Page 40 of Organized Chaos

She snatched up the boots and rehomed the daisies in a sand bucket full of water. “I like the way you think. Now, for the card?” She plucked a few more blooms and added them to the arrangement, lifting her eyebrow at Phillip to gauge his approval as she went along.

He nodded his approval with each new addition until her arms overflowed with a glorious array that reminded him of Sarah. Her bright personality and never quit attitude were perfectly captured in the aromatic display. Now to make sure she understood the depth of his apology.

Sarah made his life brighter, and he didn’t think he could bear to go back to that dreary before where he knew what to expect from every minute of every day.

Sarah returned homeexhausted and irritable. Two things she preferred to avoid. But she’d scheduled the trip with her cousins weeks ago and refused to let her annoyance with Phillip ruin the day. He thought she didn’t schedule her life, but she did. She had obligations and understood the importance of keeping a calendar. Hers was covered in stickers, but she had one.

Her closed garage door reminded her of this morning when he’d stopped by. Her heart pinched hard enough that she rubbed the tender area and reached for her keys, only to discover her pockets were empty.

Ugh. She’d probably left them in the kitchen again. Growling her annoyance at herself, she kicked off her boots and prepared to climb in the kitchen window. Her gaze snagged on a pair of red boots stuffed full of flowers sitting next to her front door. What in the world? She knelt and rummaged through the flowers in search of a card.

“Aha.” She snapped the white square from amid the blossoms and flipped it open. Printed type marched across the paper. “I’m sorry I ran over our relationship.”

“Huh?” She turned the card over. Nothing. She dug through the flowers again. Nothing. Could Phillip have sent the flowers? It made sense, but what did he mean about running over their relationship? They didn’t have a relationship. That was part of the problem. Most of the problem.

She wanted a relationship, and he obviously didn’t. Okay, she was getting sidetracked. Sarah resumed her mission, opened the kitchen window, and jumped inside. Phillip would get a kick out of this, she thought as her feet landed with soft thuds and she lost her balance.

Phillip probably never lost his keys. He was too conscientious for that. Too organized. She blew out a long stream of air and grabbed her keys from the table where she’d left them this morning. Not that she needed them now that she’d made it inside.

Annoyance flared bright. All this thinking about Phillip was messing with her head.

She missed his company and the way he laughed. Her cat pranced into the kitchen, tail straight up. She leaped onto the counter and headbutted Sarah’s arm. “You’re right. I should call him.” She grabbed her phone and jabbed the contacts button. An empty screen appeared. She frowned and flipped over to her text messages and found it blank as well. “My life might as well be a soap opera.” Sarah scratched Lola’s chin and listened to the rumbly purr. “You don’t care as long as I remember to feed you.”

Lola meowed and jumped to the floor, then paced to her food bowl and looked back at Sarah.

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll feed you.” She poured food in the bowl and considered her next step. Her phone was no help. “Probably should’ve expected this to happen since I dropped it in the lake today.”

Thankfully, it was the only thing that had gone in the lake. She’d managed to stay inside her kayak, safe and dry, the entire trip. Wouldn’t Phillip be surprised. A snort of laughter drowned out Lola’s teeth crunching the dry food. She had to go see him. They should talk this whole thing out and see what they each wanted moving forward.

Decision made, Sarah spun her keys around her finger, patted Lola one last time, and left through the front door after taking the cowboy boot bouquet inside and placing it next to her coffee maker.

An hour later, she cut the engine and headed to Phillip’s front door. Her nerves skittered around, causing her palms to sweat. She wiped them on her overalls and knocked.

A dog barked from somewhere inside, but no one answered. She knocked again. “Phillip?”

No sound this time. Even the dog seemed inclined to ignore her. Sarah rocked on her heels and waited several agonizing minutes before she tried one last time.

With no other option, she cupped her hands around her eyes and peeked in through the living room window. A single light glowed bright in the hallway, but the house appeared abandoned. Sarah dismissed the idea of checking for an open window and sneaking inside. Breaking and entering—or trespassing—were not her preferred methods.

Dejected, she stomped down the steps and prepared to leave.

The rumble of a truck engine stopped her, and she tented a hand over her eyes to spot a silver Ford rolling up the drive.

Tim and Margo hopped out. Margo rushed forward with a squeal. “Sarah, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for Phillip.” She hugged Margo and shook Tim’s hand. “I wanted to call, but I dropped my phone in the lake, and it’s shot.”

“Oh.” Tim gave her a confused look. “Phillip got invited to a big conference in Las Vegas. He left a few hours ago.”

Margo took Sarah’s hands and held on. “It was a last-minute call. Phillip almost didn’t go, but it’s a big deal.”

“Of course.” Sarah did her best to keep her tone mild. Phillip had every right to take off for a conference. It was part of his job. So why did it feel like he kept choosing his obligations over her? She was being ridiculous. Phillip didn’t know her plans. He wasn’t intentionally avoiding her. Hadn’t she run off just this morning and left Phillip standing there alone because she’d already made plans? This was no different.

“I’m going to feed Domino.” Tim moved past Sarah and a key clicked in the lock.

Domino?

Margo must have read the confusion in Sarah’s face because she rushed to explain. “Phillip had to make a trip to the vet this morning to care for his mom’s horse. While he was there, the vet asked Phillip about adopting this adorable dog. Domino. Phillip said yes, which was a complete surprise to all of us. But then he got the call about the conference and needed someone to feed Domino while he’s away.”

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