Chapter Twelve
S loane decided they would take the next day off to get Clara ready to start school. And to ease her nerves. Jonas pretending they were engaged, on top of thinking her sister had run away, was almost too much.
All these years, she’d waited for him to notice they had something special. Something more than just being BFFs. So, what does he do? Present her to Julieann and his family as his fiancée without even asking.
What the heck was he playing at? She’d said goodbye to his brothers and their families, but not to Jonas. She needed a break from the rancher. Today was that day.
Her dad called, for a moment taking her mind off Jonas’s shenanigans. He’d gotten on the plane in Hawaii to head home as planned. He should arrive late afternoon to meet and spend some time with Clara.
Her sister was uneasy about meeting Sloane’s dad.
To take her mind off her worry, Sloane took Clara with her to air out his house.
Back home, she had Clara set up his favorite board game, suspecting the two would get along just fine.
Her dad was one of those guys who never held a grudge—in any case, not against Tracy for breaking up their family and then ghosting them for all the years since she left.
He certainly wouldn’t hold their mother’s problems against the teen.
“Do you think he’ll like me?”
Tugging her sister into a hug, Sloane reassured the teen, “He’ll love you!” She held her away at arm’s length. “Anyway, you’re fun. Easy to get along with.” Clara’s lips twitched. “And he’ll think you’re charming.”
Clara snorted. “Jonas is charming. I’m just me.”
“Well, Just Me. I love you”—She did!—“and I’m glad you’re staying here with me.”
“I’m glad too,” Clara whispered, a faint blush rising to her cheeks. “You’re not mad at me about yesterday?”
“Absolutely not. Already forgotten.” Almost, anyway.
If she could get Jonas off her mind... She’d watched him with the kids yesterday, how he joined in their fun and made them laugh. He’d moved so fast when it looked like a horseshoe was about to hit Timmy on the head.
The man was impressive. And handsome. And gads... so hard to forget. He blended in with his brothers and their growing families as if he’d never left Strawberry Ridge to become a lawyer. And then he ruined everything by pulling that stupid stunt.
“What do you think about checking out the school’s website to see what you’ll need? We can go shopping before Dad gets here,” she suggested as she whisked eggs for scrambled egg sandwiches.
“I’d like that.” Clara nodded. “Can I help make lunch?”
“Sure. You tackle toasting the bread while I scramble the eggs.”
It was late by the time they got home after scouring Strawberry Ridge for school supplies. She’d gotten her sister everything on their list, including some clothes. It turned out Clara loved vintage, secondhand outfits. Even Sloane had found a thing or two she liked.
They beat her dad to the house by twenty minutes, just long enough to put their purchases away.
Sloane answered the door and was wrapped in a big, bear hug before he leaned back, asking, “So where’s this little sister I’ve been hearing so much about? I want to meet her.”
“Hi,” Clara said shyly from behind Sloane. She was wearing her favorite of the clothes she’d gotten, a tee with patchwork lace down the front and on the capped sleeves and jeans that Sloane thought could use a patch or two, but that her sister liked just as they were.
Her dad held out his hand. “I’m Sloane’s dad. You can call me Ron if you like.”
Her dad had never met a kid he couldn’t win over, and true to form, so it went with Clara.
By the time they’d finished the taco salad she made for dinner, her father knew everything there was to know about her sister.
They were laughing as if they’d been choosing letters for their Scrabble game for years.
“Come play with us, Sister,” her dad invited.
“You two go ahead without me. I want to clean up the kitchen and take a moment to water the plants out back.”
Clara jumped up. “I’ll help you.”
“That’s okay. You play Scrabble with Dad.”
For a second, the room went silent as they both realized what she’d said. Clara looked at Ron, her slender shoulders slumping.
As usual, her father saved the day. “You can call me Dad if you want. I would like that.”
“Really?” Clara straightened, hope flashing across her young face.
He winked. “Really. Now come sit down and see if you can beat an old man at his favorite game.”
“You’re not old,” Clara declared.
Laughing, he said, “We’ll see if you still think that when we’re finished with this game.”
Clara’s only response was a disbelieving snort that warmed Sloane’s heart.
This was exactly what she wanted, not the pretend fiancée gig Jonas had sprung on her. A family that cooked together played games in the evening after dinner. Generations that would rather spend time together than do anything else was what made her happy.
Her dad won the Scrabble game. He always did. Clara graciously conceded and hugged him as he left.
“Are you ready for school tomorrow?” Clara nodded and yawned. Sloane went around, turning off the lights. “Off to bed with you, then.”
“Good night.” Clara paused before hugging Sloane. “I had fun today. Will you tuck me in?”
“Of course.” When she had her sister sandwiched in like a burrito, Sloane kissed her forehead. “Good night, sweetie. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The house quickly went quiet. It’d been a long day. Tomorrow would be even longer, with the teen starting school and the busy schedule at the garage. Her dad had easily been roped into picking Clara up after school.
Thinking about closing her dating profile—she just didn’t have the time, or the inclination, to keep dating right now while having to learn parenting skills and before she broke off her pretend engagement with Jonas—she decided tonight was the time.
Booting up her computer, she pulled up her profile. About to delete her page, she noticed she had a message from someone named Jonas. Her heart skipped a beat before she firmly put her foot down. There had to be more than one Jonas in the world, and even in Colorado.
She clicked on the message.
