“What made you take on this old place? Grady said you’re turning it into a bed and breakfast.” Lara stepped over to the fenced off vegetable garden and leaned on the post and rail fence, a wistful look in her eyes. “I wish I had time for a garden like this one. I’m hard-pressed to keep the tiny flowerbed I have with my job. You sure picked a beauty to buy.”
Sassie leaned on the same fence and smiled. “Why, thank you. I love it. Once I get the inside done, I’ll start work out here.” She held up her hand. “This needs to heal, too before I go too crazy.”
“Ah yes, Beth told me about that. You’ll never hear the end of it. She’s trying to organize everyone to come and help you out. Riley will probably get sent over to do his bit, too, being as he’s the carpenter in the family.” She reached and picked a cherry tomato that hung over the wire, popping it into her mouth with a soft moan of pleasure.
“Ah, yes. R.P. Cooper has already been over and offered his services.” A wave of heat crept up her cheeks and she turned away, but not before a light glinted in Lara’s eyes.
“Hmmm…interesting. Not one to let the grass grow under his feet, our Riley. Now, I’ve been charged with asking you out for a meet-and-greet with the girls. We meet at the pub or the restaurant to catch up and have a few drinks or dinner once a week. I think you should join us. We need to fill you in on gossip and see if you want to join our little gang. What do you think, tomorrow night? Are you free?”
Sassie liked this woman in front of her. Friendly, outgoing, and thoughtful. It didn’t hurt that she, too, was a new kid in town not that long ago. A friend or two would be nice. “I’d like that, thanks. Where and when?”
“I’ll pick you up about seven thirty. Just casual clothes. I think we’re at the pub tomorrow. They serve a pretty good happy hour specials, and the beer is nice and cold.”
“I’ll look forward to it. Thanks for inviting me.”
“No problem. Okay, I’d better get back to work. I have patients waiting for me. Oh, another thing…are you interested in a cat, by any chance? I’ve been asked to keep a lookout for someone who wouldn’t mind an older girl. Her owner has to go into a nursing home soon. Last thing I want to do is put down a healthy animal, so I ask everyone I see.”
“Oh, well now, I haven’t had a pet since…I don’t remember when. Poor thing, needing a forever home just like me. Let me think on it, and I’ll let you know tomorrow, if that’s okay?”
“Sure is. I have until the weekend, so make sure she’s for you before you jump. Ginger, de-sexed, and very affectionate is little Tinker Bell.” Lara handed her a business card. “Give me a call in the morning. I can drop her over when I’m passing by.”
Sassie watched Lara walk away, around the corner of the house to where she had parked her car. The door slammed and the engine sounded before a station wagon drove past, tooting the horn. Lara gave a cheery wave out the window as she headed off.
How nice would it be to have her own pet again? Someone to talk to, to share her day with, someone that wouldn’t ask for more than she wanted to give apart from food and a little love. She had plenty of that to go around if she wasn’t being taken advantage of. The thought warmed her. It felt good to have her own roots in a town that was so welcoming to strangers. It looked as though she was here to stay.
Chapter 6
Right on time, Riley lifted his hand to knock on the open kitchen door. He was nervous about tonight, which was stupid because he was always good with the ladies. But Sassie was different, and it wasn’t just her accent that sent shivers down his spine. Her clear green eyes, warm one minute and hard emerald stones the next, intrigued him. And her offer of no-ties-sex was enough to make him want to know more about her. He paused as a jumble of curse words ripped through the air. Sassie’s voice was loud and clear.
He almost charged in, but he stopped to listen.
It sounded as though she was ranting out loud.
“Fecking silly damned things. Whoever invented buttons was a right idiot.” There was a groan and a thump against the wall; he smiled to himself. “There, got you, ya bugger.” Sassie appeared in the kitchen, her hair over her face, and squealed when she realized she wasn’t alone. “Geez Louise, you almost gave me a heart attack, R.P. Cooper.”
“Are you ever going to call me by my name and not my initials?” The corners of his lips twitched and he tried to keep it from going into a full-blown grin. Her legs were longer than he would have guessed. The little black leather skirt hugged her hips, and the white blouse, tucked into the waistband, hung unbuttoned enough to show off the lacey bra underneath, sending his heart into a spin. She held a pair of black stilettos over one finger, swinging them back and forth.
“I’ve not thought about it really. I kind of like calling you R.P.”
She tossed her hair back from her face. A grin broke through her seriousness, showing off little dimples he hadn’t noticed
