Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Adam set a kettle of water on the stove and lit the burner.
Though Halloween still sat a couple of days away, it had started to get cold in Wyoming, and they were even predicting the first snowfall for next week.
He’d been told that it had snowed much earlier in previous years, and he supposed he’d better count his blessings that this year, Mother Nature had decided to wait until November.
Adam could admit he did not possess very much patience, and it was something he was working on. He had two meetings today, one with a catering company that Morris wanted to hire for the first two concerts in December—one they would turn into OJ’s birthday party, and the other Bryce’s.
Adam checked his watch and then the clock on the microwave, noting that the representative he was meeting with from Pork and Beans was late.
Irritation fired through him instantly, because Adam had very little tolerance for tardiness.
He ran fifteen million details of his own life—and other people’s lives—and yes, sometimes he had run a little bit late. Not very often, though.
He had a very narrow window to meet with the catering company, finalize the contracts, and go over the menus before he needed to meet with a woman named Diane Dodd. She was a realtor in town, and he wanted to get her going on the kind of property he wanted to buy.
Now that Adam knew he would be in Coral Canyon for at least three years, he wanted somewhere to call home.
He wanted a big office right off the front door of his house, so that people could walk in and do business, and he wouldn’t have to worry about having dishes in the sink.
Perhaps with an all-cash offer, he could make the move before deep winter set in.
He wanted to live a more normal life, and in the few days since he’d taken Joey for coffee and eaten dinner with her grandparents, it had become apparent all of the things that “regular people” had that he didn’t.
He smiled just thinking about Joey, and he picked up his phone, remembering that she had texted about a half-hour ago.
Leaving the other night had been filled with awkwardness, as Adam had wanted to ask her out again, but didn’t want to do it in front of her grandmother and grandfather. He hadn’t known if he could hug her or touch her, and he’d ended up literally patting her arm and walking out like a fool.
They’d been talking since, but Adam had been busy with Morris as they laid the groundwork for the five-concert series that Country Quad had agreed to do.
Yes, even Luke, who’d texted Adam early the next morning with a few simple words that Adam could only imagine him grunting: Fine, I’ll do the concert series.
He’d prepared contracts for each member of Country Quad to sign, but they hadn’t done that yet. He’d met with Bryce, who’d said that he would find at least one more horse rescue operation to donate the charity funds to, and Adam had asked for a reference for a guitar teacher.
He’d been to Jackson Hole, where he’d bought a guitar, a stand, and the book that the teacher had instructed him to get. He’d been busy in a whole new way—the way someone was when they got a new job and were trying to figure out how to do it.
Adam also wanted to figure out how to live like a person who belonged at the family dinner table with Joey and her grandparents.
He wanted art on his walls that represented him, towels he picked out because he liked them, and yes, he’d even considered taking a cooking class.
Because normal people made their own meals, right?
He looked down at his phone, his thoughts all over the place today. Joey had texted a little bit ago with something funny about her family. My momma loves animals, and we’ve had at least two dozen over the years. OJ has picked up on that, and he’s always begging for a new cat or dog.
She’d included a couple of emojis of cats, dogs, and even a snake. Adam remembered why he hadn’t responded. He didn’t know how.
Was he supposed to ask her if she liked dogs or cats? He already knew she didn’t have any pets, and Adam looked up as realization streamed through him. Now that he’d be living in Coral Canyon, semi-long term, he could get a pet.
His mind whirred with what kind of pet he might want to get. Something that required him to come take care of it at night, he knew that. At the same time, if he got an animal, especially a baby one, he might be chained more to the house than he would like.
Indecision rained through Adam, and he hated how he knew exactly what to do for his clients, but when it came to himself, he was always second-guessing.
“Where is this person?” he grumbled, realizing that the caterer was now ten minutes late.
How long did he have to wait? He didn’t need to meet with Diane for another fifty minutes, but anxiousness streamed through him that it wouldn’t be enough time to finalize contracts, go over the needs of the band and crew for the concert, and choose a menu.
He swiped away from Joey’s text to Shawn Avery’s.
He’d said he would not be able to make the meeting, but he would send someone who could handle everything Adam needed.
He’d just tapped to call the man when his doorbell rang.
Relief flooded through him, and he told himself to chill out.
This was not high-stakes-LA or country-music-star-Nashville.
This was small-town Coral Canyon catering, and who cared if he had to reschedule or couldn’t get everything done in one meeting?
He didn’t have anything else on his calendar, and no one from Country Quad would be texting him to find out details of the meeting within moments of it finishing.
Adam simply had a very hard time relaxing—and no, Joey was not the first person who had told him that. His mom, his dad, his sister, and literally every girlfriend he’d ever had had said the same thing.
He left his phone sitting on the dining room table, along with his notes for the catering company and the real estate agent. He opened the door and started to say, “I thought you’d never—” when he realized the person standing on his front step was none other than Joelle Young.
“Joey,” he said, his attitude and mood morphing immediately.
She wore a bright pink parka that looked like it had sprinkles covering it.
No, not sprinkles—glitter. She wore skinny jeans that disappeared into a white pair of puffy boots that she’d obviously never worn outside before.
That, or she bleached them every time she did, because they were so blindingly white that they made Adam smile.
His eyes zoomed back to her. “What are you doing here?”
“This is your house?” she asked, seemingly as surprised to see him as he was her.
“Yes,” he said. “My rental, at least.”
She lifted a navy blue binder. “I’m here for Pork and Beans. Shawn said it was for catering?”
Adam blinked, the pieces finally lining up together. “Yeah, you’re in the right place.” He backed up. “Come on in.”
Nerves ran through him that she would see where he lived. She would know how impersonal it was—how bland and boring—and she might attribute those same characteristics to him.
