“I’ll be there soon. Stargazer Springs can wait until tomorrow.”
“Dallas, you don’t have to?—”
“I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. Ever.” I might not be dating this woman for real, but I care about her. And when she’s upset, I’ll do my best to fix it.
She gives a short, amused huff. “All right.”
I want to stay on the phone while I drive, but I should let the guys at the ranch know I won’t make it to the meet and greet. “I’ll call you back in about two minutes, okay?”
“Sure thing.”
I end the call and punch Anderson’s name. His is close to the top, just below Rose, so it’s easiest to call him.
“Hey, Dallas. You coming this way? Ava is setting out some amazing-looking desserts.”
“I can imagine, but I’m not going to make it. Will you let Clint know? I want to meet the new guy, but Rose sounded kinda upset when I called.”
“I’ll let Clint know. And Carson is super cool. You’ll like him. I hope everything is okay with Rose. If you need anything, you have my number.”
“Thanks, Anderson.” I hang up and call Rose back.
“Hello again. You’re on speaker phone. I’m chopping lettuce and tomato. That was quick. Was it even two minutes?”
“Not sure. I didn’t check the time. And please be careful chopping while you talk.”
She laughs. “It’s like you know me, Dallas. Oh, say hi to Floofy. He’s sitting on the floor by my feet, staring up at the counter. I think he’s trying to figure out where you are.”
“Hey, fuzzy. I’ll be there soon to give you a good scratch. Don’t jump on the counters. That’s a no-no. Plus, I don’t want cat hair in my tacos.” I’m glad I’m alone in the truck because my friends would wonder what happened to the real Dallas. I’m not known for chatting with kittens over the phone. Or using the word no-no.
“Eww.” Rose laughs. “Cat hair tacos sound awful.”
“Agreed.”
While I drive, she tells me about her day. It would be easy to get lost in the sound of her melodic voice, but I listen intently, making mental notes as she talks. From these daily updates, I’ve gleaned useful information about Rose. She doesn’t like mustard. She picks onions off her hamburgers. She prefers her burgers with cheese. But not swiss. She’ll eat it, but it’s not her favorite. She likes gruyere, but she doesn’t like the way it smells. And she loves pickles but has never had them fried.
I figure that by the end of six months, I’ll know more than a thousand random facts about her. And I’m enjoying accumulating them.
When I pull into the driveway, she steps onto the front porch. As I stride up the steps, a car door slams behind me, and surprise registers in Rose’s expression.
She makes eye contact with me and mouths one word. Mom.
And that means it’s time to play my part. Cupping Rose’s cheek with one hand, I lean in and press my lips to hers. My intention is to give her a quick kiss, but when her arms snake around my neck, I draw out the greeting and pull her close. She doesn’t seem to care that I’m stinky and sweaty, and her cool fingers trailing along the back of my neck are heating up my insides.
Mrs. Potts clears her throat, and Rose breaks the kiss.
“Mom! I’m surprised to see you.” Rose hasn’t given her parents this address, so the unexpected visit is a shock.
Mrs. Potts gives me a death glare as she steps up beside me. The woman is taller than I am, and normally that would bother me, but I think my lack of height makes the fact that Rose chose me even more irritating to her. And that is oddly satisfying.
“I came to finish our conversation since you hung up on me.” She crosses her arms. “Are you going to let me in?”
Rose pulls the door closed. “We can talk here. My answer won’t be any different than when we spoke earlier.”
Mrs. Potts looks at me. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her. We have a family trip planned for Thanksgiving. Tickets are purchased and everything. But Rose refuses to go.”
I shift behind Rose and slip an arm around her waist. “I guess she doesn’t want to go.”
“Before you showed up, family mattered to Rose. And maybe you grew up in a dysfunctional home and don’t think family is important, but Rose wasn’t brought up that way.”