Page 13 of Reaching Little Robyn

Robyn relaxed and laughed. “Why do I have the feeling you’d be paying for those fries with a red butt if your Daddy finds out?”

“Because you are one very smart lady.” Hayleigh snagged another fry before adding, “And stop slapping at me. I’ll pay you back when mine come. But seriously, you really don’t haveany reason to worry about tomorrow. Your place is more than fabulous.”

“Thanks to you.” Robyn believed in giving credit where credit was due. “Not only is it all ready, everyone is going to see just how talented you are. You have a keen eye for interior design. Sometimes when you showed me a sketch, a fabric sample or a cute drawer pull, I’d wonder if you knew me better than I knew myself.”

“I just love it. You were a great client and so much fun to work with. If you can even call it work. Design is like playing dress up only it’s not confined to clothes. Paint colors, furniture, lighting, all the little knick-knacks. It’s like choosing all the different types of candy and building your very own gingerbread house. And as for knowing you better than you know yourself, that comes from being your friend.””

Robyn smiled, the vision of her B&B popping up as if she were looking directly at it. “You’re right, though gingerbread is brown rather than yellow.”

“Who cares? Yellow is a happy color. Anyone who doesn’t want to wake up in a place that resembles the sun rising over the mountains doesn’t deserve to stay there.”

“I won’t argue with that.” Robyn lifted her glass and clinked it against Hayleigh’s newly delivered shake. They took sips and then Robyn took a big bite of her grilled cheese, her moan causing Hayleigh’s eyebrows to shoot to her hairline.

“Wow, that moan alone would have me ordering whatever caused it except that I already did,” Hayleigh said, taking a bite of her own sandwich. “Hmm, maybe you got more ooey gooey cheese than I did because while it’s delicious, I can’t say I feel the big ‘O’ coming on.”

“Hayleigh!” Robyn said, her eyes darting around the café.

“Relax, this is Rawhide, remember. You’re not going to find the orgasm police breathing down your neck. Well, not unlessyou meet someone climax-worthy at the Meet and Greet.” Pausing, she took another bite, using her fingers to guide a long string of melted cheese into her mouth. “Perhaps a certain cowboy?”

“He’s still here?” Robyn asked before remembering she wasn’t interested. “Never mind, I’m not even going to the party.”

“Why not, pray tell?”

“Because I’ve got tons of things to do to get ready for tomorrow.”

Hayleigh shook her finger at Robyn. “Now who’s flirting with a burning butt? You just said everything is ready to go. Fibbing will have you over any Daddy’s lap in a heartbeat.”

“Good thing I don’t have a Daddy then, isn’t it?” Robyn retorted, ignoring the fact her delicious sandwich was threatening to turn into a ball of lead in her tummy.

Hayleigh’s hand dropped to cover Robyn’s. “You’re going to find the perfect Daddy, I promise.”

“How can you promise that? Have you got some ideal man hidden up your sleeves?”

“No, I just know that this is the most perfect place on the planet to find a Daddy. Sometimes, you aren’t even looking and the one meant just for you falls into your lap. Or you fall into his.”

Robyn shook her head, blinking hard. “You know I love you, but you are crazy. If you think I’m going to magically fall for some man named Rooster, you are out of your gourd.”

“You’re telling me that you’d give up the man that had you all googly eyed just because you don’t like his name?”

“Of course not,” Robyn denied vehemently. “It’s just that, he… he didn’t do anything for me.”

“Other than save your life?”

“That doesn’t bind me to him forever,” Robyn said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he did but he’s the reason I choked to beginwith so it was sort of his responsibility to make sure he didn’t murder me.”

Hayleigh shook her head. “Girlfriend, you might be able to make sense of that, but I know better. I’ve worked with you for months now and I’ve never seen you light up like you did when that man walked into the room.”

“Roosters don’t walk, they strut,” Robyn said before reaching over to snag an entire fistful of fries from Hayleigh’s basket.

“Oh wow, you’ve got it bad,” Hayleigh said, not even reacting to the uneven exchange of fries.

“Can we talk about something else?” Robyn asked before stuffing one fry after another into her mouth.

“Sure. What time do you want me there tomorrow?”

The women spent the next half hour discussing the opening of the B&B as they finished their dinner. “I already have a few guests arriving,” Robyn said as she slurped the last of her milkshake.

“The first of many.” Hayleigh smiled. “I’m telling you, you’ll be turning away people in no time. We’ve needed a place where guests could come visit family without having to step onto the Ranch if they aren’t into the lifestyle. I bet you’re going to make a whole lot of grandparents happier than a kid in a candy store.”

---