He cleared his throat as she went by, the scent of her hair or her perfume fruity and fun—and reminding Adam that she was almost a decade younger than him. The bright pink glittery coat probably should’ve done that as well. He smiled as he closed the door behind her and turned to follow her.
“Let me guess what your favorite color is,” he said, a laugh following it.
Joey had gone down the hallway to the back of the house, and she turned to face him. “Are you making fun of my coat?” Her smile appeared, and Adam could not look away from her mouth.
“It’s pink, isn’t it?” He reached for her hand and realized how icy cold it was when she let him hold it. “Did you ride your bike over here?”
“No,” she said. “But not all of us have heated steering wheels in our cars.” She unzipped her coat, and Adam hastened to take it from her.
“I like the coat, Joey,” he said, in all seriousness. “And listen, I’ve been meaning to text you.”
Joey looked around his living room with its standard beige couch, a stand with the TV, and no window coverings. She met his eyes for a moment, then continued her visual inspection of his space by looking into the kitchen.
“You have?” she asked. “And what were you planning on texting me?” She brought her gaze back to his, and oh, Adam found the challenge there that had also resided in her voice.
“Well,” he said, and he ducked his head, his eyes landing on those boots. “I really like these boots. Where do you get something like this?”
“New York City,” she said. “They were a splurge buy, but they’re actually really useful in Wyoming.”
He looked up at her again. “Normally, I would have asked you out at the end of our last date, but that was pretty awkward. And then I’ve been kind of busy getting this concert series going.”
“Yes, I didn’t know Country Quad was doing a concert series.” Her tone carried an icy coolness that made Adam’s pulse skip over itself.
“Joey.” He grinned at her. “Are you upset your daddy didn’t tell you about the concert series?”
She folded her arms over the rustic orange sweater she wore, and he took that for a yes. He chuckled. “So you’re mad when he doesn’t tell you something, but you didn’t tell him about our coffee date—oh, wait.”
Adam chuckled and backed up. He moved down the table and pulled out a chair for Joey. “That wasn’t a coffee date—at least that’s what you told your grandpa.”
Joey eyed him as she moved to take the seat. “You have to admit, it wasn’t very date-ish.” She held her head high as she sat down.
“I bought you coffee and a croissant,” Adam said.
“And then you ate dinner at my grandparents’ house.”
“We went cowboy hat shopping.” Adam rounded the table to take the seat opposite kitty-corner to her.
“And you’re not even wearing it.”
Adam grinned because he liked this banter between them. He liked that Joey could come back at him, as it showed she had a quick mind and a good sense of humor.
“I’ve been wearin’ it to all my meetings with your uncle,” he said.
“And now you’re dropping G’s.” She grinned at him. “Wearin’ it.” She set her arms on the table and opened the binder. “Shawn said you didn’t have much time.”
Panic ran through Adam. “I was asking you out,” he said. “Do you want to skip past that?”
Joey looked up from the binder with only her eyes, her head not moving at all. “Go on then.”
“If what we did the other afternoon wasn’t a date, fine,” Adam said. “I’ll plan something really amazing for our first date. Are you free on Friday night?”
It was only Monday, and Adam kicked himself for suggesting the weekend. Joey shook her head anyway. “No,” she said. “I’m catering an event that night.”
“What about Thursday?” he asked.
“It’s Book Club at the bookstore,” she said. “And I already told my momma I’d work it.”
Familiar frustration started to build within Adam. “Wednesday?”
“Halloween,” she said. “I’ll be up in Dog Valley.”
He sighed and looked away. “Sounds like you’re making things difficult on purpose.” He looked over to her, and she simply grinned at him.
“This week, I’m not working Saturday at all.”
“Saturday it is,” he said, seizing onto the idea. “Do you want a day date or an evening date?”
She reached over and touched his hand, which sent a sizzling sparkle through his whole body. “You decide,” she said. “And text me. I’m sure it will be great.”
She looked down at the binder. “Now I’m pretty sure you were irritated when I got here, because I was late, which I can assure you, is not my fault. Sean told me about the appointment at two o’clock.”
“We were supposed to meet at two,” he said.
“Which is why I was late,” Joey said. “I ran out the moment he gave me the binder and the address, and I got here as quickly as I could.”
“All right,” Adam said. “I may have been a little irritated, but I’m not anymore.” He reached over and took her hand in both of his. “It’s good to see you, Joey.”
She nodded to the left. “I see a guitar over there. Did you find a teacher already?”
“Yes,” he said. “We’ve had one lesson on Saturday.”
“And you didn’t text and tell me about it?” Her eyes landed on his, and Adam felt properly chastened.
“I….” He trailed off, not quite sure what to admit. “I thought maybe you didn’t care,” he said. “About the mundane intricacies of my life.”
“Well, if we’re going to start dating,” Joey said. “Then that’s what you share—the mundane intricacies of your life. If you can’t share those with me, who can you share them with?” She lifted her eyebrows, and Adam conceded the point.
“So Saturday,” he said. “I want to go out to breakfast, because Harry’s been telling me about this really great place.
” Secretly, he thought a breakfast date could turn into a lunch date, which could turn into a dinner date.
It could be an all-day date with Joey, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.
“What’s this really great place?” Joey asked.
“Brunch House,” he said. “Have you been?”
She shook her head. “No, but I’ve heard it’s good.”
“Great,” he said. “Is nine too early?”
She belted out a laugh and said, “Oh, honey, I get up every day at three-thirty to make it to the bakery by four. Nine is practically lunchtime.”
He laughed with her, and he felt more normal than ever now that he had a date on the calendar with the beautiful Joelle Young.