He nodded. “Too bad I missed them. But I’m sure whoever purchased them will get a lot of enjoyment. I’ll have to wait until she has more pieces for me to look at. I like the bowl. I’m not exactly sure what I’ll do with it, but I like it.”
Tara chuckled softly. The musical sound of it touched something deep in his chest and spread warmth through his body.
“Brody, it’s a bowl. You put fruit in it, or chips for when you and the ranch hands are watching the football game on TV or doing whatever it is you all do when you kick back and relax after a long day.”
“Those ranch hands aren’t going to see that bowl. I’ve seen the way they horse around. It’ll be broken inside of an hour.”
“I have other things. Do you have dinnerware? I noticed you looking at the table outside.”
“Trip supplied all the basics. Not as nice as what you have out there, but it’s functional.”
“And unbreakable?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I’m sure he had that in mind. There’s nothing on the walls or on the tables. I could use some help with that.”
She drew in a deep breath and then looked around. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything authentic that I could recommend. I have things for the walls, but it’s mostly for the tourists. I’m sure you wouldn’t want a poster of Sweet or Yellowstone National Park in your place.”
“It doesn’t have to be Native American. Just something with…”
“Color?”
“Yeah, color. Something to fill up that space on the walls. I’d love it if you could come by to help give me ideas.”
“I don’t know. It’s been busy all week. People are coming into town for the rodeo, so that’s usually my busiest time.” She glanced over at the bakery case and then appeared to look into the stockroom. “And Dixie isn’t feeling all that well today. I can’t leave the shop.”
“Tomorrow then? How about at lunch? You must take some time off for lunch.”
She shrugged. “I suppose I can work something out with Dixie if she’s feeling better.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Brody pivoted and walked out of the store, almost afraid that Tara would change her mind before he got to the door. She didn’t. But as he walked out onto the sidewalk, he questioned the wisdom of his spontaneous request to ask Tara Mitchell out to the ranch.
Since his arrest, he’d become very careful of who he let into his private space. He’d not only invited Tara, he was asking her to be a part of it. In a way, she already was.
Ever since she’d given him that bowl, Brody thought of her every time he was in his house. It was just a bowl. A piece of clay that had been molded, fired, and painted with love. But it commanded the room because Tara had picked it out and given it to him. It had given the room color and life. Given him life.
He crossed the street and headed to the hardware store to pick up the nails and fasteners he’d ordered. That had been his reason for coming to town that morning. But he’d looked across the street and seen all those pieces sitting out on the sidewalk as if they’d been calling for him. Giving him the breath of life, just as the bowl had. He couldn’t help abandoning plans to quickly do his errands and get back to the ranch. He suddenly realized he had to see Tara.
Within minutes, he’d picked up his order, paid for it, and then headed back to the parking lot where he’d parked his truck. Before he could stop himself, he glanced over at the Sweet Sensations and felt a pull inside of him like no other. He wanted to go back if only to see Tara smile again.
Good Lord, he hoped he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life by inviting her into his space. But he knew that even if she wasn’t physically there, Tara was already there in his head, and he feared, in his heart.
* * *
Why was she doing this? Tara knew why. She’d been railroaded into coming back to the Lone Creek Ranch after she’d specifically decided that giving Brody the bowl would be the last time she’d see him. And then he had to show up at Sweet Sensations and mess with her head by making her think of his eyes and his arms and…and…
“This is so not fair at all,” she muttered, parking her car next to the row of trucks the ranch hands used.
But she knew saying such a thing was ridiculous.
She took a deep breath and then pushed the car door open. The heat from the afternoon sun pushed down on her head as she stepped out of the car. She reached inside to grab her purse, and made sure her cell phone was inside so she could take pictures.
Brody could be anywhere. She hated coming here for the sole reason she always had to look for him. But today he’d invited her to the house. The only problem was she didn’t know which of the houses was his.
She stood and looked around, hoping to find someone to ask. He could be in the barn. It was nearing lunchtime, but it suddenly dawned on her that it didn’t mean he broke for lunch when the rest of the world did. Ranch hands were up early and usually finished a day’s worth of work by most standards before they broke for lunch. Then they went on and did another full day of work.
She drew in a deep breath, smelled the earth and animals nearby, and listened to see if she could hear anything other than animals in the vicinity.
Nothing.
“Hey, little lady,” a male voice said from somewhere by the main house.
Tara turned and saw Trip standing on the porch that
