“But that’s just it. You’ve seen it. The good and the bad. You’ve seen it and made a choice. I didn’t have that choice. I was just getting started. I left with next to no money in my pocket with a man who had big dreams that gave me stars in my eyes. And I quickly realized that I was the one that was going to help him get his big dreams. But I didn’t know that until he took off with everything that I helped him build. And those were hard years. I saved every penny. I did that because I thought that there would be a reward at the end. But my reward was finding out that my life was a ruse. It was all in my head. I wonder sometimes if I go out there into the world by myself if I’ll finally see it the way it is in my dreams.”
“You know what I first thought when I stepped off the bus at boot camp?”
She shook her head.
“The first thing I met was me and everything I had in my heart that I carried with me. Everything else was just more people with a different story and different baggage. And there were people just like here in Sweet. They just had a different address. So it didn’t matter where I ended up. It wasn’t going to change my love or my heart.”
He looked into her eyes and saw her questions in the war that was raging there.
“This isn’t something that needs to be decided tonight. How much time did you give this Hollywood guy on the counter offer?”
“Twenty-four hours. Kas says he needs me more than I need him. If he walks, then someone else will come in and scoop up the deal.”
She said the last part in a quiet voice as if she were floating far away from where he was. Oh, how he wanted her to come back to him.
“I’m not going to say anything else on this except I like you, Katie.”
She smiled. “Like? A few minutes ago you were in love with me.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle himself. “I have a feeling if I keep saying how I really feel it will just complicate things more than they already are.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I’ll get the rest of the rolls from the truck.”
Katie nodded and didn’t say any more. Caleb spent the rest of the day searching his mind for what he should’ve said to make Katie want to stay. Kicking himself for pushing her and laying it all out there, and then being thankful he’d had the restraint to walk away and not say more. The only way he wanted Katie to stay in Sweet is if she wanted him. And he was never going to know that if he didn’t give her the room to make the decision herself.
* * *
Katie walked down the hallway towards her brother’s room. The door was closed. She knew better been to just barge in, so she knocked.
“Come in,” Kas said.
“Where’s Tabby?” Katie asked.
Kasper zipped his suitcase shut and then stood up straight. “She’s over at the ranch saying goodbye to Trip and the other hands.”
“It looks like leaving is affecting you more than it’s affecting her,” Katie said.
“She hasn’t said anything. But I know she’s feeling it. It makes me feel like a jerk for pulling her way from the people she loves.”
Katie leaned against the doorjamb and folded her arms across her chest. “She loves you, Kas. If you left without her, she’d run after you. You know she would.”
He smiled. “I’m not sure I’d ever get the chance to find that out. I don’t think I could leave without her.”
She frowned. “Are you thinking of relocating back to Sweet?”
“We haven’t talked about it. We haven’t talked about a whole lot. She just tells me she wants to be with me.”
“She said yes when you asked her to marry you. She’ll follow you anywhere.”
He looked panicked for a second. “I’d marry her tomorrow if she wanted to. We’ve only known each other a few months. I’m not sure she’s ready to get married yet.”
Katie laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“Men. They’re all the same. You know you tiptoe around things and then you wonder why you don’t understand women. Just tell her you want to get married now. What’s so hard about that? You’ll work the rest out.”
He sat down on the bed. “You think so?”
“You’ll figure it out.”
“What about you? Have you made a decision about what you do?”
She shrugged. “I’m going to miss you when you leave. I hate being in this house by myself. It’s been nice having you and Tabby here. Takes a little bit of the sting of loneliness away.”
“There is no reason you have to stay lonely, Katie. But that choice is yours.”
“I know.”
“Did you make a decision on the Hollywood man’s offer yet?”
“I countered so high that I doubt he’ll go for it.”
“I wouldn’t bet anything on that. I did some research on your guy. He has deep pockets. And I mean real deep pockets. If he thinks the property’s worth it, he’ll be willing to pay.”
“Really? Well, then I wish I’d gone higher.”
Kasper frowned. “Katie, are you trying to blow the deal?”
“You said to negotiate. That’s what I’m doing.”
“I know. It sounds to me like you’re trying to negotiate your way out of him accepting.”
“Well, maybe I am. I know I can’t keep the place. But I did want to see it finished. I’ve never finished anything in my life. I had such big plans for the chapel and what it could be. And I hate the idea of this guy coming into Sweet and turning that section of property into condos or something else just for his city friends to get wowed over.”
“I know what you mean.
