Page 16 of Boston (Coral Canyon: Cowboys #12)

“The road conditions ?” Boston scooped up another bite of pork and potatoes and ate it. After swallowing, he asked, “And you think your cute little cherry red CUV is going to make it?”

“Oh, it’s going to make it,” she said. “Don’t you dare speak a bad word against her.”

Boston chuckled. “Your car?”

“Yes,” she said, really enjoying this back and forth flirting with him. “My car is very important to me. I would never dare make fun of a cowboy’s truck.”

“Well, you’ve got a point there,” Boston said.

“So will you share your calendar with me?” Cora asked, feeling bold and courageous now that she had this man in her house and they’d been talking and laughing for several minutes.

“My calendar?” Boston asked.

“Yeah. Your work calendar and your personal calendar. Then I’ll know when you’re free.”

Boston blinked at her and then rose up on one hip so that he could pull his phone out of his back pocket. “I’ve never shared my calendar with a woman before.”

“Well, I’m not like everyone else,” she said.

“No, you’re not,” he murmured, swiping and tapping on his phone. “I’m not even sure I know how to do this.”

She held out her hand, and Boston, with all the trust in the world, put his device in her palm.

“We are going to do so many things this summer that you’ve never done before,” she said, all of her joy and happiness seeping into her voice as she tapped to share his calendar and put in her email address. One more tap, and she handed the phone back. “Done.”

Boston looked at it and then at her. “All right.”

He flipped over the phone and laid it next to his plate before he picked up his fork again. “Will you give me some hints about your favorite place?”

Cora laughed at how incorrigible he was. “All right. The first one is this: you’re going to need bug spray.”

Cora woke the next morning without an alarm.

She’d now completed her first full week at the lodge and resort in Coral Canyon.

She wasn’t sure why that felt like such a feat, only that it did.

She adjusted her position in bed, sliding the pillow further up under her knees to alleviate the pressure in her back.

She snuggled deeper into her covers, warm and content to stay in bed for a moment. Gratitude filled her for this slower Sabbath day, though last week, she and her family had gone horseback riding with Boston.

She couldn’t believe so much had changed in her life in such a short period of time. She drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment as she let the goodness of God trickle through her for the first time in a long time.

She rolled over and picked up her phone, really having no idea what time would blink back at her.

She let out a gasp when she saw she had slept past nine o’clock.

She rarely did that. Cora counted her morning hours some of her most productive.

She’d had a busy week from arriving in town, unpacking and cleaning the cabin, completing a half-dozen meetings, doing a horseback excursion, and of course, there was that whole almost-fall-off-Goldie thing that had introduced her to her new almost-boyfriend.

She smiled as she sat up, even though she had several texts and a missed call. Such things usually sent a jolt of adrenaline through her, as she hated playing catch up.

Sunday was one of their busiest days for check-out and check-in, but Cora didn’t work at the lodge or resort.

Still, she had worked at a hotel with strict customer service policies for a long time, and she knew that those in a position of management rarely got a day off.

Everything about Wyoming moved slower than Miami, and Cora hoped that this Sunday would be slower than the other days of her week.

Kat had texted about family dinner later that night, and the call she’d missed had come from the hotel in Miami. She frowned at that one and muttered under her breath that she’d quit two weeks ago and certainly didn’t need to help them out.

Something gnawed at her, and she knew that she would return the call eventually.

Boston had texted as well, and Cora scooted back against her headboard to read his messages.

Hey, Cora, what are you up to today? That message had come in at 7:24 in the morning, and Cora noted he fit the stereotypical cowboy who rises at dawn.

A half-hour later, a new message had come in.

I’m headed to church here in about five minutes, but I’ll be back at the lodge around eleven if you want to maybe take a walk and get lunch.

Some of Cora’s joy faded as she re-read the message and looked up.

Church.

She hadn’t even thought about attending church that day, and she had no idea where she might do so. She definitely felt closer to God in this slower small town than she had in the bustling environment of South Miami.

She looked at her phone again, and her thumbs flew as she texted Boston back. Do you go to church every week?

Just about, he said almost immediately.

Where do you go?

There’s a great pastor in Dog Valley, he said. I’ve been going there since I started at Silver Sage. My family goes down in Coral Canyon, but it’s a long drive.

Cora scraped her teeth along her lip for a moment, trying to decide if she could ask him another question. She didn’t want to put him on the spot, but she also wanted to be able to have an open dialog with him about anything.

She typed out the question and read it a couple of times before taking in all the air she could hold and dropping her thumb onto the send button.