It wasn’t large by any stretch, but it was mine, and I loved every square inch of it.
I picked up Kayden’s things before I headed for the kitchen. It sat against the far wall of the room, and I’d painted the distressed white cabinets myself and the counters were topped with butcherblock.
I popped onto my toes so I could grab a wineglass from the cupboard then filled it to the brim with merlot.
Kosher, it was not, but since I was drinking alone, I made the rules.
Each night, I gave myself a few moments to unwind.
Heading back into the living room, I plopped onto the plush dark gray couch. I nearly jumped out of my skin and sloshed the wine over the rim when my phone suddenly rang.
A massive grin slid to my face when I saw Paisley’s name lighting the screen, and I quickly answered, speaking before she got the chance.
“Oh, you do remember me after all. Someone has been too busy getting herself loved up by their man to remember their bestie even exists.” I feigned a pout.
Laughter rippled from the other end of the line. “As if I’d ever forget you, but since you gave me explicit instructions to never call you when I was getting loved up again, it’s been hard to fit it in.”
My best friend had gone and fallen hard for her new man, Caleb. Caleb was Ryder’s cousin who’d been living in Seattle and had bought a giant ranch here on the outskirts of Time River. He was crazy rich, and Paisley had been hired to train his little girl how to ride her horse.
Sparks had flown the moment they’d met each other, even though at first, they’d been mistaken for fiery darts of unmitigated hate.
I guess it was true that sometimes enemies made the best lovers.
It hadn’t taken long for it to turn into so much more than that.
“I might love you and Caleb together and all, but I don’t need to be present for your sex-capades.” I let the tease wind into my words.
She’d tried to play it off that day, answering when I’d called, pretending like she could barely talk and mewling like a cat in heat because she was out working with the horses, but I knew better.
The two of them were insatiable.
Paisley laughed again, though it was throaty and low, even deeper now after the injuries she’d sustained with everything that had gone down at the ranch at the beginning of the summer. “Caleb’s a little on the adventurous side, but I can promise you, we aren’t going there. I don’t share my man.”
“Eww,” I told her, grinning as I took a sip of my wine. “Don’t even make my poor brain go there.”
“Well, your poor brain needs to go somewhere and find yourself some action. I know you’re sitting over there by yourself in the dark, drinking a giant glass of wine.”
I pulled the glass away from my lips, frowning at it in the lapping shadows of the room.
Damn, she totally had me pegged.
“I have plenty of action,” I argued. With my hand and vibrator, but sometimes that’s all a girl needed. “And sitting here in the dark with my wine is called relaxing. You should try it sometime.”
“I can tell you what really relaxes you…” She drawled out the innuendo.
“Shut it,” I said, fighting the amusement that wanted to come flooding out.
“Fine, fine, I’ll quit pestering you. For now. But pretty soon, we’re going dick-hunting.”
I nearly choked on the sip I’d just taken. “Dick-hunting?”
“That’s right. Dick-hunting. When one embarks into the wild jungle called dating.”
“Eww,” I said again. “The visual, Paisley.”
“If your response is eww, you’ve obviously been looking at the wrong ones. Caleb’s is drool worthy.”
“Stop right there,” I said through the snickering that wouldn’t stop coming.
Anytime I talked to her, she left me a giggling mess.
“Oh, Dakota, we know you are missing out, my poor, dear friend. It’s high time we found someone to love you up. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you haven’t gone out once with a man since I moved back from Arizona.”
I blew out a strained breath. “I know. I’ve just been…busy.”
It wasn’t like I didn’t want to find someone, but I guessed I didn’t know how to start. How to truly move on the way I’d been trying to do.
How to trust I would find someone who loved me the way I wanted to be.
How to find someone who would choose me.
“Sitting on your couch at night alone?” It overflowed with disbelief. A nudging beyond the playfulness.
Soberness took over. “I think I’m almost ready.”
I could hear her warring thoughts. Not even she knew about Kayden’s father, and the one time she’d asked, I’d flat out told her I didn’t want to talk about it. I figured most people thought I’d gotten my heart broken, but the truth was, I’d barely even caught his name.
It was the circumstances that had driven me to it that still lingered like old wounds.
“You know the only thing I want is for you to be happy, and I’d leave you alone about it if I didn’t know you really well. And I know you’re missing something.”
Before I could respond, she cracked, “Like some of the good D.”
“Did you actually call because you wanted something?” I tossed the question out like I was actually mad.
She chuckled. “Oh, right yes.”
She lowered her voice to keep her words a secret. “I want to plan a big surprise birthday party here at the ranch for Caleb. He’s been showering me with so much love and attention, and I want to make sure he knows how much he’s loved, too.”
She hesitated before she asked, “I was hoping you’d cater it?”
Warmth spread through me. “Like you even have to ask. Of course, I’ll do it. It’d be an honor.”
“How do I have the bestest bestie in all the land? My Doodle-Boo always has my back.”
“Like I’d leave my Paisley-Cakes hanging?”
We’d started with the ridiculous nicknames in second grade and they’d forever stuck, neither of us outgrowing them, even in the time we’d been separated with her living out of state.
Her tone softened. “Seriously, thank you so much. I really want it to be special for him.”
“We’ll make sure it is. When are you thinking?”
“The third Saturday of next month?”
I glanced around like I actually had a calendar to check. “I think I’m free. I’ll get a couple staff on hand to help with service and all of that.”
Paisley squealed. “Seriously the best. I cannot wait. I’ll stop by soon so we can go over details, if that’s okay?”
“Absolutely. Any time.”
“You’re grade-A amazing, Dakota. Don’t you ever forget it.”
“How could I when you won’t let me?” I teased.
“Crap, Caleb is calling from the other room to come to bed. I better go before he gets suspicious. Thank you again.”
“Go on and get yourself some of that deliciousness.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” She suddenly squealed, and I was pretty sure Caleb had sneak attacked her from behind. “Bye, Doodle-Boo. And don’t you dare put on one of those true crime podcasts the way you like to do. I don’t want you to be having any nightmares.”
She barely got it out before the line went dead, and I sat there, grinning at my phone like I was actually looking at my best friend.
She was wild and reckless and fun, and I loved every crazy thing about her.
Silence washed in behind it.
A hint of loneliness that crept into the recesses.
A quiet hum that reminded me I was alone.
I sipped at my wine while I fiddled with my phone, heart a little heavy, then I breathed out a short breath when a text buzzed through.
I fought the flutter in my chest when I saw who it was.
I’m moving on. I’m moving on. I’m moving on.
I had to remind myself of it when he got to acting all concerned, which was really often. But he’d always been concerned, ever since I was a little girl. I needed to remember that was because he would forever look at me like a sister.
Ryder
What’s up, Cookie? You get home safe?
I tapped out a quick response, refusing to make it weird. This man was a constant in my life, and I didn’t want it to bring me pain any longer.
Me
I did, and a whole lot earlier, thanks to you.
It didn’t take long for another text to come through.
Ryder