Page 41 of Love Me Fearless

Shit, that’s soon. I take a slow breath, thinking this through. Saturday, I’m meeting my parents at the diner for breakfast, and I had planned to stop at Louisa’s too. But if I put meeting Chris off until his next visit, I’ll just stew on it. Better to get it over with.

Would Sunday work?

I’ll make it work

I blink at the screen. He doesn’t even know me, yet it sounds like he’s willing to rearrange whatever he had going to meet up. I shouldn’t let it impress me, but it sort of does. It is a sign my bar has sunk too low?

Or maybe it’s just been a really long time since…

I think of my cowboy romances and the dog-eared pages I revisit with my trusty helper. My last steady was a fellow med student, and though our weekly hookups were fervent and fun, it was just physical.

With a sigh, I push my messy thoughts aside.

After Chris and I agree on a time, I lock up the building and after a stop at the grocery store, head home. When I get there, the new deadbolt in my door practically glows in the evening light. Hutch must have also adjusted the porch light settings, because it blinks on automatically when I climb the steps.

Inside, I secretly hope for a hint of his scent or some indicator he’s been here, but my house is quiet and still, with sunlight streaking through the windows. On the oval dining room table, two new keys sit side by side along with the house key he borrowed. No note. I slip one of the deadbolt keys onto my keyring and tuck the spare and my extra house key into the junk drawer.

I bring in the two bags of groceries, but when I open my freezer to put away my frozen burritos, stacked neatly in a row are six containers of coffee fudge chunk.

What the hell? I stare for a moment, then whip out my phone.

Hutch answers on the second ring.

“How much ice cream do you think I eat?”

He gives a soft grunt. “Now you won’t run out.”

I wrap my free arm around my middle but it doesn’t keep my insides from fluttering. “Thank you.”

“Deadbolt work okay for you?”

“Yes. Themotion sensor light, too. I’ve been meaning to do that.”

“Good.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

The silence turns awkward. Asking him to come over or meet me for a run or a hundred other ways to spend time together all get lodged in my throat at once.

“How’s Louisa?” I finally manage.

“Ornery,” he says with a sigh. “Where do I find more of those cowboy romances? They are the only thing keeping her on the couch.”

This makes me smile. “Has she read the ‘Cowboys of Creedence’ yet?”

There’s a pause where I think he’s muffled the phone to ask her. “Yes.”

“Hmm. I’ll do some research.”

“Thank you.”

I think about the nightmare Beth told me about.

“Big plans tonight, Greely?” he asks before I can figure out how to bring it up.

I smile into the phone. The first time he called me that was gym class in fifth grade. We were doing a fitness test, and I was halfway up the rope bolted to the ceiling, my arms burning and my determination faltering. No girl had made it to the top, and I wanted to be the first.

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