“Do you like your job?” She pats the cushion on the couch, waiting for me to join her. I settle down just on the other side of Maverick.
“I love it. Austin isn’t the greatest boss in town, but I love the work. Plus, Lauren has been helping out a good amount over the last year since she got out of college, and I like working with her. She’s sweet and quiet, but she has this sassy, sarcastic side that will come out every now and then, and it’s always fun.”
“Who are Lauren and Austin?”
“Oh yeah, I guess I forgot you don’t know this town like the back of your hand just yet.” I chuckle softly. “Remember I told you Charlie Rhodes left Roots and his little sister’s fiancé is in line to take over Copper Hill?” She nods. “Lauren is Charlie’s little sister, and Austin is her fiancé.”
“Lauren and Austin. Got it. It’s locked in now.” She touches her pointer finger to her temple, a look of laser focus on her face.
Silence falls over us, and I’m forced to consider what my intentions are now that we are finally face to face again. I’m no longer naïve enough to believe I can ignore my feelings for Olivia, but I’m not sure what to do about them. She’s leaving soon, and I have demons I need to deal with. This relationship would be doomed before it even began. I feel like a fool. I should’ve taken more time.
Picking at her nails, Olivia glances up at me, breaking the silence. “I’ve been revamping the social media for Resilient Paws. I made a post the other day, and it just took off.” She reaches over Maverick to hand me her phone, leaning in to watch over my shoulder as I take a look at the screen.
“Eight hundred thousand views? This is incredible! How did you manage that?”
She tries to humbly hide the smile growing on her face, but it slips through anyway. “I’m not exactly sure what I did. The audio I used was trending and I synced up the music to the video well. I think that helped. I’m confident the rest was just the dogs being their wonderful selves.”
“I think it had a little bit to do with the person behind the camera being her wonderful self too.”
She blushes. “I guess it pays to be authentic. I had this idea in my head for a couple weeks, but I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to do it. I finally decided to just post it, and here we are. Resilient Paws got over one hundred new followers out of all the attention, and I think it’s going to help me promote the fundraiser.”
“This is amazing. You have a gift. I can’t stop watching the video. It’s no wonder it went viral.”
“I wouldn’t call that viral. It’s not like it had millions of views or anything.” She reaches to take the phone back, but I pull it in toward my chest.
“I’m not done watching it. I’m serious. I can’t stop.”
She laughs. “You’re making way too big of a deal out of this. Anyone can get this kind of activity on one post. I need to be able to continuously repeat this sort of attention if I want to make a difference. They say the amount of followers that actually see your posts is miniscule, something like ten percent. So, by that logic, of those one hundred followers I got for the account, only ten of those people will see anything else I post about the fundraiser or a new dog in the shelter that needs a home.”
I grab her hand, watching the overwhelm rise in her by the second. “I can tell you care about the dogs. Maybe it is true only ten percent of your followers see your content, but that still means ten more people are going to see what you post.” I scroll through the feed, clicking through the photos and videos she’s added over the last couple of weeks. “This is all very powerful. Just getting one more person to see it is going to make a change because then that person will show someone who will show someone and so on.”
A soft smile lights up her face. “Thanks, Rhett. I just really care about these dogs.”
“I know.” Still holding her hand, I say, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Try to let yourself enjoy being with the dogs, creating content, and planning the fundraiser. I don’t want to see this tear you up and make you anxious.”
“I maybe get a little anxious about it, but it’s a different kind of anxiety from what I experience when I have a panic attack. Anxiety with work is debilitating, but this anxiety is subtler, and it drives me to keep going. Actually, according to my counselor, my anxiety can be a good thing when it’s managed well. It’s part of how I have been able to achieve so much all my life. I just need to work on preventing the debilitating part of it.”
“That sounds like a good start.”
Realizing I’m still holding her hand, I slowly release it, but our faces are so close that I can feel her breath on my lips. It’s warm and gentle, just like the rest of her. Unable to control myself any longer, I move slightly closer, catching her familiar and comforting scent of lavender. She doesn’t move away, and her eyes bob briefly down to my lips.
It makes me wonder what it’d be like to kiss Olivia.Would her lips be as soft as they look? Would her skin feel smooth as I run my palms over her curves? Would she melt into my kiss? Would it be slow and passionate or rushed and desperate?
Exhaling, I move in closer, but Maverick picks that moment to leap up barking at what appears to be nothing. His big head is in Olivia’s lap one moment and smashing into her nose the next. My heart sinks as she lets out a shriek of pain.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Olivia
It’s been nearlyforty-eight hours since Rhett and I almost kissed. Have we talked about it? Nope.
Rhett scampered off pretty quickly after my nose stopped bleeding with some excuse about needing to be up early for work the next day. Now it’s been almost two whole days, but we still haven’t had a chance to talk about it. Between the fundraiser, the café, and the ranch, it’s felt like we’re two ships passing in the night. Maybe I should be grateful for the time to think. I know in my heart what I want, but my brain is telling me something else entirely, and I’d really like the two to agree. Realistically, the time has only given me the space to come up with every reason why that almost kiss didn’t mean anything.
“What’s going through that beautiful head of yours, Ol?” Dad narrows his eyes at me as we sit on the couch after dinner.
It’s been a great night with incredible food and good conversation, but try as I might, I can’t keep my mind from swirling with thoughts of Rhett or the realization that I’m only here for another month and a half.Where has all the time gone?And inevitably, that leads me to the fact that I don’t want to go back to my job after all this, and I don't want to leave Roots.
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
