Page 40 of Trusting a Cowgirl

Bridget chuckled. “That truck is on its last leg. I don’t know how much longer she’s gonna be able to drive it. But that’s what happens when a truck gets handed down from sister to sister.” She gave Ms. Jacobs a wink. “I might be a magician when it comes to cars, but I’m not that good.” She offered a wave to Riley. “Give your information to Ms. Jacobs, and I’ll call you when I figure out the problem.”

She disappeared through the door, leaving Riley with Ms. Jacobs. She motioned for him to come over and he complied. She held out a contact sheet. “Fill this out and we’ll get you in the system.”

It was one-sided, barely any questions. She could have typed this information in if he’d given her the info verbally. To be fair, the longer he spent in the shop, the more time he had to get his head on straight. He needed to decide what he wanted to do and just stick with it. He couldn’t let his feelings of uncertainty hold him back.

There was one thing he knew for certain, and it might be harder than he thought it ought to be. Grace was the girl for him. He could come up with a thousand reasons it wouldn’t work out with her, but the most important reason to try to make it work trumped all of them.

She made him feel different—worthy—somehow. Even when she tripped over her words. Grace had an innocence about her that he missed in his own life.

Riley handed the sheet of paper back to the nice front desk lady and headed for the door. If he wanted to win Grace over, he couldn’t let anything stand in his way.

* * *

The signabove the door boastedFantasy Fudge,and the display in the window proved the name fit the business. Stacks of fudge bricks were arranged in a way that put the candy shops in movies to shame.

A blast of hot air hit them both as they entered the fudge shop. The smell of caramel and chocolate wrapped around him like a warm hug. There was a “sweets” shop he used to visit when he was a kid, and everything about this place reminded him of it.

The displays were chock-full of chocolates, truffles, fudges, and anything else he could have imagined. There were specialty candy canes in glass jars on top of the display cases. And shelves of candied and caramel apples.

A round woman in an apron beamed at them when they entered and bustled to the edge of the counter. “Grace! I haven’t seen you in a while. How is your father?”

Riley glanced toward Grace, who had her hands shoved deep into her pockets. There would be no brushing his hand against hers just so he could touch her. She smiled at the woman. “He’s doing okay. But he would be livid if he knew I was here and didn’t get him any chocolate turtles.”

She laughed. “Oh, I believe it. I’ll make sure to wrap some up for him. What can I get you both?”

Grace made eye contact with Riley but only briefly. “I’ll have a tutti fruitti candy cane,” she said.

The woman nodded. “Of course. And for you?” She turned to Riley. “Are you a candy cane kind of guy?”

He shook his head. “I’m a chocolate fudge kind of guy.”

“Oh, a man after my own heart.” She hurried over to the shelves that had the fudge. “What kind do you want? I’ve got cookies and cream, peach, pralines—”

“I had my eye on the mint you have over to the right.”

She jumped into action. “How much?”

“Half a pound would be great.”

The woman hurried back and forth, gathering the sweets and getting them into a bag. She headed toward the register, but before she could ring them up, Riley stepped forward.

“Put it all together.”

She lifted her eyes, darting her focus from Grace to Riley a few times. “Of course.”

Grace reached out to him, placing her hand lightly on his forearm. “You don’t have to do that—”

“I asked you out here. It’s my treat. Besides, you’re taking me around since my motorcycle is out of commission.” Riley pulled out his wallet and moved forward before Grace had a chance to stop him. He handed the woman some cash and offered her an appreciative grin. “Keep the change.”

She blinked, holding out the bag of candy. “Thank you.”

The second they were outside, Grace bumped her shoulder into his. “That was really nice of you.”

He reveled in her praise.

“Ruth and her husband have been working that shop since before I can remember. John passed away about two years ago, and she’s been doing it all on her own ever since. I thought for sure when John died that she’d pack up and move away—you know, to be with her children or grandchildren. But she didn’t.” Grace unwrapped her candy cane and stuck the open end in her mouth.

The way she was talking, it was as if she’d forgotten all about their conversation in the truck on the way there. They were no longer therapist and client. They were two people who were wandering down the street of a small town right outside Colorado Springs.

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