Page 7 of Lucky in Love

“Nope.” We’re at a stop sign and when I glance over at her, she’s giving me this little half smile and it makes my heart ache. I want to make her smile. I want her to keep talking to me.

“But I do a lot of listening.”

Her laughter sounds like a bell ringing and I crack a grin. That’s when I realize I’m in really big trouble.

FIVE

Paige

It turns out the grumpy cowboy has a heart. I don’t know if it was when he dropped everything he was doing to go pick up those horses, when he promised a broken-hearted woman he would take care of them or when he finally smiled at me in the truck, but it’s making my heart flutter. The last thing I need while trying to gain credibility in this town is to start dating a client. Besides, he clearly has no interest in me. Up until today, all he’s done is scowl and criticize my driving. Until that grin…

I grew up around horses and did an internship at a large animal clinic, but I’ve never worked with rescue horses who have experienced trauma. Luckily Baylor is a pro and knows exactly what to do to get the horses out of the trailer and into the quarantine area so I can examine them. He knows all sorts of tricks to entice them to comply without them kicking or injuring me. He may be rough around the edges, but the soothing way he speaks to them gives me a glimpse into the deep well of emotion that’s hidden beneath his gruffness.

When he drops me off at the clinic, it’s late afternoon and I’m exhausted, but if I have any hope of getting a day off before the practice officially opens on Monday, I need to check some things off my list. The back door of the clinic creaks when I open it and I add WD-40 to my shopping list. In the lobby, buttery yellow walls stare back at me and I almost cry, because Fiona has put on a second coat of paint and pulled off all the painter’s tape. The sunny yellow walls perfectly frame the view of misty blue mountains and a cozy little town. My cozy little town.

The next item on the list is creating a job posting for the receptionist position, so I head over to the desk near the front door. On top of the outdated calendar and pile of sticky notes sits a neat stack of paper titledHelp Wanted. Fiona has already crafted a job posting for me and made copies. With everything crossed off my list for the day, there’s nothing left to do but call up my favorite cousin and thank her.

“You are the best cousin in the whole world,” I gush when she answers. “Can I cook you dinner to repay you?”

“You don’t cook,” she says drily.

“That’s not true! I can make nachos!” We both dissolve into giggles.

“You know what goes great with nachos?” she says.

“Margaritas! Duh. Why do you think that’s the only thing I know how to cook?”

“Why don’t you bring the nacho fixings over to my house? I’ll invite Ginger and Mariah too. It’ll be your first girls' night in town.”

“Sounds great. I can put one of these flyers up on the bulletin board at the grocery store while I pick up the ingredients. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

???

Fiona lives in a fourplex near her bar. It has a cool industrial meets rustic vibe and all the units open onto a courtyard that overlooks the mountains. When I arrive, Ginger is already there and she’s brought a tray of the cutest cookies decorated with shamrocks and leprechauns for St. Patrick’s Day.

“Those are adorable! When I try to decorate cookies, they always turn out looking like a toddler made them,” I joke.

“Trust me, I made my share of ugly cookies before I got good at it. But you know what they say: The uglier it is, the better it tastes.”

“Gee, my cookies must have been delicious then.” We giggle as I unload a brown paper bag full of groceries.

A woman with brown curly hair walks into the kitchen carrying a vase of flowers.

“Hi, I’m Mariah. You must be Paige.”

“Yep, that’s me. Those flowers are beautiful.”

“Paige is our resident florist. We imported her all the way from New York City,” Fiona says, pouring four margaritas from a glass pitcher and handing them out. I take a sip of the icy, tart goodness and start browning beef in a skillet.

“Fiona tells me you gave the animal clinic a makeover.” Ginger snags a tortilla chip from the bag on the counter.

“Well, Fiona ended up doing most of the work. But it looks great now.”

“I bet it does. Anything would look better than that mauve and paneling.” She wrinkles up her nose.

“You’re right about that. I still have to add some finishing touches like artwork for the walls, but it’s coming together.”

“Hey, my boyfriend, fiance, whatever, Branson is a photographer. You should have him take some pictures for the lobby. Maybe pictures of pets around town or something.”

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