Page 40 of The Cowboy Fix

There was still a lot to do if she was going to get the Triple L back on financial track. Kicking Nathan Lohmen off her to-do list—how he had gotten there in the first place she didn’t know—Izzy stepped back to take in the whole garden. While she was at it, she took a mental step forward to focus on her dream for the future. “This looks great. I see the boys laid out a drip water line too. They won’t have to come up here to water every day. Let’s check out the inside.”

They went into the cottage. New furnishings made the space as comfortable and cozy as Izzy had imagined it would be.

“Lovely,” Sylvia stopped beside Izzy. “Malorie said she was going to add some personal touches. The drapes and those pillows are perfect.”

Izzy checked out the tiny kitchen area and bathroom. The soft blue and green additions were perfect. If ever she got married, this is where she would want to tie the knot. It was small but intimate. Exactly the opposite of what Jim had pushed her into planning. “All we have to do now is get the word out that The Wedding Cottage is open for business.”

“I can do that for you.” Her surprise must have shown because her mother clarified, “Before I leave. I want to help.”

And to nag her about Nathan no doubt, but for some reason, Izzy was okay with that. She could handle any shenanigans Sylvia sent her way.

“I’ve got flyers at the guesthouse. I was going to take them to businesses around town this afternoon. Malorie says there’s a new teahouse in town. I can’t wait to check it out.”

“I’m coming with you.” Sylvia headed for the door. “We’ll need to change our clothes.”

On the way to her Range Rover, Izzy stopped long enough to ensure all the tools were picked up in the garden. “You don’t think our work clothes are good enough?” she teased.

Her mom made a funny face. Izzy laughed. Sylvia had been the one to teach her about having a personal brand. Neither one of them ever went anywhere without the right attire.

They were entering the guesthouse when Izzy remembered to ask, “What do you think Nathan’s brand is?”

She noticed his truck wasn’t parked in its usual spot. She hoped his meeting was going well.

“Working cowboy,” Sylvia said as she glanced over her shoulder at Izzy like it was the only choice.

And her mom was right. She’d have to play with some images when they got back from delivering the flyers but a cowboy riding a horse was the first image that came to her mind.

She quickly changed and was waiting for her mom when Sylvia came downstairs dressed in a forest green dress that gathered in at the waist and fell gracefully to her knees. Her dark red hair curled at her shoulders. She carried a small hat and clutch that matched her dress.

Knowing her mom would dress for a pleasant afternoon meeting town merchants, Izzy had selected a sleeveless dress similar to Sylvia’s, light blue with white and pale yellow flowers. Her hat was a straw sun hat with matching flowers on the narrow brim. She slung a light blue purse over her shoulder.

“Ready?”

“You look lovely,” Sylvia said with a smile.

Izzy winked at her mom. This was a game they liked to play—going out on the town together to visit a local tearoom. “So do you.”

She handed Sylvia the box of flyers and off they went. First stop, the Chamber of Commerce, then the library, Booklover’s Hideaway, and theStrawberry Ridge Journalwhere Izzy put in an ad to run for three weeks for The Wedding Cottage. It was entertaining having her mother by her side. Sylvia Payton never met a stranger.

She could do this. The more she and Sylvia walked from business to business on Main, the more she fell in love with the town and the shop owners who were happy to put the flyers on their counters where customers could see them.

With just a few flyers left and content that they’d talked to as many merchants as they could, Izzy followed the directions to the Rose Tea Emporium on Main and Thirteenth given to her at the Chamber of Commerce. The older Victorian-style house that had been converted into the Emporium looked brand new. It was a light sage green with white elegant trim, and had a porch that hosted outdoor seating. All the tables were occupied.

A leaded glass transom mirrored the colorful stained glass in the upper half of the double doors. Bushes of lavender and blue hydrangeas flanked the wide steps up to the porch.

The beauty of the restoration caught Izzy’s breath. “Wow.”

“This is stunning,” Sylvia agreed, stopping to smell the hydrangeas. “There’s a lot of cars parked in front. I hope they have room for two more guests.”

Inside a lady dressed in a slender Victorian dress layered in pale yellow lace approached them. “Welcome, I’m Elizabeth Green, owner of the Emporium. I’m afraid we don’t have any tables left.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Everything about the Emporium was charming, from the wood-paneled walls, the antique tables and chairs, the sideboard displaying delicate tea sets, to the lacy curtains at the windows. “Actually, we stopped by because we’re hoping to leave these flyers with you. The Lohmen brothers are opening a wedding venue on their ranch, The Wedding Cottage, and we’re trying to get the word out.” Izzy gave Elizabeth one of the flyers.

“You don’t mean Nathan Lohmen, do you?” Elizabeth asked with a smile.

“Yes, do you know him?”

“I helped Elizabeth with the renovations on this place,” a familiar deep voice said behind Izzy.

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