Page 15 of More Than a Little Spark (Cowboys of Stargazer Springs Ranch #9)

Daphne

Daphne

T he last few months have been the best of my adult life. And it’s not just Carson that’s good. My siblings and I are talking regularly again. My foot healed, and I’m no longer hobbling around on crutches. Life is just good.

Which means I’ve been keeping an eye on the sky. Because whenever I have a parade, life rains on it. And because I have a date scheduled with Carson tomorrow on Valentine’s Day, I’m a little extra nervous.

I tuck my purse into the bottom drawer of my desk, turn on the computer, then open the calendar to make sure I’m informed about the day’s schedule. Both mine and Austin’s.

Normally, I run and grab coffee, but a pop-up notification snags my attention. I open the email from Austin that has the subject Job Posting. I can hammer out a quick job listing super quick and have one thing off my plate. He hires new programmers pretty routinely.

But when I read the rest—the part I couldn’t see in the pop-up—fear swirls like dark clouds overhead. The job description is a lot of the stuff I do. And it’s listed as an admin position.

Maybe I do need that cup of coffee first.

As I stand, Austin pops his head out of his office. “Hey, have a few minutes to meet before everyone else arrives?”

I nod and trudge into his office, willing to bet that whatever he wants to talk about is going to douse my parade.

He points to a chair as he sits behind his desk. “You can leave the door open. This won’t take long.”

I ease into the armchair, bracing myself for bad news. “I saw the email about the job.”

He taps on his keyboard, gaze fixed on his screen. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. This has been a few weeks coming, but I had to get a few things in order before this conversation could take place.”

I cross my arms and breathe in deeply. “Okay.”

He glances at me. “You cold? Is everything okay?” Genuine concern shows in his eyes.

“Please just say what you called me in here for.”

With a puzzled look on his face, he stares at me a second, then gives a small shake of his head. “When you were out for that week and I was covering for you?—”

“I’m so sorry about that. I tried to come back as soon as?—”

He puts a hand up. “I’m not upset about it. But I realized how much you do. It’s a lot. Marv and I couldn’t run this place without you. We barely made it through that week.” He slides a sheet of paper across the desk. “That’s the reason for the job posting. We’re hiring someone to help you.”

“To help me?” I blink, processing what he’s saying.

“Yes. You didn’t think I’d try to replace you? I don’t even want to think about training someone new. And you know as well as I do, that most people wouldn’t enjoy working with me.”

“You’re a great boss.”

Laughing, he points to the sheet in front of me.

“You can skip the flattery. The decision has already been made. Your new title is Senior Executive Assistant. The promotion comes with a bump in salary and stock options. I want you to know that Marv and I truly appreciate what you do here, and we will do everything we can to make sure you don’t leave. ”

I run my fingers over the words on the paper. “I’m not sure what to say. And here I thought you were upset that I took tomorrow off.”

“Not in the least. You deserve time off.”

“This means a lot to me, Mr. Graves, I mean, Austin. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

He nods. “And please hire someone who doesn’t chew gum. That noise makes me want to crawl out of my skin.”

“I know, and I’ll keep that in mind.” I fight the urge to walk around the desk and hug my boss. He’s not much of a hugger. Unless your name is Zoe and you look at him like he hung the moon. Neither of those are true for me.

As I walk back to my desk, the elevator dings, and a delivery guy exits carrying a vase filled with a mix of red, orange, and vivid pink blooms. I'm almost jealous of the recipient. Okay, not almost. I'm totally jealous.

Smiling, I ask, “How may I help you?” Which is a somewhat silly question because he’s obviously delivering flowers.

He checks a sheet of paper in his hand. “I have a delivery for Daphne Emerson.”

Surprised, I tap my chest like a dork. “That’s me.”

“Great. Then I don’t have to keep looking.” He hands over the vase. “Have a great day.”

Waving, I scan for a card. Please have a card because the curiosity of not knowing who they’re from will kill me. I find it hidden on the opposite side.

Daphne –

Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady. I’m looking forward to our date tomorrow.

-Carson

I hold the card to my chest and close my eyes. This man. Of all the men driving trucks on Texas backroads, this is the one who rescued me. How did I get so lucky?

Making rash life decisions after knowing someone a few months is risky, and I have no plans to do that. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have strong feelings for Carson. And he hasn’t even kissed me.

