The fundraiser was less than a week away and while everything about the event seemed to be going well, Josiah wasn’t sure what was going on in Lisa’s head regarding her plans for after.
Anytime he tried to steer the conversation in that direction, she evaded his question or went to the other extreme and shared a mass of information from some of the pages in her notebook.
It was getting annoying, but he was fighting to keep things positive. Keep them fun. Holding on to his optimism was taking too much energy. Combined with springtime emergencies going into overdrive, getting a good night’s sleep was becoming nearly impossible.
Josiah stumbled into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee maker. He stood over the sink and drank a cup before going back and filling it to the brim a second time.
When he finally realized he wasn’t alone, it was too late to be embarrassed. “Gentlemen.”
Zach’s grin flashed. “I like how you managed to say that with just a hint of a British accent. Makes me feel like I’ve been tossed into some sort ofDownton Abbeyremake.”
“Having a classical education is always entertaining,” Josiah agreed. He dropped into a chair beside them at the kitchen table.
Finn and Zach exchanged glances before Finn pushed aside his coffee cup, leaned his hands on the table and cleared his throat, waiting until Josiah looked him in the eye. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks.”
“You shouldn’t look like hell,” Zach offered. “You’ve got a great job, an amazing house, and a set of wonderful roommates.”
“More importantly, a wonderful woman. You’re not letting that get away without locking it up, are you?” Finn asked. Blunt. Unwavering and hammer-on-the-nail-head direct.
Josiah played it casual. “We’re good together, but it could be we want different things.”
Finn’s response was immediate. “Bullshit. You want each other. The other stuff can be juggled.”
Zach didn’t say anything, just jerked a thumb toward Finn and tipped his head in agreement.
“Do you guys expect a reduction in rent for offering love-life advice? Because I don’t think I can swing that,” Josiah drawled.
“Consider this an early Christmas present.” Finn said.
“A very early Christmas present, but whatever.” Finn and Josiah both glared at Zach, and he lifted his hands in surrender as he leaned back in his chair. “Shutting up.”
Finn looked Josiah over with that impossible-to-evade assessment. “Look, wearestepping over the line, but it’s tough to watch you stumble around waiting for something to happen when you need to act. I’ve missed out on five years with Karen because I was too stupid to see there were more than one or two solutions to a problem. You need to get creative and find some options, but for God’s sake, man, don’t do what I did and let the woman walk away.”
“You think I should tie a rope around Lisa so I can reel her back?”
Finn didn’t look at all upset by the suggestion. “Why not?”
“Is this the time to mention I’m currently sponsoring an independent rope-maker?” Zach didn’t move as both Josiah and Finn tossed utensils at him.
“You’re so annoying,” Finn stated blandly.
“I love you too. Speaking of which. You mentioned Karen.” Zach glanced pointedly at Finn. “Five years andcounting, bro…”
Finn took another considered sip of his coffee. “Working on it. Soon.”
The guys were right, though, Josiah realized. Exasperating, but right.
It had been good to have other people in the house. The evenings when Lisa was busy and he had time off, Finn and Zach had been excellent company. They’d worked together caring for the animals, but also willingly put up their feet and relaxed with him. Watched TV or chatted about what was going on in Heart Falls.
And apparently, offered romance therapy.
He hadn’t figured out what to do with the call to action before his afternoon blew up and he ended up having to contact Lisa to warn her their date that night would have to be postponed.
“I promised to stop by Sonora’s and I’m over an hour out from finishing here.” A calf bawled in the background. Somewhere an animal kicked boards of the barn in frustration, dust rising in the air.
“Anything I can help with at Sonora’s?” she asked. “Actually, why don’t I meet you there? There’re a couple last-minute things I need to make sure she finished so we’re ready to go on Saturday.”
