Page 65 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

“She’s stable again, they said. One of these times, she won’t be so lucky.” Kait’s headshake was barely visible in the faint light from down the hallway. “I envy you sometimes.”

“Me?” Paisley couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice. “There’s nothing to be jealous of, trust me.” But wasn’t there? Jesus… if He was real. Weston… if he was.

“You’re so different since you got religion. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you walk, in everything.”

“You can?”

“Yeah.” Kait picked at a slubby bit on the blanket. “I wish I had hope. I wish I believed things could ever be better, but it seems a big leap from where we are right now. That whole thing with Mom, but also my job. You and Amelia are off doing things, and I’m just… stuck.”

“I ran away.”

“I wished I could, but it seemed someone needed to keep an eye on Mom.” Kait snorted. “Fat lot of good that did.”

“I was a coward. You were brave.”

“Funny how I see it just the opposite. You broke free. That took courage. It’s cowardly to stay put like a turtle who refuses to stick their head out of the shell.”

“Shells are there for a purpose. If turtles are separated from their shells, they die.”

“They do?”

“Yeah.” Turtle shells were only one of the millions of trails Paisley’s brain had taken her down over the years. “Are you sure Mom’s going to be okay until morning? Should we go now?” And hope Earl had exited the building when visitor hours ended.

“They won’t let us in at this time of night.”

“Then why did they phone?”

Kait shrugged. “So, we’d know, I guess.”

“Maybe we should try to get some sleep.” Total lost cause. Kait had woken Paisley from a sound sleep, and drifting back after this conversation wasn’t likely. She’d had just enough ZZZs for her mind to kick into overdrive again. Yay.

“You’re right.” The bedsprings creaked as they released Kait’s weight.

“I might make myself a cup of tea, though.”

“Hmm, chamomile does sound soothing. I’ll put the kettle on.”

That’d be the day Paisley drank an herbal tea when there was caffeine to be had. Earl Grey had never let her down yet, unlike Papa Earl. Grr. She’d never let that sperm supplier taint the name of the Earl she truly loved.

There might be another lesson, but Paisley wasn’t going down that road right now. She threw off the light covers, spent a few minutes in the restroom, then met her sister in the kitchen, where Kait dropped chamomile teabags into two mugs.

“I’ll have Earl Grey, please, if you have any.”

Kait frowned as she turned. “All that caffeine will keep you awake.”

“Never has yet.”

“Well, okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. I take it strong and black, day or night.”

Kait opened the Earl Grey box and exchanged the teabags. “It’s your life.”

Yeah, it was. A life she’d messed up so many times. She’d wandered the West and taken whatever odd jobs showed up when she needed one. Was it a sign of maturity that she’d worked two winters at the same ski resort and was on her third summer at Sweet River Ranch? Although, she was likely out of a job come Monday morning when they needed someone with boots on the ground in Montana, not sandals on the red rocks of Arizona.

She was a total screw-up.

Earl Grey wasn’t going to keep her from sleeping the rest of the night. That was going to be thanks to the other Earl.

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