Page 61 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

Paisley had obviously left in a hurry. There were a few articles of clothing scattered on the unmade bed and on the floor. A mostly empty roller-case lay open on the bed. A jumble of makeup and jewelry boxes and a bag of first, second, and third place ribbons covered her dresser top.

He blinked. Looked like she was planning to return, as she hadn’t cleared out completely. Unless she might abandon all this? That didn’t seem likely, but what did he know?

“Over here.” Cadence pointed at a huge bulletin board that hung behind the door. Photos, brochures, business cards, and hand-scrawled notes were plastered to the entire surface, revealing only slivers of the cork behind them.

Weston studied the array and scratched his neck. “Wow.”

“I know, right?” Cadence laughed. “She has a very unique brain and a very unique organization system. I don’t know what to tell you, except that it works for her.”

It was going to have to work for Weston, too, or he had no hope of helping her pull off the festivities. “Mind if I take a photo of this?”

“Go for it. And if you want to move the bulletin board to your place, that’s fine, too.”

And what if Paisley returned and found he’d done that? Weston shook his head. “I might need to later, but for now, I’m hoping the real info is in the file folder.” He lifted his phone and snapped several closeups as well as shots of the entire board.

“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Cadence followed him back to the front door.

Weston turned to face his cousin’s fiancée. “No, but I don’t think I have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice. Trust me, I know that better than most.”

“Point taken, but still.” He hesitated, studying Cadence’s face. “I know she had to go see her mother, but if I can help keep some of the balls she’s juggling up in the air, I’ll do that. I want her to be able to come back and feel good about it.”

Smirking, Cadence shook her head. “I wouldn’t have believed it if you weren’t standing right here, telling me this yourself. You have totally fallen for my roommate.”

Admitting it was coming easier. First to Ranger, then to Paisley herself, then to Grandfather, Mom, and then Tate. What was one more person? “You’re right.”

“I knew it!” She pumped her fist into the air. “And I’m on your side, cowboy. Truly. I’ll help you sort out this mess if you need it. Pulling off a cohesive holiday weekend will make my social media job so much easier. Oh, if you need numbers sorted out, Graham can help, too.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate that.” Ugh. Weston wasn’t accustomed to emotions. He wasn’t about to turn them loose now, no matter how deeply Cadence’s words delved to his core. He jostled the folder, careful to keep the ends pinned shut. “I guess I have my work cut out for me.”

“You do! Is Darrell handling the stables?”

“Yes.” Did Cadence think Weston was shirking his duties? There was more than one kind of flying. Jude might think the type in the wild blue yonder called his name, but Weston was settling in for a different sort of soaring: the one that meant he’d leap into the unknown with only Paisley’s folder as a beacon.

He might crash and burn.

But he was going to give it his best go. Thanks to Grandfather, Weston had a shiny laptop that he’d barely used since acquiring it last spring. The stable had its own system, so this had been some sort of ‘welcome to the family’ gift. Good thing Weston had a rudimentary knowledge of how to create documents and spreadsheets… if he could remember the details.

He strode down Hummingbird Lane to his own unit closer to the lake. With no roommate, he could spread all this out in his unused loft and try to figure out where Paisley’s brain had taken her.

Weston scoffed lightly as he pushed his door open. As if anyone could figure out what Paisley was thinking if she didn’t want them to. She changed her mind a dozen times an hour when something more enticing wandered in.

Except him. She’d narrowed her focus on him over a year ago and, if she’d had second thoughts, it hadn’t showed. No, she hadn’t left the ranch because of him. She’d just neglected to let him know.

Yeah, he was grasping at straws, but what else was he supposed to do? Chase her to Phoenix? A serious temptation, but it was a big city, and he had no idea how to find her there. He’d had Tate check her home address in the employee files, and she’d given Vail, Colorado. Kait’s phone number was listed under next-of-kin — with no address — but Weston would only call her as a last resort.

No. He’d give Paisley a day or two to figure out what was happening with her mother. Meanwhile, he’d try to figure out where things were at for the festivities and see if he could make some progress.

And he’d pray.

Surely God would hear his prayers, since they were for someone else. Weston didn’t need anything he didn’t already have.

Unless Paisley never came back.

I miss you. Call me when you have a minute.

Paisley scanned the list of Weston’s texts. They were all along the same lines. Of all the people and places she’d ever left behind, Weston stung the most. If only she could have stuck around to see how things had turned out between them. He had some hang-ups — and now he knew for sure she did, too — but he’d come a long way in the past few weeks.

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