A Gift for the Hopeful Cowboy: Love in Sweet Bloom

Chapter 20

If Pippa hadn’t reachedout to him first, Rob would have caved. It was hard to put into words how he felt when he saw her again. Hearing her voice made all his worries fall away. There was no telling how this meeting would end, but if he did things right, he wouldn’t be walking away empty-handed.

They wove through the crowd toward a quiet space between two buildings. All around them, people came and went. Christmas music blasted from speakers that had been strategically placed around town, and lights twinkled everywhere he looked.

But the best part of being here was that Pippa hadn’t pulled away from him when he’d taken her hand in his. Their connection was all it took to make him feel whole again. When they reached a space where they wouldn’t be overheard, he stopped and faced her.

Pippa stared up into his eyes, then looked away. She squirmed as if she felt trapped being with him like this. He nearly asked her if she would feel more comfortable if they were moving—wandering through the village while they spoke—but she prevented him from making the offer with her quiet voice.

“I’m sorry—” She started the apology then cut herself off as her cheeks flushed scarlet.

“You don’t have to be?—”

“I overstepped. I shouldn’t have assumed that you needed my help. I want you to know that if nothing else.”

Rob took her other hand in his so he grasped both. “I had a lot of time to think things over. The problem is I’ve been doubting myself more than usual lately. I haven’t felt… worthy of you.”

Her eyes widened but before she could say anything, he continued.

“The thing is, I’ve realized I need to develop a thicker skin. Your opinion of me matters. More than that—it means everything to me.”

“Rob—”

“Let me finish.” He swallowed, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I got it in my head you were judging me for dropping out of college. For not having my future all mapped out.”

“I would never judge you for that, Rob,” she blurted.

“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

She reached up and touched his face. “Good. Because you’ve always been enough. No matter what you think, I’ve always cared about you.”

He stared at her, letting her words wash over him and fill him with fresh waves of confidence. Hiding behind his claim that no commitments was best for them had been fine when he was younger, but now he needed to move forward, as terrifying as it was.

He cleared his throat and glanced away briefly before bringing his eyes back to hers. “You were trying to help. I get that.”

“You do?” There was hope in her voice—so much that it made his heart hurt. He’d done that to her. He’d torn her down when she had only been trying to show him that she cared. It was more apparent now how backwards his way of thinking had been.

His voice lowered and he offered her an apologetic smile of his own. “Like I said, I was too sensitive about the subject. I should have taken a step back and tried to see things from your perspective.”

Pippa laughed. “Look at both of us. I can’t believe we let things get so out of hand.” Her eyes darted away but quickly found their way back to his. “I feel so selfish. I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

They were both quiet for a long moment. While the air felt colder, somehow it didn’t affect them the way he thought it should. He could stand beside Pippa, feeling the warmth radiate from her and that smile all night long.

The only bad part about this whole thing was now that they’d apologized, the tension between them had shifted into what it had been when he’d arrived. Where did he stand with her? Did she want him back? Was she willing to accept him the way he was without question?

His thoughts shifted to the engagement ring he’d left back at his place. He’d wrestled over the idea of bringing it but ultimately felt it wasn’t the right time. Pippa might have brought him here to make it clear they weren’t a good match. The risk was too great, and he didn’t want to feel like there was an unspoken pressure to propose. They needed to figure out where to go from here.

Rob cleared his throat and glanced up at the events going on around them. “Would you like to take a walk with me? Maybe we can get to a point where we know what each other wants next… out of all this.”

Her eyes flashed, sparkling with something he couldn’t put his finger on. “I would love that.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “There’s no one I would rather spend Christmas Eve with.”

Rob grinned. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

He tugged her into the crowd, not releasing her hand as they wandered.

Children darted past them wearing red fleece hats with white accents. Other couples leaned into each other as they wandered from storefront to storefront. Booths were set up where there were no storefronts.

It appeared that folks were all converging in the center of it all.

“I take it Santa has come to town?”

Pippa glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “He has, but he won’t be here much longer. He has to get back to work delivering presents all over the world.”

He smiled. “This place is something else. I could totally see you growing up here with all this Christmas magic.”

Her smile healed him, but more than that, the way she leaned into him made everything right in the world. Pippa spoke more softly this time, more calmly, with a reminiscent cadence.

“This place was magical when I was a kid. I don’t think I stopped believing in magic until I was well into my teens.” Her eyes grew wide and she let out a laugh. “That’s embarrassing.”

“I don’t think so.”

She stopped again, peering up at him. “How do you figure?”

He shrugged and gestured all around them. “When people in this town decide to do all of this, it’s easy to expect that the kids born into it would have a stronger faith in the tradition.”

“Maybe,” she said. “Or maybe you don’t want to make me feel bad.” Her teasing tone was the only thing that rescued him from the guilt that hovered just below the surface. She sighed as she stared out at the rest of the town. “But it’s like I said. You get to a point where you have to make your own magic.”

He watched her closely, sensing there was a deeper meaning to her words. He didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t dare ask her to tell him more. They started walking again and he lost track of time simply by being in her presence. So many thoughts crossed his mind as he considered where he wanted his life to go.

