“This place is really cute,” Molly said, looking around the small, cozy cabin that Zeke was calling home for now. There was a plush tan sofa and love seat, a huge sisal rug and a stone fireplace, plus two small bedrooms—one of which Lucy was sleeping peacefully in. She sat down on one end of the couch.
Zeke kneeled by the fireplace and put a log in and lit it, making the cabin even cozier. Romantic, she thought, staring into the flames. Of course, that obviously wasn’t his intention, but still. “I’ve been staying here just a couple of days, but so far it’s tipping the scales toward building on the ranch.”
“Well, I can see why. The place is gorgeous and your family is here. You’ve got the river to the east and the mountains to the west, and all this wide open space.”
He moved over to the wide front window, snow-covered evergreens in the distance. The cabin faced the ranch and seemed to be about a quarter mile from the lodge and cafeteria, but was set far back along the tree line that led to the mountains so that the immediate area was private. “Takes almost a half hour to get to town, though. I got used to walking to work in Cheyenne. I lived and worked downtown.”
She wanted to know everything about his years in Cheyenne. “Do you miss it?”
He turned to face her but stayed by the window. Keeping his distance? Probably. “Nah. Which surprises me because I’ve lived there the past thirteen years and always thought it was home. But it wasn’t. This is home.”
“Bear Ridge is definitely home for me, but my house isn’t. I mean, I live there, but it’s not home. It’s just the place I moved after the divorce. I couldn’t stand the idea of living in the house I used to with my ex, so we sold that. Danica showed me a few houses but not a single one felt right. So I’ve been renting all this time. She’s always sending me links to listings, but nothing that makes me want to see it.”
Neither of them could figure that out. Why would she rather rent than buy? She was throwing away money, wasn’t she?
He walked over to the club chair perpendicular to the sofa and sat down. Yup—definitely social distancing from her. “Sounds like something is missing—maybe what you envisioned living in your forever home would be like.”
The all-too familiar lonely blues gripped her for a moment. Some mornings, especially when she came downstairs to make coffee before Lucy woke up, she’d feel empowered and all “your life is your own,” and sometimes she felt so alone she could cry—and would. “You know, I think that’s it. That makes complete sense. Plus, I’m the first person in my family to get divorced. No one makes me feel weird about it, but I still do. Took me so long to get married that I thought I’d be married till I was ninety-two.”
“Maybe buying a house as a single mom makes you feel like you’re signing up for that life forever,” he said.
She thought about that for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. But I am a single mom and this is my life. I should be living for now not for some maybe future.”
“At least you know you want to get remarried. You know what you want.”
Hmm, she thought, trying not to study every nuance of his expression, which was actually very neutral. Maybe he was more ambivalent about marriage and family than dead set against it. Perhaps that was why he’d said it was possible that the right woman could turn him around. That definitely gave her more to work with.
“I want love and partnership,” she said. “The universal stuff everyone needs.”
“Even though it clearly doesn’t mean it’ll work out?”
“My motto is ‘once burned, choose more wisely next time.’ That’s how I altered that saying.”
He laughed. “You’re smart, Molly Orton. But when it comes to women, I’m an idiot. I got so duped back in Cheyenne I don’t even trust myself to choose wisely.”
Her chest ached for the heartache he’d been through. She envisioned him walking through city streets, alone and hurting, so far from his family, from everything that could bring him instant comfort.
And something made a little more sense to her now. Something she’d been thinking about, wondering about. She wasn’t sure she should say it, though.
“Out with it,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her with a wary smile. “I can see those brown eyes working.”
“Well, what you just said about not trusting yourself to choose wisely. I figure that might be why you’re so focused on the old dream, the old crush. It lets you off the hook. Whether or not Danica is right for you isn’t really the point. She’s a placeholder.”
All remnants of the smile were gone. “What?” he asked, staring at her.
Oh, boy. Talk about “personal nitty-gritty.” Well, you started it, Molly, so you might as well keep going and explain yourself. “I think you’re stuck right now, Zeke. And just when you needed something to jolt you, you heard Danica was single and that helped you decide to move back home so that you could finally have your shot at the woman of your dreams. Your focus is on the old because it’s safe and probably not gonna happen, just like it never did before.”
He did not look pleased with her analysis. At all.
“I don’t agree,” he said. “There’s nothing safe about uprooting your life. There’s nothing safe about going for a dream, no matter how old.”
She bit her lip, considering that. “That’s very true. I just meant—”
“Maybe we should change the subject, Molly.” He leaned back, glancing out the window. Then anywhere but at her.
