“Yep. He was all testosterone, no brains. Marie got him to read some off-roading magazines in the library, and it changed his life.”
“I see.” She pressed her lips wistfully together. “Would all these people be connected like that to Reed? Would they all have stories of him for the baby?”
It took a moment before Chance’s voice would work. “Yeah. They’d have stories about you, too.”
He could see the wordMe?Hovering on her lips. “What kind of stories?”
Her yearning expression made his chest ache. She might claim she was a wanderer and wasn’t going to settle down, but she clearly wanted to belongsomewhere.Her parents had really messed her up.
Of course, you could say the same about Chance. He cleared his throat. “Well, most of them would probably have stories about you working the bar. A lot of people come here to hang out, reconnect with friends, and forget their troubles for a while. It’s as much a part of Star Crossed Springs as Third Thursdays.”
“You don’t have to convince me how important bars are,” she said dryly. “So, I’m a pillar of the community?”
“You’re laughing at me, but yeah. You are. That’s why Pierce came over to give me that warning. Because you mean a lot to a lot of people here.”
Cordy pondered that. She was always beautiful, but she looked especially so in the low lights of the Swing Inn, coming to terms with the fact that people cared about her. That they wanted her to stay.
Maybe Chance most of all. But she needed support and help from him, not pressure to stay in a place where she wasn’t sure she belonged. Even though she did.
“I was just thinking,” she said finally. “I’ve got stories about nearly everyone in here, too.”
“Oh yeah? Like who? And what?”
Cordy inhaled and sat back. “Well, Lauren over there came in one night looking… not herself. She was nervous but trying to hide it. So I asked her if everything was okay.”
“Was it?”
“She told me she was waiting for a blind date.”
“She’s dating again?” Chance hooked his arm over the back of Cordy’s chair. He caught a whiff of her shampoo, lavender and mint. “Good for her.”
“I kept her company while she waited and heard all about her garden. I had no idea flower shows were so competitive. Anyway, the guy never showed up.”
Chance frowned. “Who was it?” If it was someone from Star Crossed Springs, he would need a reminder on how to treat a nice lady like Lauren.
“Oh, I don’t know. Not anyone from town. But when he didn’t show, I introduced Lauren to the rest of them.” Cordy gestured to the women sitting around the table with Lauren. “Holly, Irene, and Mia. They hit it off and started a garden club together.”
“You introduced them?” Chance cocked his head. Irene gave him a small wave, and he waved back. “I thought they already knew each other from somewhere.”
“They knew each other,” she said, “but they weren’t friends. They became friends that night. They asked me to be part of their gardening club. I said no.” Her mouth turned down. “I’m not sure why.”
Because you’re terrified of putting down roots because your selfish parents dragged you around the world.
“You can still say yes,” Chance said. “They’d be happy to have you.”
“Maybe.” She set her hand on her stomach.
That was her tell whenever she was thinking about her future. She’d put her hand on her belly as if she was talking to the baby through it.
“Who else do you have stories about?” he asked
“I help Sam celebrate whenever Janine agrees to go on a date with him.”
Chance laughed. “Those two have been doing their off-and-on thing since my parents were young. They’ll never stop doing it.”
Cordy swatted his arm. “No, Sam insists she’s going to marry him someday!”
“If Janine ever says yes to one of his proposals, he’ll be like the dog who caught the car. He won’t know what to do.”
