For one, there was money on the line. If he confided in Mitch, he’d tell Ryan and Josh before he even got on the plane so they could determine who’d won the pool. But that wasn’t a big deal. There were always betting pools and sometimes he won and sometimes he lost.
What was a big deal was the possibility—no, probability—that Mitch would also tell one of their cousins, who would tell the other cousins, who would then tell their spouses and…it was only a matter of time before the news reached Aunt Mary. And if Aunt Mary got it in her head he and Emma were becoming a real couple, she’d jump on him in a second, pushing him into settling down.
Better to keep his mouth shut because, no matter how much Emma had rocked his world last night, settling down was the last thing on his mind.
Chapter Thirteen
As soon as Emma and Sean left in separate trucks—Emma having been called not five minutes after Sean left by an upset customer whose new garden had been ravaged by some nocturnal creature—Cat did a victory dance in the kitchen. It couldn’t have been more obvious they’d had sex if they’d had T-shirts made to mark the occasion.
They’d barely said two words to each other and they’d avoided eye contact at all costs, but they weren’t fighting. Anger wasn’t the vibe filling the kitchen with tension. No, it was morning-after awkwardness and she couldn’t be happier about it.
By the time she was done puttering around the kitchen, it was a decent enough hour to call Mary. She brewed herself some tea and took it into the living room to get comfortable.
“You were right about Mitch making a difference,” she said after they’d exchanged hellos.
“Sean didn’t like him touching her. I swear, that kiss almost set the grass under their feet on fire.”
“Guess who didn’t sleep on the couch last night?”
“And the plot thickens,” Mary said, and they laughed.
“Speaking of thickening plots, I told Emma I want to give her the house as a wedding gift and I thought she was going to throw up in my lap.”
“That’s interesting.”
Cat took a sip of her tea. “I think, besides worrying about me, she was also afraid I’d sell the house.”
“So making up a relationship with Sean put your mind at ease, but also made you stop telling her the house was too much for a woman alone.”
“Exactly.”
“What did she say?”
“She kept insisting she wanted to buy it from me, not have it given to her. I know my granddaughter. I don’t think she’ll accept the house as a gift under false pretenses.”
“I’d like to think you’re right. What are you going to do?”
Cat sighed. “I’m going to leave it alone for now. If I push, she might decide to tell me the truth. Since they’ve only just…discovered each other, so to speak, I’d rather leave things as they are for a bit longer.”
“Good point.” Mary dropped her voice a little. “Speaking of discovering each other, what’s going on between you and Russell Walker?”
“We’re friends,” she said, but her friend only laughed. “Okay, friends might not be a strong enough word.”
“What would be a strong enough word?”
“I don’t know. It’s so silly. When I’m away from him I tell myself I’m too old to be flirting with a man. But when I’m with him, I don’t feel old at all.”
“He’s smitten with you. Anybody can see that.”
“Smitten.” Cat chuckled. “I like that word. But I’m going home in less than two weeks and his whole life is here.”
“You said his store was going out of business.”
“Yes, but he’s still a part of the community and his daughter’s here.”
“Like your granddaughter’s here?” She heard Mary’s tsk clearly across the line. “That’s not an obstacle.”
“Maybe not, but I’m also set in my ways. He’s charming and I enjoy his company, but I’m not sure I want to spend my remaining years unballing another man’s socks. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to do that.”
“I unball Leo’s socks. Leo rubs my feet. It works for me.”
Cat sipped more of her tea, then sighed, wondering if Russell would rub her feet. “It’s ridiculous.”
“I bet that’s what Sean and Emma said, too.”
And the conversation circled back to the kids, which was just fine with Cat. She hadn’t yet sorted out how she felt about Russell, so she didn’t want to talk about it.
Maybe it was infatuation. They’d both been alone a long time. But that didn’t mean either of them wanted to pack up and start a new life together. That was a big commitment and she wasn’t sure she had the energy or the desire for that at this point.
It was much easier to meddle in Sean’s and Emma’s lives than dwell on her own.