she needed to get back to her job hunt. Ever since she’d allowed her friends to get her out of the house and busy on other things, she’d let her applications lapse. She wasn’t even sure if any of them were viable anymore.
Katrina would have to submit a few new resumés and see what was out there.
There was a small niggling doubt that wriggled into her head over what her brother had said, but she pushed it aside. If Simon cared about her like she knew he did, he would understand this was simply part of who she was.
As soon as she got home, she would submit a few new applications to places. Perhaps she’d even check out some businesses that were closer. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she had to move to Billings. Sure, it was a couple hours away, but that was better than having to move all the way to New York like before.
Her mood slowly improved as she continued to work. Everything was falling into place in her mind, and she couldn’t wait to tell Simon all about it. However, she wasn’t going to get her hopes up. She could wait until she had an actual offer. That would be better. Then they could have something to celebrate together.
The remainder of her afternoon went a little better than she’d expected. With a new surge of energy, Katrina was able to finish her painting and touch up the baseboards. In three days, the new flooring would arrive and she could call the room complete.
Normally, Simon was done with his work before she was, but today was different. It probably had something to do with what Daniel wanted with him. Rather than go track him down, Katrina moved through the house to pick out her next project. She wandered down the hall and ended up at Simon’s bedroom door.
While she should wait for his permission to enter his space of solitude, she couldn’t help herself. The door was already a crack open and all it took was a nudge to push it all the way.
She poked her head inside and stared, stunned, at how clean and organized it was. But then again, this was Simon and he wasn’t the typical guy. She’d been raised with four brothers and none of them were as good at keeping a place tidy as Simon.
One foot after the other, she found herself standing just inside the room. The space wasn’t bad. Even the hardwood floor didn’t seem to fit the rest of the house. Either Simon had been holding out on her and he’d done some work without her knowing, or he didn’t want to disappoint her with a project that wasn’t on the larger scale.
Katrina didn’t dare move farther into the room in case Simon returned from his work. Instead, she made a mental note of the color schemes and anything small she could do to breathe new life into this bedroom without a major overhaul.
A smile stole across her face. She could surprise him with that, too. It would be her way of saying thank you for everything he’d done for her over the years.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
Over the next week,Simon wasn’t able to spend nearly as much time with Katrina as he wanted to. While she continued fixing up his place by working her magic, he had finally gotten to a point where he could see his dream business come to fruition.
With help from Daniel and his wife’s financial connections from her work in New York, along with the money he’d received in the inheritance, Simon could finally put everything into motion.
The dairy farm would continue. He was in a place where he could make that work. But he was going to focus on horse training, too. He knew he’d need plenty of help, but that wasn’t a worry.
He’d kept his plans secret from Katrina, not because he didn’t think he’d be able to make it work, but because he knew what it might do to her emotionally. Even though Katrina seemed happier lately, he couldn’t shake the feeling that she was settling somehow. There was a very real possibility that she would tire of Rocky Ridge. If she got to the point where she felt trapped, it wouldn’t take much for her to go off in search of something better—well, better in her opinion.
As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was still worried he wasn’t enough for her. But that was how Katrina had always been. She’d always had big dreams and he might not be the one to help her create the life she wanted.
Simon found himself spending some of his spare time in the barn as he contemplated what might happen next. Of course, he couldn’t run from it. Eventually, he’d have to talk to her about where he wanted their future to be—together.
He simply wasn’t ready for that yet. He wanted to enjoy the life they were currently living. It had been nearly two months since they’d started this dance and she hadn’t brought up her job or what she wanted to do now that she’d settled in.
Katrina was still helping out at her family’s ranch, but not enough to make Simon believe that it was what she wanted. Her working on his place was the first time he’d seen the spark return in a long time.
Was he delaying the inevitable?
Most definitely.
At least he didn’t have wool pulled over his eyes. They’d figure it out. He had to believe that.
Tonight, he was just taking some quiet time so he could revel in what he had accomplished. He was also waiting for Daniel and Megan to show. Simon had made an executive decision to hire Megan to help him get everything up and going, and now all he had left was to cross the t’s and dot the i’s.
Perhaps tonight was the night he would tell Katrina his plans for the future. Then he could make sure she was aware just how big of a part he wanted her to play in that future.
