A Gift for the Hopeful Cowboy: Love in Sweet Bloom

Chapter 10

Rob arrivedat the restaurant but didn’t see Pippa anywhere. He asked the hostess, who mentioned that she’d gone for a walk with a few others. While Sweet Bloom was small, it was still big enough that he wouldn’t know the first place to look.

He headed down the street toward the center of town where a large Christmas tree had been put up. Each window he passed had festive holiday decorations displayed. There were miniature towns, Christmas scenes with small trees surrounded by presents, and some displays that had more to do with what was being sold inside. The bookstore had a display of various holiday-themed books. Some of them were wrapped like gifts while others just had bows. He stopped at the hardware store and stared in wonder at the makeshift Santa’s workshop.

A small smile touched his lips as he drank it in. The people in Rocky Ridge loved the holiday as much as anyone, but it appeared Sweet Bloom couldn’t live without it. No wonder Pippa had decided to settle down here.

Rob continued down the sidewalk, passing a display where angels were singing carols and one where a robotic Santa waved at people passing by.

Then he saw her.

Pippa stood at the edge of a wishing well. She stared down into it and he could imagine she was making a wish right then and there.

No one was with her—either they’d left or she’d fibbed to her hostess. Rob nearly jogged over to her, but he stopped himself. They were supposed to meet at the restaurant. If she needed some time to herself, he didn’t want to intrude. Instead, he watched her from his spot on the sidewalk.

The more he observed her, the more he realized just how important she was to him. He wanted her in his life. Unfortunately, he didn’t feel he deserved her. That was what his issue was. From the moment they’d met, he’d influenced her. He’d told her college wasn’t important. That relationships didn’t have to be serious. One could simply live their life the way they wanted to—so they could have fun.

He’d been wrong.

Thankfully, she’d turned out okay. But her successes had nothing to do with him. And he was terrified she’d realize this.

She straightened as if she’d heard someone call her name. Then she turned and her eyes found his. For a moment, they just stared at one another. Neither one of them moved—not even to crack a smile.

Until a grin split her face and she waved him over.

With each step he took, Rob pushed aside his concerns. He could spend time with her today and just enjoy himself. He didn’t have to feel weighed down by all his insecurities. Not today.

When he reached her, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and pointed to the well. “Feel like making a wish?”

He glanced into its depths. “Does it work?”

Something in her eyes made him wonder if she really believed it might. Then she laughed. “There’s no such thing as magic. You have to make the magic you want to see in the world. But that doesn’t stop the locals from tradition.”

Rob arched a single brow. “Have you made a wish before?”

She didn’t have to answer this time. Her eyes said it all.

“What did you wish for?” He placed both hands on the edge of the well and leaned over to get a better look. “Because I’m going to have to know what caliber of wishes this thing grants.”

He turned a boyish grin on her and warmed at the way she smiled back. This was who they were together—cracking jokes and being silly. This was what he’d expected when he’d come to stay in Sweet Bloom.

“I can’t tell you that,” Pippa said, coming closer and slipping her arm through his. “If I did, none of my wishes would come true.”

He scoffed. “Well, if you haven’t had any wishes come true, then you must not be wishing hard enough.”

“I already told you,” she murmured a little too close to his ear, “you have to make your own magic.”

Goosebumps trailed along his arms, making him grateful for long sleeves and jackets. “Well, then I guess I have no choice but to make a wish. It’s all in good faith, right?”

“Right.”

He pulled out a dime from the change in his pocket and flicked it off his thumb. It twirled in the air, hovering as if gravity had ceased to exist, then dropped. There was the barest hint of a splash at the bottom of the well when the dime plopped into the water.

“What did you wish for?” Pippa asked.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t come true.”

Their faces were so close. He could grasp her chin right then and there to steal one of her kisses. Her lashes fluttered and she exhaled softly.

An engine of an old car backfired, causing them both to jump. Pippa released a laugh and pulled away from him, the moment lost.

“Are you ready to go ice skating? They’ve finally got it all set up. I thought for sure they wouldn’t get it done in time for our date.”

Rob nodded, still reeling from their closeness. He shook off the strange feeling and flashed her a smile. “Are you sure you can keep up? The last time you visited Montana, you could barely stay upright.”

She gave his shoulder a little shove. “I beg your pardon, but from what I recall, you were one of the main reasons I kept falling down.”

