Page 39 of The Spice Is Nice

“You have feelings for him,” she stated.

“I have… something for him.” Lust. Longing. I pushed the inventory screen away and faced her. “It might befeelings. Or it might be that I’ve never been with a good man and I don’t know how to act around one. I keep waiting for the catch, and it never comes.”

Daisy looked pensive, fiddling with a price tag on a boot, leaving me feeling exposed, wishing I hadn’t divulged that much.

At last, she said, “Maybe there’s no catch. Maybe he’s just a good man who likes you.”

“That would be a first.”

Daisy’s face softened in the way it only did when we were alone. She was tough with the world, hard jaw and sharp tongue and hands that could shoe a horse in fifteen minutes, but with me and Sage and Poppy, the softness was always there if you waited for it. “Don’t you want more?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Maybe. But I’m not going to force something that could have an expiration date just because it feels good right now.” I leaned forward. “What about you? Don’tyouwant more?”

Daisy’s soft expression shuttered. Quickly, like a door closing. “You know my answer. I made a promise to see you girls settled before I worry about myself. That’s always been the deal.”

“Daisy, we’re all old enough to take care of ourselves. I’m running a business. Sage has several jobs. Poppy is in college. You don’t have to mother us anymore. You can take some time for yourself, and for someone special.”

“There is no ‘someone special.’”

“What about Knox?”

The softness didn’t just close. It slammed shut, bolted,and barricaded. Daisy’s jaw tightened and her arms uncrossed. “I have horses to shoe.”

“Daisy, don’t take too long stringing Knox along. Some other woman could come in and steal him from you.”

“Horses. To. Shoe.” She stomped out of my shop.

Daisy Wylde had many talents, but lying to her sister was not one of them, and the speed with which she’d fled the building told me everything her mouth refused to say.

She had it bad for Knox. She just wasn’t ready to admit it. Why did she have to be so stubborn about things?

I picked up my phone and typed a text before she could drive away.

Ivy: Bozeman tonight. Me, you, and the boys. Pick you up at the house at 5:30. Don’t argue.

Daisy: Told you I’m not going.

Ivy: Yes, you are. Or I’ll get Knox drunk and force him to tell me his real feelings about you.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

Daisy: Sometimes I hate you.

I grinned wider and went back to my inventory. For the first time in weeks, every piece of my life felt like it was falling into place. The shop was thriving. Cowboy Night was a hit. The Brewster threat was still there, lurking at the edges, but it felt manageable, smaller somehow, because I wasn’t carrying it alone anymore.

Tonight I was going to Bozeman with a man who kissed me like I was the only thing in the room worth looking at. Maybe I should let myself enjoy it without guilt or fear or the constant, exhausting calculation of how much I was allowed to want good things in my life.

Just tonight. I’d let myself have tonight. The rest I’d figure out later.

Chapter 15

Chaos At Best

Colt

We arrived in Bozeman,got the horses settled for the night, prepped for the next day, and then it was off to dinner for steak at a pricey establishment.

“Compliments of Chris, a bonus for our hard work lately. Cheers,” Ash said and held up his beer bottle as a toast. “Speaking of our wealthy rancher, Chris has thrown his support behind Sheriff Patrick in the upcoming election, complete with hiring a team to put together an old-fashioned barn dance and campaign rally, right on our ranch. Over the next few weeks, a crew will construct a huge outdoor pavilion for it, grading a driveway off the main road with a parking lot, and more.”