She’d definitely struck a nerve.
“Want some coffee?” he asked, his expression anything but neutral now.
“Zeke, I’m sorry. I overstepped. We just start talking and, like you said, we can talk about anything and it gets very real very fast. So honesty just pours out of my mouth.”
Except for the biggest truth of all. That I love you.
“Honesty is good,” he said.
He could have called her out on her own holding pattern. Living in the rental when she had a down payment sitting in the bank. Waiting for her future instead of living her present. She hadn’t realized she’d been doing that.
“I’ll skip coffee. I’ll wait for that cafeteria lunch you mentioned. I remember having the best chili of my life in the ranch caf. And great omelets and crispy bacon.”
He brightened at the change of subject. “The chef—Cowboy Joe—is the best. Everyone raves about his cooking. Did you know he married a guest? Ranch romances aren’t that common. Well, except for the Dawsons. Noah got together with his wife, Sara, when she was hired as foreman—forewoman. Daisy met her husband when he was a guest. Axel’s wife, Sadie, was also a guest here for a family reunion—it’s her aunt who married Cowboy Joe. And Rex’s wife, Maisey, is the head nanny at the ranch.”
“Well, you and Danica would break the pattern, so that’s a no go,” she said on a chuckle, then mentally slapped her forehead for that one. She didn’t need to put Danica in his head any more than she was already.
“True,” he said with a smile. “I suppose if she helps me find a house in town, we’ll be a town romance instead of a ranch romance.”
“I don’t see it,” Molly blurted out, then clamped her mouth shut.
Oh, foo. She hadn’t meant to say it, but dammit, she’d been thinking it.
He tilted his head. “What do you mean? Are you saying you don’t see Danica and me as a couple? Is that why you were being kind of negative about me and her before?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t know why I said that. I take it back.” He had to know she had feelings for him since she’d made it clear the kiss had been welcome. Maybe he was deliberately not going there since he’d decided they couldn’t be and that he’d focus on his original crush: Danica.
“No, you said it for a reason.”
Yes, because I see us together.
“Well, you two don’t seem like peas in a pod,” Molly finally said. “But that doesn’t mean anything,” she found herself adding because he did seem to value her opinion. “It’s all about chemistry, right?”
“Exactly. So Danica and I aren’t peas.” He glanced out the window again and seemed to be thinking. “Maybe you should give me more intel. I’ve noticed her around town a couple times the past week—both times with a man. So she’s definitely still dating. What is she looking for in a guy?”
“She’s looking for what we’re all looking for.”
“What’s that?”
“The right fit,” Molly said. “Someone we connect with. Someone kind. Someone who feels like home. Someone who makes us smile. Inspires us to be our best self. Someone who has our back, pulls us up. Someone we can imagine sitting beside on the rocking chairs forty years from now.”
He smiled. “I’m not sure I was looking that far ahead.”
She tilted her head. “But you sound so serious about wanting to date Danica. Aren’t you after a serious relationship with her?”
He glanced out the window again. “Maybe what you said before isn’t so far off the mark, after all. That I’m stuck in some kind of holding pattern, unable to move at all, holding on to an old dream about a woman I’ve barely spoken to.”
So she had struck a nerve.
“Well, all you can do is discover if the fantasy of Danica Dunbar meets the reality.”
“Yeah,” he said, brightening again. “That’s a great way to put it. I’m sure it will. What’s she like, anyway?” He frowned. “That sounds ridiculous, huh. Asking what my dream woman since eighth grade is like.”
“She’s as great as you imagine, Zeke,” she said, picturing Danica coming over every night for a month after Molly’s husband told her he was in love with his redheaded mechanic. Sitting up with her till all hours as Molly cried. Danica had always been there for her—with an ear, a shoulder, a smile. And had been for over twenty years.
Zeke beamed. “I knew it. But of course, you’re biased—you two are best friends.”
“For a reason. Because she is that wonderful. I remember when I first met her, in second grade, and we were paired as partners for a book report. I thought, Oh, no, she’s gonna be a stuck-up snot and make a snide comment on my weird multicolored pants. But she was friendly and kind and funny and we hit it off right away. We just have a similar something—I can’t really put my finger on it.”
“Now you’re making me wish I had a best friend like that,” he said. “I suppose I do in my siblings. But to be honest, Molly, you’re the next closest thing.”
Straight to the heart.
Except I’m your employee. And I have a baby...
