Page 33 of From Rivals to I Do

“Sounds like you love animals,” I reply.

“Sure do,” Eli says with a nod.

“Makes me miss my little farm, before the divorce,” I say, and I feel my spirits sag a little. All this talk about his animals reminding me a bit of what I’d lost.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Eli says with a frown. “How big was the farm?”

“I mean, probably small to you, but big to me,” I say with a chuckle. “I had a couple of cows, a pen of chickens, no pigs. Joseph hated those.”

“Joseph?”

“Oh, sorry, my ex-husband,” I say, feeling embarrassed that I even brought him up again.

“Ah, I gotcha,” Eli replies.

“But, uh, what I miss most is my Laney,” I say with a sigh as I grip my coffee cup, and the waitress comes by with our food. “She was a full dapple gray, and so sweet.”

“Those are beautiful horses for sure,” Eli replies. I reach for the creamer, and as I do, he reaches for the sugar, and his hand brushes against mine, instantly sending a thrilling chill up my arm. Goosebumps pile up my arms as he shoots me a smile, and I shyly smile back.

“You know, if you ever need a boarding place, I’ve got you,” he says.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I reply, butterflies rustling through my belly.

We spend a lot of time shooting the breeze as we eat, talking about our lives, work, and everything in between. Though the beginning seemed like it was headed for a disaster since he’d recognized me as ‘the pie girl’, I’m delighted at how wonderfully it’s going.

It’s been a long time since I’ve talked with anyone like this, I think to myself as a faint buzzing sound comes from his direction.

“Excuse me,” he says as he pulls his phone from his breast pocket. “It’s one of my boys, and I got to take this.”

“No worries,” I say as I sit there, eating the last few bites of my waffles and fruit as he nods and talks.

“Well, just hold tight the best ya can, Zack,” he says to whomever is on the phone. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Your son, I take it?” I ask as he hangs up the phone and puts it back in his pocket.

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Eli says with a sigh. “My one cow is going into labor, and the vet had told us it may be twins. . . so Zack is nervous about me not being there.”

“Oh my gosh! That is a big deal,” I gasp.

“Yeah, I got to call the doc and everything, get him over there,” Eli replies. “I’m just sorry I have to cut out of here early.”

“Don’t be,” I insist. “I’ve had a lovely time.”

“Me too,” Eli says with a sigh. “Even if you did hit me with a pie the other day,” he jokes with a wink, and we both end up laughing so loud the people around us stare. But I don’t care. This is the happiest I’ve been in a long while, and they can gawk if they want to.

“You’re never going to let me live that down, huh?” I ask.

“Nope,” Eli says with a smirk as he gets up from the table, surprising me when he sets a hundred dollars down for our thirty-dollar bill. “You know, you should come by sometime. I got plenty of horses for you to ride if you’re missing it.”

“You know, I might have to take you up on that,” I reply.

“Well, what are you doing on Valentine’s Day?” Eli asks.

“Oh! Um, nothing really,” I reply. “I mean I work ‘til seven. Why?”

“Well, I was wondering if you’d want to go to dinner,” Eli replies. “I know eight is a bit late, but I’d really like to take you out if you’d like to go.”

“I would love to,” I say with a smile as Eli puts his cowboy hat back on.

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