Page 17 of Boston
“You should stop by his office,” Momma said. “And set something up.”
“Okay,” Cora said.
“I know you’re meeting with Jeremy tomorrow.” Momma flipped a page in her paper calendar.
“Yes,” Cora confirmed. “I wanted to go over things with Patrick and Anne first.” She tucked her phone away and gazed into her mother’s eyes. “Oh, and I’m meeting with Boston later today too.”
Momma nodded, her expression giving nothing away. Cora thought she’d been pretty obvious yesterday, and she’d texted Boston within an hour of returning to Silver Sage, but Momma didn’t seem like she’d noticed.
Kat hadn’t been on the excursion on Wicker Road, and Cora would have to tell Jeremy outright for him to realize that she’dbeen attracted to Boston. With a jolt, she wondered if she’d have to do the same for Boston.
Men couldn’t always read the signs, and Cora hadn’t started a new relationship in years. For all she knew, the rules of the dating game were totally different than they’d been before, and the fact that she wasn’t in Miami also changed things.
Who knew how dating even worked in Wyoming?
Not Cora.
“What are you and Boston going to talk about?” Momma asked.
Cora pulled out a chair and sank into it. “I want him to give me the lay of the land,” she said. “Not an overview, like what I’m going to get from Jeremy, but what itreallytakes to run specific excursions—the personnel, the timelines, the equipment, that kind of thing.”
“I’m sure Jeremy could help with that too,” Momma said.
“I’m sure,” Cora agreed. “But he doesn’t do any of that work right now—Boston does.”
“Perhaps you should meet with Cotton too. He does a lot more than Boston.” Momma finished writing something and looked at Cora, eyebrows raised.
Cora nodded and took a moment to type Cotton’s name into her phone. She knew exactly who Cotton was, and she could definitely ask him plenty of questions. She also figured she could get the same information from Boston.
“He was one of your father’s favorites.” Momma smiled then, but the edges almost went down instead of up.
Cora’s own memories of her father snuck up on her seemingly every other second, especially now that she was back in Coral Canyon, back at the lodge.
“I’ll add him to my list,” she said. “I’m meeting with Leslie on Thursday.”
“Oh, she’ll be great,” Momma said. “I wouldn’t know half of what happens at the resort without Les.”
Cora managed to smile, and she actually hoped she could catch an hour beside the pool at the resort after her meeting with Leslie. She’d scheduled it in the afternoon on purpose. “I’m excited to get really hands-on with the spa here.”
Momma grinned now too, the happiness reaching into her eyes. “You love your massages.”
“Everyone loves massages, Momma. You’re the only one who doesn’t.” She laughed lightly and got to her feet. She leaned down and hugged her mother and said, “I have to go into town to set up my mail, check on a car, and Anne told me about a mac and cheese restaurant I’m excited about.”
Momma patted her shoulder, and her joy remained as Cora pulled back. “Only you would be excited about mac and cheese.”
Cora couldn’t argue about that, and she kept her smile on her face as she left the conference room in the back offices of the lodge. She needed to get rid of her notebook, grab her purse, and change her shoes.
Fine, the last one wasn’t technically necessary before she went to grab Boston, but Cora couldn’t go on a date wearing sneakers. She loved strappy sandals, custom boots with heels, and anything with a little bling.
So while she’d wear her dark blue shorts and striped pink-and-white sleeveless shirt, she absolutely needed the right pair of shoes to go with them.
She entered her office and tossed her notebook on the corner of the desk. Something lemony filled the air, and she noticed her trash can had been emptied too. She ditched her shoes, pulled on a pair of pearly pink sandals that had a strap around her ankle and a low, two-inch heel, and opened her bottom drawer to get her purse.
For good measure, she put a piece of cool mint gum in her mouth, tested her weight on the heels, and headed out. Her nerves shouted at her as she walked down the hall to the larger area where several desks took up the space.
Boston worked there, she’d learned, and as she neared the corner, she slowed. For some reason, she wanted to see him before he saw her, and she pressed one palm against the wall and did something she hadn’t done in years.
She prayed.
