Page 21 of The Cowboy Fix

Her phone rang.

“Hey there,” Malorie said into her ear when she answered without checking to see who the caller was. She was still watching Nathan. “How are things going?”

“Which things?” she asked, not especially ready to tell even her best friend about her day with Nathan and how his quiet company had been just what she needed to inspire her creative juices.

Maybe her mother was right. Even though Sylvia kept herself on the go all the time, lately she’d been telling Izzy she should think about slowing down a bit.

Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black, Mom?Izzy had asked.

Probably, her mom said.I haven’t set a good example, have I?

Izzy would settle down and plant roots when she was ready or when her mother did, whichever came first.

“The job? Nathan?” Mal said, the smile in her voice coming clearly across the line.

“Everything’s going fine.” Izzy stepped away from the window. Normally she and Malorie told each other everything. Not this time. Not until Nathan talked to his brothers. Her work for this particular client was between her and the Lohmen brothers. “How’s New York?”

“It’s been fun. We’ve taken the kids to see the Empire State Building, the 9/11 Memorial, the Statue of Liberty. And we went to the zoo at Central Park. I think we’re all ready to come home. Especially the kids. They’re missing the horses. And Nathan, of course. Any progress with my future brother-in-law?”

Izzy glanced out the window again. Nathan was slowly walking toward the house. “Some. I have an idea or two up my sleeve.”

“That sounds promising. Do tell,” Malorie said with a laugh. Izzy could hear the kids and Blake talking excitedly in the background.

Nathan looked up at her as if he’d heard her response to Malorie. Izzy waved at him. Even though he couldn’t know who she was talking to, there was no point in giving him the idea that she was blabbing his business by moving back until he couldn’t see her. “I have a cat.”

“A cat?” Malorie was just as surprised as Izzy was when Nathan had given her the cute little animal.

When he went into the house, she sat on the couch. “Crazy, right? What am I going to do with a cat?”

“I don’t remember you ever having a pet. How did that happen?” Malorie must have found a quiet place because the voices in the background quieted.

“Her mom is a barn cat and she’s still a baby. Her name is Cookie.” Izzy studied her fingernails, then shrugged. “I might have mentioned to Nathan that I wanted a cat.”

“I see.” A bed creaked in Izzy’s ear.

“I know. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Malorie laughed. “My guess is that you were thinking you wanted a cat.”

“She’s so cute, I can’t give her back.” She would just figure out how to take Cookie wherever her next job took her.

In a more serious tone, Malorie changed the subject. “Have you heard from your mom?”

“I’ll probably hear from her when she gets back to Portland.” It made her a little anxious for her mom to be out of touch, but Izzy had known the friends she was traveling with for years. They would call if her mom’s health went downhill.

“Don’t worry. It’s been my experience that no news is good news.” Nurse Malorie knew Izzy too well.

“I’d better let you go so you can play with your family.” For the first time, she was envious of her friend and the family she was building. “I want to check on Cookie before I make dinner.”

“Are you having dinner with Nathan?” Malorie asked slyly.

Snorting, Izzy jumped to her feet. “Of course not.”

“Don’t be so insulted. I admit he’s a bit on the cranky side, but he’s nothing like Jim, and you might like having dinner, just the two of you.”

“Goodbye, Mal.”

“Goodbye, Iz.” the disconnect cut off Malorie’s laughter.

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