Page 81 of A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy

If he’d had any doubt about that trail ride, he was definitely going now, unless there wasn’t a spare horse. Strangely, he hoped that wasn’t the case.

Also, how had he missed one of Cadence’s social media posts?

* * *

“He’s here,” Paisley hissed in her ear.

“Shh.” Cadence glanced around the table as Heather dropped her tray beside her. “I saw him.”

“Hey, everyone!” Kaci claimed the spot beside Heather, while Maxwell was already chatting with the two guys from the landscaping crew who’d been here first.

“Hi!” Cadence forced a smile and tried not to notice Graham across the space where he shifted from one foot to the other and back again in the lineup behind a family she’d seen around for the past few days.

“There are only a couple of more groups to check out of the cottages on Firefly Lane, then we’re closing access for the season, so we can finalize the renovations.” Heather nodded in satisfaction.

“Give me a heads up to get all the linens out of there,” Kaci said. “Oh, and the kitchen stuff.”

“We’ll get a crew to haul all that to the storage areas,” Heather promised. “It’s nice not having people around. I mean, I get that’s the purpose, and they pay our bills, but man it will be nice to roll without tourists in the way.”

Cadence only had one more week of the term she’d promised Walter Sullivan. She needed to make an appointment to talk to him about more — or not — but she kept hoping something might spark yet with her and Graham, and that would make things clearer.

Of course, she’d been a chicken when she took photos a bit ago, and whatever Graham had been about to say had been completely disrupted by the boss’s entrance. Never mind. She’d get her next post up and maybe he’d see… at least if he was actually following the page as closely as it seemed.

Meanwhile, she’d focus on getting more shots during the trail ride.

Graham’s gaze latched onto hers across the dining room, and she forced her attention past him to the great room beyond.

He turned toward the table where his cousins sat, carrying his tray.

There was still one spot there, right next to his. She could grab her things and walk over. She could make a move.

But hadn’t she made enough of them already? When did it become time for him to do the pursuing?

Her conscience niggled. Was that what he’d done by buying her parents’ house? The magnanimity of that totally overwhelmed her, rendering her speechless. But he hadn’t said he’d done it because he loved her. He’d made sure she knew he’d done it to free up her choices.

Was one of those possible choices Graham? Was that what he’d been hinting at?

Well, she’d post his photos online, throw in a few hashtags, and sit back and wait. If he didn’t make a move in the next day or two, what would she do? It wasn’t like she didn’t know where he lived, though knocking on a single guy’s door in the late evening when his lights finally appeared didn’t seem like the wisest choice.

She bit back a snort. Like Graham would take advantage of her. She’d always had to be on guard with handsy Paul, but not with Graham.

Cadence turned to Paisley. “Riding this afternoon?”

“Nope, definitely not.” Paisley wrinkled her nose. “We’ve got enough kids around this week for a scavenger hunt. You’ll want some photos of that.”

“Can you take a few and text them to me if I don’t get back in time? I’m trail riding.”

“Traitor,” Paisley muttered.

Cadence elbowed her lightly. “Speak up. I can’t hear you.”

Paisley couldn’t hold a frown for long. “Have a good time, okay? Seriously? But also seriously—” she lowered her voice “—give that cowboy a kick in the rear for me if you get a chance.”

“Totally an example of opposites attract.”

“In your dreams.”

“Maybe in yours?” What Paisley saw in Weston, Cadence couldn’t imagine. Probably nothing more than the ultimate challenge. Gleeful extroverts like Paisley took grumpy introverts like Weston as a personal affront.

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