Page 33 of A Gift for the Hopeful Cowboy

Now she felt sick to her stomach, and she didn’t know what to do.

Was there a way to circumvent what he was going to tell her? If he wanted something more out of his life here, then she could help make that happen. Couldn’t she?

She swallowed back the anxiety that threatened to implode within her. Until he actually said anything to her, she wouldn’t overreact. Pippa had a good head on her shoulders. She’d always been able to look at things logically. There had to be something causing Rob to act this way and she simply had to figure out what it was.

In the restaurant, she pulled some dough out of the fridge for the breadsticks they needed tomorrow. She slapped the dough on the counter and rolled it out with harsh movements. While she worked, she went over everything Rob had said to her before he disappeared. There was no evidence that he had lied to her about being busy. Clearly, the phone call was work-related.

The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t help but go back to what Rob was like when they were younger. He’d wanted freedom, to be able to do what he wanted when he wanted. Was it possible he’d reverted back to that preference?

Rob’s presence here in town was because he wanted to get out from his father’s shadow. Sweet Bloom could very well have been a stepping stone to finding himself.

Her stomach dropped. That made perfect sense. Rob wanted more out of life because he felt stuck.

Stuck at the ranch.

Stuck with her.

Pippa fought the surge of emotion. It wasn’t bad to be stuck somewhere. She loved living here. Maybe all he needed was a way to feel important. Her frustration grew the more she thought about it. If that was what Rob was dealing with, then he was behaving selfishly.

She rolled out the dough and placed it on the tray for proofing.

“You… okay?”

Her head snapped up to find the hostess hovering a few feet away. Pippa blinked. “Of course. What did you need?”

The hostess gave her dough a pointed look. “It’s just that I didn’t think the dough did anything to deserve to be treated like that.”

Pippa looked down once more at her dough and let out an embarrassed laugh. “The dough is fine. It still has plenty of time to rise. It’s a fail-proof recipe.”

“Okay,” she drawled, “but you might want to take it easy. No one likes dense breadsticks.” She picked up a stack of menus that had been cleaned and were waiting to be taken out to the restaurant.

A sigh burst from between Pippa’s lips and she turned her back to lean against the counter. The hostess was right. She shouldn’t be working if she was going to take her frustration out on the food.

She needed to get some air. There was too much going on right now between the approaching holidays, her business, and the issues with Rob. She put everything away and got in her car with the intention of driving home, only she ended up passing her building and driving toward Luke’s house.

It wasn’t until she was knocking on the door that she realized what had drawn her here in the first place. Allie opened the door, a confused smile on her face.

“Pippa? What are you doing here?”

Everything that had been overwhelming Pippa all morning crashed down on her, and it was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears. “Can we go for a walk?”

Allie glanced over her shoulder and nodded. “Of course.”

“I’m sorry, were you busy? I don’t want to take you away?—”

“Nonsense.” Her friend dismissed her with a wave of her hand. “What are best friends for?” She moved out of the house and shut the door behind her.

Pippa released a sad-sounding laugh. “Lately it feels like we haven’t been able to talk about much.”

“I know, right?” Allie nodded as they headed down the porch steps. “It’s crazy how life can sweep us up, chew us to bits, and spit us out.” She glanced at Pippa with concern. “You gonna tell me what’s going on? Or do I have to guess? Because I’m not the best at that and you know it.”

Pippa couldn’t bring herself to smile. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she tried to find the words for what she was dealing with. “I’m probably being overdramatic. I don’t even know why I’m dragging you into it.”

“You’re not dragging me into anything. You’ve always been there for me when I needed help. I’m happy to give you advice when you ask for it. I’m also here if you want to vent. Whatever it is, lay it on me.”

Taking in a deep breath, Pippa nodded. “You remember that day we were chatting by the well and I told you about Rob?”

“Sure.”

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