Being with Pippa was a given. Then there was the issue with his interest in furthering his career via a completed college degree. Rob shot another look in her direction. If he wanted any of that to happen, he needed to jump in and tell her before he lost his nerve.

“Pippa, I wanted to?—”

She pulled him to a stop, and he stumbled over his words as he realized where they were. Right in front of him was the wishing well. While it was covered in lights for the event, it didn’t seem to be the main attraction tonight so they were alone as Pippa stared into its depths. She glanced up at him and pulled her hand from his to grasp the edge of the well and lean over.

Her expression grew contemplative. “Part of the magic of this town has always been the well. I don’t know what it is about this thing, but people love it.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he said. The way she stared into the well urged him forward. “You said you made wishes before.”

Her blush deepened and she cut a glance in his direction. “Of course I’ve made wishes.”

“Did any of them pan out?”

Pippa let out an embarrassed laugh. “You’re not going to let me get away without telling you about my wishes, are you?”

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s my way of getting to know you better than I already do.”

She turned and leaned against the well, her head tilted. “What kind of wishes do you think I made?”

Rob shrugged again. “You were a teenage girl. You probably wished about boys.”

This time, her eyes darted to the ground, and she didn’t lift them to meet his as he spoke to her. He could sense the embarrassment growing.

“It’s silly to make wishes about other people. That would take away their free will.”

“But you did wish about a boy once, didn’t you?” Rob teased.

Pippa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I made a wish in high school that a boy would take me to prom.”

“Did it come true?”

Her eyes darted to meet his and she lifted a brow. “No.” Her straight expression broke into a smile, and she laughed. “That’s probably one of the more frivolous wishes I tossed a coin for.”

“There were others?”

Pippa groaned good-naturedly and he couldn’t help but love the way their banter was returning.

“Okay, if they weren’t about boys, what did you wish for? Tell me your most recent one.”

Her eyes cut to meet his and she sighed. “The night before I opened my restaurant, I came out here and tossed in practically a whole dollar for it to be successful.”

His brows lifted.

“I know, I know.” She laughed. “After all that talk about making my own magic, I was one of those people who couldn’t stay away. I make wishes too.”

“Seems to me that you did make your own magic. You put in the work and applied some faith and look what you came out with. Maybe the well is magic, but you have to apply some honest effort to make it work.”

Pippa stared hard at him, tilting her head as she did. “Do you truly believe that?” Her question almost sounded like she was asking herself more than him, but he answered anyway.

“Sure. Why not? I think there has to be at least a little bit of magic in the world for things like this to happen.” He motioned to the town. “And I’d like to think you’re a little bit of proof, too.”

Her brows furrowed. He wasn’t sure why he’d said that. He was getting too close to the core reason for him coming. This was it. He needed to tell her that he’d come here for her. He’d come because he’d thought if he was near her, he’d find his way. She needed to know that she was the reason he wanted to be better.

“I wished for you.”

Her words caught him so off guard, he lost his balance briefly as his hand slipped from the edge of the well. He couldn’t even find the strength to ask her to repeat what she said. Thankfully, she didn’t expect him to.

“After that first summer… when we made that pact…” Her cheeks flushed once more. “I spent two quarters on the boy I fell for in Montana. I wanted him to have a reason to move from Rocky Ridge to Sweet Bloom so we might have a chance to be more than just friends who enjoyed kissing a little too much.”

Pippa dropped her gaze. He was shellshocked. There was no other way to explain it. His mouth had dropped open and his heart was practically beating out of his chest. She’d wanted him even at his lowest? She’d wished to be with him back when he hadn’t deserved her one bit.

“Was there more?” He finally managed the whispered question if only to stall for time. Was it possible she’d wished for him to fall in love with her, too?

Her eyes flitted up to meet his. “I didn’t dare ask for more.”

Rob took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “Well, heck. If I had known, I would have come sooner.”

Her eyes widened, fluttering with the surprise he’d stirred. Rob grasped her chin with his finger and thumb.

“You are the most perfect woman I’ve ever had an on and off thing with.”

She choked out a watery laugh, but her eyes didn’t leave his.

He grinned. “I’ve been wrong about so many things, but I know I’m not wrong about this.” He reached into his pocket and his fingers wrapped around the change that he hadn’t bothered cleaning out. Turning, he tossed the fistful of coins into the well.

Pippa gasped, then laughed and blinked several times. “What did you do that for?”

He stared at the opening of the well for what felt like a full minute before flashing her a grin. “I guess it’s time I made my own magic.”

With that, he pulled her roughly against him, capturing her lips in one of the most sensual kisses they’d shared over the years. She gave her whole self over to him in that moment—he could feel it.

This was what it had all been for. She was worth the risk and trepidation he’d been feeling since the moment he’d arrived. Now that he knew they had a shot, he wasn’t going to squander it. They were going to end up together if he had anything to do with it—and quite possibly sooner than either one of them had planned.

Pippa had shown him how magical the world could be as long as he had the right woman by his side.