Page 47 of The Cowboy Fix

Not wanting to admit to Sylvia that she may have just made the worst, reckless mistake of her life, she said, “I’m fine, Mom.”

Sylvia had that look in her eyes. The same one she’d had when she caught Izzy kissing Evan Fuller at her high school prom. Her mom had arrived early to pick her up. With the instincts of a suspicious parent, she’d found her daughter and the geeky chess player tucked away in a corner barely coming up for air.

Izzy had been so embarrassed by being caught and by the disappointed look Sylvia didn’t even try to hide, she was in college before she thought about kissing a boy again.

Sylvia waved her over. “I’ll take those.” The groceries she was clutching to her chest. “Did I see you kissing Nathan Lohmen?”

“Maybe,” she answered slowly. But by the grin spreading across her mom’s face, she was teasing, not scolding. “Oh, all right, yes.”

The days of being embarrassed at being caught kissing a boy... they were long gone. Still, it didn’t hurt to redirect Sylvia. “Have you kissed George?”

Sylvia’s expression went dreamy. “He’s a good kisser.”

“Mom!”

“Well, he is.” Sylvia grinned playfully at Izzy. “Are things getting serious between you and Nathan?”

“No. We’ve talked about this, Mom. He’s a good guy and I like him, but our lives are not heading in the same direction.”

Sylvia eased the grocery bag from her grip. “Does Nathan know you feel that way?”

“I’m sure he knows. I haven’t kept my plans secret.” Was he thinking that their kiss meant more than it did?

Stay calm.

They made muffins and talked about everything except what was foremost on Izzy’s mind.

Nathan kissed her!

There was no reason to get excited over a simple lip lock, even though afterward it had sounded like he was asking her to stay.

*

After putting themuffins in the oven, her mom took Izzy’s hand. “You know I’ve always tried to stay out of your business—”

Izzy arched her brows.

“Okay, for the most part.” Sylvia laughed. “But can I make one suggestion before I leave tomorrow?”

Nodding, Izzy squeezed her mom’s hand.

“You’ve been working very hard since you got out of college. Maybe it’s time to take a break before you leave here for your next job. I’m sure the Lohmens would let you stay as long as you like. The ranch would be a good place to catch your breath before deciding where to go from here.”

Part of her wanted to take her mom’s advice. The other part wasn’t sure she could take a so-called break. Especially with Nathan living next door. She gave her mom a weak smile. “I’ll think about it.”

After Sylvia had packed and gone to bed, Izzy lay awake, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about their conversation and Nathan’s kiss. She shouldn’t stay, should she? Even for a brief respite. She didn’t want Nathan to become her whole world. She hadn’t fallen that hard for Jim, but she’d thought he could be her sunrise and sunset. She just wasn’t sure she could let herself go there again.

And she didn’t want to give up her life’s plan. Did she?

*

The next morning,with the sun coming up over the horizon, Izzy hugged her mom goodbye and then watched Sylvia drive off on her next adventure. Her mom had spent years as a single parent, determined to give her only child a foundation she could not only rely on but lean on too. With Izzy well established, it was Sylvia’s turn now. In so many ways, she envied her mother.

Maybe her mom was right. She ran her own business andcouldtake a break and see what came rolling up to her door.

Looking back on the incident, it wasn’t hard to see that she’d overreacted to Nathan’s kiss. So, a handsome rancher kissed her—and what a kiss it was. That didn’t mean she had to get her feathers all ruffled. Her unexpected panic did mean she should apologize to the cowboy for reacting like a naïve schoolgirl.

For heaven’s sake, Izzy chided herself. She’d kissed men before. And she’d come within a hair’s breadth of getting married. It wasn’t like she was that inexperienced. She thought of the muffins on the kitchen counter and had an idea. The next thing she knew she was knocking on the main house door, carrying a plate of napkin-wrapped muffins.

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