“But…?” Josiah prompted. Because there was obviously more to this conversation.
Caleb shrugged. “I mean it. You’re my friend, and I want what’s best for you. I don’t want to see you hurt. Last I heard there were no guarantees Lisa planned to stick around.”
“There’s no ticket in her pocket yet that says she’s leaving, either,” Josiah pointed out.
“I know. I’m still worried.” They stopped just outside the pen, and before Josiah could get back to work, Caleb looked him straight in the eye. “Take care of yourself.”
Josiah could hardly complain about his friend having his back. “I will, and I’ll take care of her. You’ll see.” Because too much potential was tied up in the situation to retreat without trying one hundred percent.
He slipped into the pen and got back to work, thoughts of dates and friends and futures mixing together.
Life was good. It could get even better.
Of course,now that she and Josiah had outed their relationship, his week got complicated. An emergency call hauled him into the wilderness of Highwood Pass.
Lisa found her time vanished in work and outings, compounded when the family realized Sasha and Emma had events over the weekend that required them to go in totally separate directions.
The solution to that strange setup was completely orchestrated by little Emma.
“You need to keep close to home to keep the baby safe,” Emma told Tamara. She caught Lisa and Tamara in the kitchen while Sasha was out of sight. Emma leaned forward, curly blonde hair bobbing as her bright blue eyes turned serious. “Sasha wants Papa to come see her play. Can you take me to 4-H camp, Auntie Lisa? So Mama and Papa can stay with Sasha?”
Tamara gave Lisa a nod of approval, and Lisa hurried to agree. “You’re a very good sister,” Lisa told her quietly, pressing a kiss to the little girl’s cheek. “I would love to come with you.”
So rather than finding time to get together with Josiah, Lisa took her younger niece to the 4-H event being held in Crowsnest Pass over the weekend, while Caleb and Tamara stayed closer to home with Sasha.
Which meant it was Monday again before getting together with Josiah was even a possibility. Oh, they’d texted a few times, but the conversation stayed very generic and very surface, and very muchnothow Lisa wanted.
Finding people to chat with online was far simpler than having real-life connections to enjoy.
The girls were off to school, and she was diving into the household chores when Caleb marched back into the house and looked at her in surprise. “What’re you doing?”
Her hands were buried in a sink full of soapy dishes. “Is this a trick question?”
Caleb glanced around the room. “Tamara didn’t tell you? Never mind. You’re off again today.”
She leaned a hip against the counter as she looked at him in confusion. “I need to find theModern Way to Be a Rancherbook you’ve been reading and send my father a copy. A day off, two weeks in a row? I think that’s illegal.”
She finally got a chuckle out of him.
“Spent far too many years working twenty-four seven. The work never goes away—you know that. Since things are running a lot smoother at Silver Stone, all of us committed to making some changes.” He placed his boots on the rack by the door and hung up his hat. A soft smile unfurled. “This isn’t about you taking a day off, honestly. It’s me getting extra time with my wife and family.”
“My time off is a bonus? Sweet.” She offered a wink. “I’m glad you’re spending time with the people who are important to you.”
What she couldn’t bring herself to say was how much she’d wished that had been the circumstance while she was growing up, but she figured he knew. Tamara must’ve shared with him what it was like over the years with George Coleman as a father.
Never terrible, never good. That strange, swampy middle where she felt bad for complaining because the man had never hurt them or outright neglected them, but she wished they’d gotten through to him how much more they needed.
“I’ll finish my chores then get out of your hair,” Lisa said, getting back to work.
“Josiah’s back in town,” Caleb offered.
She stared into the dishwater as she scrubbed vigorously at a frying pan. “That’s nice.”
“In case you wanted to get in touch with him.”
Lisa worked hard to not give away her amusement. “I think I’ll go for a ride.”
“He might want to go with you.”
