Page 13 of Smoky Mountain K-9
His eyebrow shot up. “You made these?”
She nodded.
“What do I have to do to get these more often?”
Her cheeks flushed, and he realized how his words sounded. Heat suffused his face, and he chuckled. “I did not mean that how it sounded.” He stuffed the rest of the cookie in his mouth and glanced away.Great job, idiot. Way to put your foot in your mouth.His inner voice rolled its eyes at him. He wouldn’t mind another date, but the implication he wanted to see her again could have been smoother.
Mara waved a hand. “I know.”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to another date ending like this one, though.” He reached for another cookie as he threw that out there. Part of him wanted to take it back. He had no desire for a relationship; too much about his past was too painful to discuss. And he knew that for a relationship to work, he had to be open about the things he’d done and seen—which he wasn’t ready for. But he’d be damned if something about her didn’t override the part of him that wanted to stay hidden behind walls.
She froze, cookie between her teeth. After a moment, she bit off a bite and chewed it up. “You wouldn’t?”
“No. I know we agreed this wasn’t a date, but Mara, I’ve never had a better date. Tonight was fun. Not just because of where we went, but because I was with you. Would you like to go out again? This time for real?” Carter was glad his hands were busy. He wasn’t a naturally nervous man, but right now he was. Despite his misgivings about what it would mean for his emotional state, he wanted her to say yes. Watching her while she stared off into the distance, contemplating his question, was torture.
“Um, actually, I think that sounds great. I had a nice time, too, Carter.”
Elation and relief put a wide smile on his face. “Good. Great. This weekend, maybe?”
She nodded.
“Great.” Geez, he sounded like a damn parrot. He took another bite of his cookie and shut up.
Six
Asoft knock sounded on Mara’s door. She glanced up from her computer screen to see Gemma standing in the doorway.
“Hey.” She smiled at her friend. “Back to exercise Jasper?”
Gemma returned her smile. “Yeah. I’m going to give a slow walk a go. It’s killing me to not ride. I also wanted to see if you’d like to get lunch.”
“Oh. Sure.” Lunch with Gemma sounded much better than the soup and sandwich she packed.
“Great. Give me about forty-five minutes?”
“That’s perfect. I have a report to finish.”
“Awesome. See you in a bit.”
Mara nodded, and Gemma disappeared, her riding boots making soft thuds as she moved down the hallway to go to the stables.
Turning back to her screen, Mara returned to her report. Forty minutes later, she logged out. Grabbing her purse and jacket, she left her office and told the office manager, Pam, where she was going, then headed for the stables to find Gemma.
Soft neighs met her presence as she walked down the corridor to Jasper’s stall.
Gemma glanced up and smiled. “Hey, I’m about done.”
“Take your time. I don’t really have anything pressing this afternoon until two. Did you have a good ride?”
“Yes. It wasn’t too bad. I’m definitely not ready for more than a walk, but I can work with that. It was nice to have a distraction and something to perk me up.”
“Oh? Meri keeping you up at night?” Gemma’s daughter, Meredith, was only a few weeks old.
“That’s part of it, but mostly it’s a case Ben’s working.”
“A case? Since when do his cases bother you?”
“Since it involves our friend’s girlfriend.”