“Sure,” Harper replied before hanging up.
She quickly called her cousin back, using the video call app. When Harper’s pretty face filled the screen, Sadie stepped into the garage, via the side door, and flicked on the lights.
“Remember this place?” she asked, panning the phone around, revealing the spacious interior, with a large workbench, several hand tools lined up on a shelf, and various tools neatly organized on her pegboard walls.
“Oh, wow. I love how you organized it.” Appreciation was evident in Harper’s tone. “I can definitely see you getting creative in there.”
She brought the phone back in front of her. “Yeah, I definitely do. Well, in here and in my craft room upstairs.Speaking of that, I was thinking, if you do come down here, you don’t have to stay in the house. You can use the apartment above the garage like I used to.”
Harper frowned. “But it’s your craft room.”
“I know, but I’ve been wanting to move it into the house, so I don’t have to get out of my PJs to work on the days I’m not filming, if I don’t feel like it.”
Most of that was true. She did hate that part, but until that moment, she hadn’t even thought about moving her stuff inside. Now that she’d put it out into the universe, her mind was already full of ideas on how to set everything up in one of her spare bedrooms.
“We used to have fun up there when we were kids,” Harper said, her gaze softening.
The fact her cousin mentioned it brought a huge smile to Sadie’s face. “I know, especially when we were old enough to sleep in there by ourselves.”
The summer between their junior and senior years was the last time they’d stayed up there together. It was also the last time Harper had been in Texas.
Not wanting her cousin’s mind to jump on that train of thought, Sadie said, “And don’t forget, this workspace down here is perfect for your furniture refurbishing and woodworking and has plenty of room for any equipment you add to it.”
Harper looked thoughtful, her brow furrowing as if she was finallyactuallyconsidering the idea. “It’s tempting, Sadie. I’ve been feeling restless lately, like I need a change of scenery, and your place does hold a lot of memories. Happy ones.”
Outwardly, Sadie was calm, cool, collected. But inside, she was doing freaking cartwheel after cartwheel.
“It’s more than just memories,” she said. “It’s a fresh start. A new chapter. You’d be closer to family—mainly me—and I couldreally use your help with some of the projects I’ve been working on.”
That one was only partly true. But she intended to take on bigger things in order to pull her cousin out of her comfort zone and really dig into her talent. Hopefully, if the stars aligned and Harper was game, Sadie would get her to share it with the world.
But baby steps were in order. No way would she push her cousin into anything she didn’t feel Harper could handle.
Her cousin smiled and a flash of excitement lit her eyes. “I like the idea, Sadie. I really do. Let me think about it, okay? I’ll give you an answer soon.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” she replied, feeling hopeful about it for the first time ever.
Just then, a chime from Harper’s end indicated an incoming call. Her cousin glanced at the screen. “That’s my client. I’ve got to take this. But we’ll talk soon, okay?”
“Absolutely. Talk to you later, Harp,” she replied, waving at the screen.
After the call ended, Sadie stood alone in the garage for a moment, feeling the echoes of old memories and the possibilities of new ones. She glanced around the workspace, envisioning her cousin settling in, and them working together on their creative projects. It felt right. Now, all she had to do was wait and hope Harper would take the leap.
With a sigh, she shoved her phone in her purse, turned off the lights, locked the garage door, then headed toward her house.
“Not so fast, Sadie. We need to talk,” Mac said, from Sam’s yard.
In fact, all four men were lined up on the other side of the chain-link fence, arms folded, expressions serious.
“What happened at the ranch?” RJ asked.
Dean frowned. “Why did you come home in Dale’s truck?”
“Without Dale,” Cooper added.
The same look of concern tightened each of their faces.
“Carter called two minutes ago, telling me he’d found something on the feed Dale asked him to go through,” Mac stated, looking none too pleased.
