Page 11 of Stay for Me

She nodded, brushing some of her dark hair back. “I know. I just—” She cut herself off, looking to NJ. “I just wanted it up and running before her birthday.”

“That’s doable,” I told her, opening her file and grabbing her copy of the contract, handing it to her. “Also, while I’m thinking about it, when I was in Denver last week, I ran into my contractor. His schedule isn’t too full next year, and if you would like his information, I could get you his card.”

She looked at me, blinking. “You--you have a contractor?”

I nodded, completely oblivious to the look on her face. “He did my house renovations as well as my office.”

“Why did you hire a contractor when you have cowboys at your disposal?”

Oh, crap.

I bit the inside of my bottom lip, knowing I’d made a mistake. “Well…”

“Diana,” she scolded. “When did you do renovations?”

Darn.

Darn.

Darn.

I had so many cuss words on the tip of my tongue, but I withheld them, sticking to my resolution I’d made on New Years.

Valerie set the papers down beside her little one, crossed her arms, and then it was her turn to pin me with a look. Suddenly, I felt like I was in the principal’s office, getting reprimanded. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to the punch. “Denver told you to call him if you ever needed anything,” she reminded me, her mom voice taking over.

I managed to shove down the urge to wince. “Yes, I know.”

She arched one of her perfect brows. “Anything doesn’t just mean protection, Diana. It literally means anything.”

I looked to my feet, not knowing what to say. Denver had said that. Multiple times. He’d also said, again, multiple times, that I was a member of the family. This, of course, felt good, considering I wasn’t close with mine anymore.

However, I couldn’t gettooclose with Hallow Ranch.

For the sake of my own heart and sanity, I had to keep a reasonable distance from the cowboys—one in particular.

When I met Valerie’s green eyes again, I gave her a half-truth. “I didn’t want to bother anyone. Everyone here had so much going on last year. It seemed easier to hire out.” For added measure, I gave her a half-shrug.

Her eyes narrowed.

I smiled. “Promise.”

My friend sighed, shaking her head. “Yeah, well…don’t do it again,” she told me, smiling and pointing a finger at me.

“Considering I don’t plan on purchasing anymore property in my lifetime, I won’t be doing it again,” I replied smoothly. “Anyways, I didn’t come here for me. This meeting is about you. Did you still want me to look over your business plan?”

****

An hour later, I was sitting on the living room floor, my bare feet tucked underneath me as I gently brought NJ’s hands together, playing Patty Cake. Valerie was on the couch, legs crossed, smiling at us. NJ giggled as I began another round of the game.

“Patty cake, patty cake, baker man! Bake me a cake as fast as you can,” I sang, clapping the child’s hands together. “Roll it up! Roll it up! Throw it in the pan!”

“Di! Di! Di!” she shouted, giving me a smile that showed off her three front teeth.

“She loves you,” Valerie noted softly as I picked up a toy and handed it to NJ.

“I love her,” I said honestly, brushing some of NJ’s dark hair back. “So what’s been going on in cowboy land? Have the twins been getting up to anything stupid?”

Valerie took a deep breath, blowing it out through puffed cheeks. Then, realization hit her. “Holy crap, I forgot to tell you about Abbie.”

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