He snickered. Any chance he got, he’d come darting out from behind her, giving her the impression they were going to collide, which inevitably had her falling right into his arms. Those moments were some of the best ones he had. Rob held up a hand with another laugh. “I swear I won’t throw you off balance.”

“Yeah. Like I’m going to believe that.” She slipped her arm back through his and leaned into him as they walked. “Maybe we just take it slow.”

He stiffened. That sounded a lot like she was talking about something else. He glanced down at her, but when she didn’t give him any further information, he let it go. He could have misunderstood. She might not have said something and he’d let himself think she had.

Her closeness was intoxicating. It felt like they were already an item and all his worrying had been for nothing. That was one more problem with their little pact. He didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t.

Rob reached for her hand and took it in his. He laced his fingers with hers, ignoring the quick glance he received from her. When she didn’t pull away, he took that as a win. They were getting closer to the point where he could feel comfortable telling her his feelings.

At the rink, there was a small shack where they rented their skates. Another shack on the other side sold hot chocolate and other snacks. Floodlights overhead ensured that as it continued to get darker, skaters would stick around.

Mid-sized speakers had been set up around the whole rink, which blasted familiar Christmas tunes. The rink was encapsulated by a wall of Plexiglas, but that didn’t stop the folks here from decorating it. Garland and Christmas lights adorned the exterior, making it feel like they’d walked into a winter wonderland despite there being a lack of snow on the ground.

Once they had their skates on, they entered the rink. Rather than pull away, Pippa took his hand, and they skated together around the outer edge of the rink.

She tossed him a smirk. “I guess I was right. I’m a decent skater after all.”

“It appears so.” He glanced at her a couple more times. “Is there anything you’re not good at?”

“Well, I used to think I wasn’t very good at making my folks happy. You remember when I went to college for agriculture?”

He nodded. It was one of those things she’d vented to him about before he’d dropped out.

“You remember that my family thought I’d come back and help run things at my brother’s ranch, right?”

“But I thought your mom was happy to give you the loan for the restaurant.”

She bit her lip and grimaced. “I didn’t exactly tell you everything. She wasn’t thrilled that I’d gotten a degree I couldn’t use. It took months to convince her that my calling was cooking. I didn’t have the money to do culinary school, but I knew it was the field I wanted to go into. My mom finally gave in, and that’s when the restaurant became my life.”

“And your family wasn’t happy…”

Pippa shook her head. “It probably took a full year for them to get on board with it after it started being successful. Thankfully, my brothers were able to keep my parents off my back, but man, those twelve months were some of the hardest in my life.”

He frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “I didn’t know if you’d want to know.”

“That’s ridiculous. I always thought you were open with me. You never said you struggled with the restaurant.”

She gave him a pointed look. “Think about what was happening when I finished school. I’d started before you. I fast-tracked my degree. You were there for two years.”

His brows furrowed. “I…” The realization hit him hard in the chest, knocking the wind from him. “I dropped out.”

She nodded. “It’s fine. We don’t have to talk about it. Clearly, you weren’t ready to talk about it last weekend. We can talk about something else. Ask me anything.”

He continued to frown. “So, you didn’t tell me you were having a hard time because you thought I wouldn’t want to hear about it?”

This was one more reason he didn’t feel he was good enough for her. What kind of guy quit college after the girl he liked finally convinced him to go? He’d taken her suggestions and thrown them back in her face.

“Don’t worry about it. We weren’t exactly serious, remember? Just friends.”

He tugged her to a stop and peered down at her. “I was wrong.”

Her eyes widened. “About what?”

“About all of it.”

She glanced around and let out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He wanted so badly to tell her he was wrong about their no commitment rule. He wanted to insist he was wrong about so many things and that he was trying to change. He wanted to ask her out, not just so they could have fun but so they could start something serious. And then he faltered.

“I was wrong about college.”

This conversation was going to be a hard one to swallow. He hadn’t wanted to bring it up with her. He wanted to keep it buried until he was ready to deal with it. But it seemed easier to talk about than his feelings for her.

Rob heaved a sigh and pulled her toward the side of the rink, then to the exit so they could find a bench to sit on. When they did, he held up his hands.

“You wait here. I’m gonna get us some hot chocolate.”

She nodded her understanding.

Rob didn’t know what he was doing with his life, but something inside him made him want to be better, do better. He wanted to make something of himself. First steps could be anything. Today, it was digging up his past.