We’ve only known each other two and a half months, which may not seem like a long time to wait for a kiss.

However, I’ve wanted one since the day he came up to the hospital the morning after my accident.

With both our lives being busy and his pretending that he’s not dating anyone, I’ve only seen him once since Christmas, and that was almost a month ago.

I’m really hoping for a Valentine’s Day kiss.

“I can’t talk long. He’ll be here any minute.” I peek through the blinds, watching the parking lot.

Rose laughs. “Not at all excited, are you?”

“Too excited maybe. He arranged a picnic for us. How romantic is that? But I’m also nervous.”

“Nervous? About what?”

Even though it sounds crazy, I can admit to Rose why I’m waiting for the bad thing to come. “There have been too many good things and not enough to balance it out. So I’m nervous that one big, horrible thing is coming.”

“Nothing bad? You mean like flipping your car or having your mom ignore your calls?”

“Okay, so maybe I’m worrying for no reason.”

“You spend so much time looking at the good that you forget that everything is pretty balanced. And I am sorry about your mom. Hopefully, that situation changes soon.”

I shrug. “Don’t want to talk about that right now. I don’t need to open the door with red puffy eyes.” Looking in the little mirror near my door, I make sure my misty eyes haven’t ruined my makeup. “He just pulled in. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Call me after. And let me know if he finally kisses you.”

“How do you know he hasn’t already?” Peeking out, I smile as Carson gets out of his truck.

“Because you haven’t called me squealing. I know you, Daphne.”

“Yeah. Well, here’s hoping I call you squealing later. Bye.” I end the call and yank open the door before Carson even has a chance to knock.

“Hey there.” He holds out a small gift bag. “I got you a little something.”

Ignoring the bag, I wrap my arms around him. “I’ve missed you.”

He tightens his embrace and pulls me close. “Same. I know we text or talk every day, but it’s not the same as seeing you and holding you.”

I pat his chest as I pull back. “Now, let’s see that bag. And I don’t know why you brought a gift because you already sent me those amazing flowers.” I point over my shoulder to where the bouquet is sitting.

He grins. “It’s just something small. My way of asking if you’ll be my valentine.”

“Yes!” I pull a box of chocolates and a bar of soap. “Is this your soap?”

“I haven’t personally used that bar because giving used soap as a gift is weird, but that’s the kind I use.”

I inhale the absolute delicious scent of the bar. “It’s amazing. I may just tuck it under my pillow.”

“We should head out. The food is in insulated bags, but I don’t want to risk it getting warm.” He holds out his hand. Waiting for me to clasp it.

I do. And just like always, the warmth of his hand has my heart swing dancing in my chest. “We should go dancing sometime. Do you like to dance?”

“Haven’t been dancing much. Or at all. But I’m up to try.”

Conversation flows as comfortably as always while we make our way to the picnic spot. After passing the entrance to Stargazer Springs Ranch, he drives another half mile before turning onto a dirt road.

“If I’d known we were coming to the ranch, I could have met you here. You didn’t have to drive all that way just to come get me.”

“And miss spending time with you on the way? Where’s the fun in that? Valentine’s Day is about spending time together.” He punches a code into a keypad, and the gate swings open.

“Aren’t you worried someone will see us together here on the ranch?” I don’t mention Fred by name, but it’s not hard to figure out what I mean.

“Fred’s in school for another couple of hours.

Then Poppy is picking him up. Plus, the boys don’t come to this part of the ranch.

Beau has a cabin out here, and he and Lilith are the only ones who come out this way.

But when I was talking to Ava about planning a picnic, Beau walked in and suggested this spot. ”

“This area is beautiful.”

“It is.” He parks in front of a cabin. “I figured we’d lay the blanket out over by the creek.”

It isn’t long before we have a large denim blanket stretched out. Carson sets two cooler bags on one corner, then strides back to the truck. He returns with an armful of throw pillows.

“Did you buy those just for today? Because you don’t look like the throw pillow type. Plus, you didn’t have any when I was at your house that day.”

“Guilty as charged. And if you want them when we’re done, they’re all yours. I’m not sure I’d convince Fred that I bought a bunch of throw pillows for no reason.”

“I can keep them until our next picnic.” Am I angling for another date? Yes, I definitely am. I want a lifetime of dates with Carson. It’s way too early to say that out loud, but I can think it.