A Town Called Valentine(69)

“And you could have a sister or brother right here in town,” Brooke said, looking around the crowded deck.

“It’s . . . unnerving,” Emily admitted. “I really debated just forgetting the whole thing, but I can’t seem to manage it. Nate has had some good ideas, so we’ll probably discuss it today.”

“Today?” Brooke said, perking up. “He’s working with you?”

“Actually, it’s a date,” Emily said.

“Oooh.” Monica gave her arm a little shove. “No more ‘we’re just friends’?”

“We’re still friends,” Emily insisted. “But now we’re dating.” She drew air quotes around “dating.”

Brooke snorted her laugh. “Let me guess—my brother suggested that.”

“It was a mutual decision. Neither one of us wants to get too involved.”

“But he’s helping you find your father,” Brooke said dubiously. “Seems pretty involved to me.”

“That’s the friendship part. The dating part is . . . I don’t know. Today’s our first date. He wanted to go rafting, and I refused.”

“Oh, you don’t know what you’re missing,” Monica said, shaking her head. “Springtime down our rivers is so exciting.”

“Maybe, but I’ll leave rafting to you athletic mountain types. I suggested the movie festival.”

Another snort from Brooke.

Emily laughed. “And that was pretty much his response. We’re going hiking. Good thing I’ve been running and renovating, so maybe he won’t have to wait for me too much on the trail.” She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Apologetically, she said, “Let me get this text. Nate said he’d let me know what time he’ll be free.”

“We moved irrigation dams this morning,” Brooke said. “The next hayfields have been flooded. He should be available.”

Emily read the text and responded before looking up. “Nate’s already in town. I told him we were almost done eating.”

Five minutes later, Nate came up the stairs to the deck, and Emily’s stomach did a little flip-flop that was part nerves, part anticipation. They were changing their relationship, and that could be bad or good. She chose to see it as good—something fun to fill her days until it was time to head back to school.

It took another few minutes for Nate to work his way through the crowd, what with everyone needing to talk to him about something or other. Scout got several rubdowns, and he accepted them as his due.

“Your brother is a popular guy,” Emily told Brooke.

“He knows everybody,” Brooke answered, a hint of pride in her voice.

Nate sat down and looked around at the three women, a grin on his face. “I’m the luckiest guy here.”

His sister groaned, and Monica made a funny face.

“What a sweet compliment,” Emily said, smiling at him.

“That’s it, time to go,” Brooke said, getting to her feet and tossing the second half of her veggie wrap in front of her brother. “I can’t even finish this, you make me feel so sick.”

“Enjoy your afternoon.” Monica waved good-bye.

“What did I say?” Nate demanded in a baffled voice.

“Nothing. They know we’re spending the afternoon together, that’s all.”

He stared at Brooke’s sandwich. “And to make my sister lose her appetite—that’s saying something. Oh, well, shouldn’t let it go to waste.”

Emily laughed as he dug in.

He swallowed and winced. “No meat.”

“Nope.”

He shrugged. “It’s good anyway.”

They sat in companionable silence, finishing their wraps and listening to the music. Nate bought another one, and they split a piece of cheesecake full of caramel and chunks of chocolate. Another Sweetheart Inn dessert. Scout sat down in front of Emily and watched her plate with the same concentration he reserved for a stray calf.

Emily licked her fork and closed her eyes. “God, this is so good.”

“Decadent. And aren’t you amazed a cowboy like me knows those big words?”

They ended up driving a half hour down valley to Mushroom Rock, where the cliffs rose above their parked car. The path through red earth wound slowly up, back and forth through trees and rocks, before reaching the summit, where rocks jutted out like a finger into the sky. The entire valley spread out before them, and Emily swayed dizzily, staring at the snow-topped mountains across from them. She kept wanting to put Scout on a leash, but Nate had him well trained. A simple command called him back to his master’s side. But usually, Nate let him sniff every bush and leave his mark.