She could fix the first, not that she wanted to. But Molly and Lucy were a pair, a team, a family. And yeah, the right woman could “turn him around,” but Zeke didn’t want to be attracted to her, didn’t want to like her.
“I’ve never had a male best friend,” she said. “Don’t they—whoever they are—say men and women really can’t be friends?” Molly figured men and woman could absolutely be friends. But maybe not when there was fire-hot chemistry between them.
“Well, we can be,” he said. “Now that we’ve settled that whole kiss thing.”
She gave a mental sigh. Hardly settled. And the cozy cabin that was supposed to have him barely able to control himself while in her presence had turned into friend-zone city. They were getting closer and closer as friends—and further and further as romantic possibilities.
Her strategy wasn’t working at all. And now tomorrow he and her best friend could possibly become a couple, all thanks to good old Molly.
By ten o’clock that night, Molly was ready to pick her up phone and call Danica and tell her everything—that she was worried Danica and Zeke would fall madly in love tomorrow during their realty meeting and run off to Vegas for an instant wedding. Molly would finally share her secret—that she’d been in love with Zeke since seventh grade and was finally trying to make something happen between them...that something had happened until Zeke called a grinding halt to it.
She paused at her kitchen counter with one hand on the spray bottle of lemony cleaning solution and the other clutching a paper towel. Because she cared about Zeke so much, how could she put a grinding halt to anything happening between him and Danica? All she had to do was tell Danica how she felt about Zeke, and her BFF would friend-zone Zeke in a heartbeat—even if Danica wanted to go out with him.
Molly loved Zeke with everything she was. How could she manipulate things behind the scenes to serve her purposes?
She couldn’t. And wouldn’t.
They’d been so raw and honest with each other in his cabin. And true to his word, he remained at a physical distance while they’d been there, waiting for Lucy to wake up from her nap. No touching her hair. No putting his lips to hers. For a moment there, once or twice, she’d almost touched him herself—a simple hand to his forearm while making a point. But she had to respect what he’d said about the complications of his being her boss. An hour later, Lucy had woken up, and they’d gone to the ranch cafeteria, where they’d both had the incredible chicken chili and corn bread that had melted in her mouth. After lunch he’d showed her around the ranch, the guest cabins, which she well remembered, the river she’d tossed pebbles in. But then the weather took a cold turn and they skipped the hike and headed back, Zeke dropping off Molly and Lucy at her car by the Welcome hut.
A perfect day—and none of her goals accomplished. She’d gotten no closer to making Zeke hers than she’d been yesterday.
Molly finished cleaning the kitchen counter, then shut off all the lights and headed upstairs to her bedroom. She checked in on Lucy, who was fast asleep, her sweet baby girl reminding her that all was well and good in her life.
Molly left the nursery with one thing echoing in her head: if Zeke and Danica meet tomorrow and it was all parades and cartoon hearts and walking off into the sunset, then that was meant to be, and she and Zeke were not. Molly had always been a big believer in meant to be. It comforted her even if it hurt.
I’m going to lose him tomorrow. I’ll be Danica’s maid of honor at their wedding.
Molly frowned, her stomach flip-flopping, and picked up her phone. All she had to do was press the number two, the insta-speed-press for Danica’s number, and just finally tell her the truth, that she loved Zeke, that it would kill her if Danica went out with him. That Zeke would be in her office tomorrow, and because he was so hot and nice and everything any woman would be looking for, Dancia would fall madly in love with him. And he with her.
Molly’s finger hovered over the two button. She put the phone down, her heart hammering. She couldn’t do that to Zeke. Or Danica. If those two belonged together, non-peas-in-a-pod aside, it would happen. Molly wouldn’t interfere to save her own heart.
Her phone rang, startling her, and she practically jumped.
Danica.
Obviously, the universe wanted Molly to tell Danica her big secret.
Wait a minute. Molly had forgotten that Danica had her dog-walking date with the cute welder today. She’d been so wrapped up in herself she’d forgotten to check in with her friend. Given that Danica hadn’t called or texted until now, maybe the two of them had had an extended date and they were the ones who’d be hitting the Vegas strip for the insta-wedding.
“Hi, Danica. How was your date with the welder?”
“Mol...ly,” Danica sputtered between sobs. “He...big...liarrrr.” Danica was crying and sniffling.
Oh, no. “Oh, honey. Are you home?”
“Yes,” Danica managed on a sob.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“’K,” Danica said tearfully.