I like lengthy conversations over dinner, long walks in the mountains, and spending time with family. Would you like to meet at Aaron Park at the food cart that sells pizza by the slice? You name the date and time, and I’ll be there. ~Jonas
Her breath caught. Sloane stared at her screen for a long time before moving her hands to the keyboard, then pulling them back again. At the ranch, she vowed never to speak to the man again. That included chatting with him on a dating app.
She clicked on his page and fell into Jonas’s intense hazel gaze. Swallowing hard, she went back to his message.
She stared at the words on the screen.
What did it say about her that after she’d spent years pining for the guy with no acknowledgment of anything personal from Jonas other than friendship, she was now his pretend fiancée, so he could convince the other woman he wasn’t available?
She’d been dreaming about him for so long and what it would be like to go on a real date with Jonas.
Could she say no? She wasn’t ready to stop being mad at the dude. So, yeah, she could say, no thanks!
She quickly typed the words.
With her cursor hovering over the delete button, for some crazy reason, she couldn’t click the mouse and be done with it. Closing the app instead, she shut down her computer without deleting her profile.
The next morning, still wondering what she was going to do about Jonas, she took a nervous Clara to school, where they found Andee and Reece waiting for them at the front of the school.
Her sister’s nerves wore off while Malorie’s kids stayed with them through the enrollment process and then promised to meet up with her for lunch.
Relieved, she put all the craziness behind her and went to work. It was good that Dean was there to help with the overflow they’d packed in from the day she’d taken off.
She was almost done replacing a faulty starter in an Explorer when he tapped her elbow. “Sloane, there’s a lady here who’s insisting that she knows you. She wants to talk to you.”
Sloane put her tools down, and pulling the rag from her back pocket, wiped her hands. She had a feeling and hoped she wasn’t right... “Where is she?”
“In the customer reception area.” He leaned under the hood. “I can finish this up for you.”
“Thanks.”
She found Julieann where he’d left her. The socialite was like the proverbial bad penny that kept coming back. Sloane tried for polite interest, but her words didn’t come out that way. “Weren’t you heading back to Denver? Dean says you want to talk?”
Julieann held out a cup of coffee. “I’m headed back today. My brother wants my help with his pet project. Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
Thinking about the line of vehicles waiting for repair, Sloane looked at the roomful of waiting customers. The sooner she got Julieann on her way, the sooner she could be done with Jonas’s silly charade and get her life back to normal. Whatever that looked like these days.
“Come into my office. It’s not much, but it is private.” Taking the coffee Julieann held out, Sloane led the way, then cleared the spare chair so her visitor would have a place to sit. She leaned against the door after closing the noise from the garage out. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for barging in on your engagement party and to offer my congratulations.”
Sloane straightened. “Thanks.”
Before she went through the door, Julieann took Sloane’s left hand and rubbed her ringless finger before she could snatch it away. “I’m surprised Jonas is engaged. You don’t seem like his type.”
“Why? Because I’m a mechanic and he’s a lawyer?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.” She let go of Sloane’s hand. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but he likes his women sophisticated and on the fast track.”
“I see.” Okay, that wasn’t her. She’d never met one of his women , so she couldn’t judge his type. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Good luck,” Julieann said, and left.
Sloane sighed heavily. Troubles typically came in threes, so she shouldn’t be surprised by Julieann’s visit . First, it was thinking that Clara had run off. Then, Jonas pretending they were engaged. And now Julieann, doing... what? Trying to warn her?
Jonas likes his women sophisticated and on the fast track.
No wonder they’d only been friends all these years. Sophisticated and on the fast track were not words that anyone ever used to describe her. And if the worst that anyone could say about her was that she wasn’t sophisticated or on the fast track, that wasn’t so bad.
She might have feelings for the man, but that didn’t mean she had to try to be someone she wasn’t. Between Julieann and Perfect Match, she was definitely batting zero.
So what? She had a life to live with her dad and Clara, and live it she would, without apology.
No more dreaming of what it would be like to marry Jonas. No more thinking they would be perfect together. Her heart was NOT broken.
From now on, she would start living life on her own terms.
The next day, she got a message from Jonas on her profile. “Change your mind?” She didn’t answer, hoping he would get the hint and go away.
The day after that, after school and when she was done at the garage, her dad cornered her in the kitchen as they watched Clara planting the strawberry plants in the backyard he’d helped her pick out.
“She’s settling in nicely,” he said, laying his arm across Sloane’s shoulders. “But you’re not happy. What’s going on?”
“I’m fine,” she said, leaning her hip against the counter. Her gaze lingered on her sister, and she wished she could find the same peace of mind Clara seemed to have found after coming to live with her in Strawberry Ridge.
Her dad turned her to face him. “Fine isn’t good enough for my little girl. Talk to your old man.”
“I’m not your little girl anymore, Dad.” It was nice to have him worrying about her, even though he didn’t need to. She would figure this out. “I love you, Dad, but there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Okay. I’m here if you need to use me as a sounding board.”
That was the problem, wasn’t it? The only sounding board she wanted was the one man she’d decided she couldn’t have.
She’d spent the last few days trying to figure out how to get past the fact that Jonas hadn’t offered her the real thing.
There was only one way to deal with that.
His announcing their fake engagement only confirmed what she already knew.
After her dad left and Clara had gone to bed, she pulled up Perfect Match and answered Jonas’s second message.
“Sorry, I have too much work at the garage, and there’s Clara too.
Oh, and by the way, Julieann stopped in at the garage.
She’s going back to Denver, so you can break off our engagement. See you around.”
She hit send, then deleted her profile and went to bed, pretty sure a good night’s sleep was completely out of the question.