Page 14 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“What?” Mara’s eyebrows dipped, confused.

“Let me finish dressing Jasper down. We can talk about it over lunch. I want to hear about your date with Carter too.”

Mara rolled her lips in and nodded. She should have known that topic would come up. It was too late to turn down lunch, though. She would not be rude to avoid talking about her personal life. Especially to someone who had helped her reconstruct the pieces of her shattered life with zero questions asked. Plus, it would be nice to get someone else’s take on what was happening with Carter. She’d kept the news of her date from her sister on the several occasions they’d talked this past week. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Shauna to know. She just didn’t want her brothers to know. Not yet. Shauna was not the best at keeping secrets. Her mouth frequently ran ahead of her brain, and things just slipped out.

Gemma paused, the brush in her hand hovering over Jasper’s back. “Oh, I like that look.” She pointed at Mara’s face with the brush.

“What look?” Mara wasn’t aware she had a look other than one of resignation.

“The one that says you had a good time and want to do it again.” She resumed her task of sweeping dust off the horse’s back. “Do tell.”

All that had been on her face? She let out a short breath. “I will. Over lunch.” She grinned at her friend, her expression lightening as she reminded Gemma of her earlier statement about waiting to talk.

Gemma’s quick laugh filled the stall. “Touché.”

Giggling, Mara picked up Jasper’s saddle and saddle blanket and headed for the tack room.

With Jasper settled, Mara and Gemma left the building through the arena and got into Gemma’s car.

“Where to?” Gemma started the engine.

“I don’t care. What do you want?”

“Chinese?”

“Sure.”

Gemma put the car in gear and backed out of her parking space, then pointed them toward Foggy Mountain’s only Chinese restaurant. Once there, they found a space near the rear of the lot and went inside.

“We should have waited another hour. I forgot about the lunch rush.” Gemma brushed her hair back into place as the door closed behind them, cutting off the wind.

“I think we’ll be fine. I see some empty tables.”

The hostess arrived just then and showed them to a table in the middle of the restaurant. They quickly placed their orders, both knowing what they liked.

“So.” Gemma folded her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Tell me about your date.”

“We had a good time. Better than I ever thought we would. I was so nervous, but it didn’t take me long to relax. He’s kind and funny. We never lacked for conversation.”

“That’s great. So, do you feel ready to reenter the dating world now?”

A grin stole over Mara’s face. “Actually, he asked if I’d like to go out again. I said yes. We’re having dinner tomorrow evening. He offered to cook for me.”

Gemma gasped. “What? That’s great. I’d hoped you’d hit it off with Carter—he’s such a great guy—but I knew you were just breaking into dating again, so I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I’m glad things went well.”

“Me too. Brooke did well picking my date.” Mara chuckled. “Carter’s very easy-going, which helped. I didn’t feel pressured into making small talk or all the things that go into a first date. We agreed at the beginning it wasn’t a date. Just two people going out for an evening as friends. By the end of the night, I didn’t want him to go home. We ended up at my house and just talked for about an hour before he needed to leave.” She’d thought she was going to get a kiss, which she did—on the cheek. It still set her on fire, though, and made her eager for their next date.

“Well, good. It sounds like he makes you happy.”

“He does. I never imagined I’d feel like this again. I just hope I don’t get my heart broken.”

“Carter’s a good guy. If things don’t work between the two of you, I think it’ll be a mutual thing. He won’t string you along.”

“That doesn’t mean it won’t still hurt if it ends.” Mara had battled that thought all week. Several times, she’d almost called him and canceled. But then she remembered Gemma’s words about how Blake wouldn’t want her to live her life alone, and she pushed the thought away for a little while again.

“No, but at least you’ll know you tried.”

Their server arrived with their drinks. Mara took the opportunity to change the subject once the girl walked away.