Molly texted her dad to ask if he or her mom or both could watch Lucy for an hour or two, and her parents were over within minutes. Tomorrow was the grand reopening for Tim’s Tasty Tacos, so her parents were wide awake and had come over with their iPads, deep in conversation about their cardboard take-out containers and if they should change colors. Molly thanked them again for coming, grabbed two pints of Ben & Jerry’s from the freezer and rushed out to drive over to Danica’s house, which was just five minutes away.
Unlike Molly, Danica had kept the house in her divorce, since she’d chosen it and decorated it and loved it. Brick with a fairy-tale cottage vibe, the house had been Molly’s home away from home for years. Danica had gotten rid of anything that reminded her of her marriage and redid the place so that it was now like a beach cottage getaway. Molly loved it.
Danica came to the door in her hot-pink fluffy bathrobe, her hair in a ponytail, her eyes red-rimmed, her face tear-streaked. She threw her arms around Molly. “I’m never dating again. That’s it. I give up.”
“Aww, I’m so sorry,” Molly said, slinging her free arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Let’s go dish these up,” she added, holding up the two pints of ice cream. “We’ll mix ’em.” Mixing was their tradition.
Danica nodded and sniffled and led the way to the kitchen. “I’m never dating again,” she repeated, throwing her hands up.
“Tell me everything,” Molly said, scooping out one pint while Danica did the other. With their bowls full of a scrumptious mix of chocolate-fudge-caramel-marshmallow and coffee-espresso-chip, they headed to the couch.
Danica flopped down and ate a bite. “Ahhh, so good. Okay, here goes the whole sorry story.” She took another spoonful of ice cream, then dabbed under her eyes. Molly was glad to see sparks of anger taking over the tears. “We met in the park and he seemed wonderful. Off we go with his adorable dog, Petey, who he tells me about rescuing from a crowded shelter all the way in Texas, where he used to live, and how he’s a former marine who did two tours in Afghanistan, and how now he volunteers twice a week with a program for boys who don’t have father figures.”
Hmm, did the welder sound a little too good to be true?
“I’m thinking he’s just amazing,” Danica continued. “I thought—finally—I feel something. Excitement and possibilities. We have such a great time. He asks me if I’d like to continue the date with dinner—at Matteo’s—that new pricey romantic Italian restaurant. So we both go home, and I prep for this date in all my glory. I get to the restaurant and he’s charming and wonderful, asking all about me, listening intently. Doesn’t cross a single Molly Orton line!”
Molly offered a smile. “I can see why you were excited about him.”
Danica ate two more spoonfuls of ice cream. “The bill comes and he reaches for his wallet and then gets all flustered and says, ‘I’m so embarrassed—I forgot my wallet.’ So I think nothing of it and say, ‘There’s no reason why you should pay for dinner just because you’re a man.’ He profusely apologizes and says he’ll more than make it up to me tomorrow night, if I’d be willing to see him again, in Prairie City for the new sushi bar that opened. Then a woman comes marching up to our table and demands to know who I am and she thought ‘Declan’ was visiting his sick mother. He told me his name was Jack! Oh, and turns out he’s married. And the dog? His neighbor’s.”
Molly shook her head. “Oh, foo, I’m so sorry.” After the last few dud dates Danica had, no wonder she felt so defeated by this con man.
The angry spark in her pretty blue eyes was once again replaced by tears welling. “He had me believing every word out of his lying mouth. I fell for everything. How can I trust anything anyone says again?”
“There are good guys out there,” Molly said, reaching for her friend’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’re playing a numbers game because you know you have to kiss frogs to find your Mr. Right. Tonight was a poisonous toad. One poisonous toad. Don’t let this jerk derail your faith in the good men out there.”
Danica seemed to consider that. “You’re right. And at least he didn’t con me out of more than just a dinner.” She sighed. “I think I’ll take a break from dating, though. Just for a little while. Unless the greatest guy on earth falls into my lap and passes every one of your tests.”
Uh-oh. Tomorrow, that guy would be Zeke.
Molly shoveled another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, barely tasting it.
“Thanks for coming over,” Danica said. “I feel a lot better.”
Molly hugged her friend. “Want to do seaweed face masks before I go?” Danica’s green face mask did for her friend what potato chips and onion dip did for Molly.
Danica laughed. “Of course I do. No more crying over frogs.”
Molly grinned and they headed off to the bathroom, where Danica’s tear-streaked face and red-rimmed eyes would be a thing of the past for her meeting tomorrow with a prince.