“Like what?”
“Well, what was bothering you when you logged in?”
“I told Nettie to text me tomorrow – and it’s been a few days.”
“So reach out to her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she could contact me…”
“Because you told her to,” Emil reminded.
“Yeah.”
Emil smiled slyly. “Nettie doesn’t strike me as the type to follow your rules. But you could always lead a horse to water another waybesidesbreaking its legs and shoving its head under.”
“I don’t do that!” Tate snapped, then swallowed, his chest tightening. “I’m notthatpushy.”
“She’s a person,” Emil said softly. “A person that means a lot to you… so, show her that you are thinking of her.”
“By texting her first?”
“If you want her to move mountains, think bigger.”
“I bought her yarn and she never used it – she knits or does her crochet-stuff with everythingbutwhat I bought her.”
“Maybe she thinks it's special because you gave it to her?” Emil said with a knowing smile. “Was it the first gift you gave her?”
“Sorta…”
“Why not send flowers? Every woman loves a display of affection…”
“But I don’t love her…” Tate snarled at the screen, trying to cover the fact that he felt like a fool for not thinking of it himself.
“We’ve never discussed love,” Emil replied gently with this smirk plastered all over his face. “But maybe we should?”
“We’re done today,” Tate snapped – ending the Zoom session without a second thought, but Emil’s words lingered.
That night, Tate found himself scrolling through endless arrangements, his chest tight as he picked out an extravagant bouquet of roses, a crystal vase, a balloon, and a card. He froze with the pen in his hand, the blank space taunting him. What could he write that didn’t sound desperate?
Emil’s voice echoed in his mind.Lead her in the direction you want her to go.
“She’s not a dog,” Tate muttered, scowling. But then he remembered their bike ride, their dinner, the easy conversation about candy that had made him laugh harder than he had in years. He wanted to tell her that. He wanted her to know he wanted more.
So he wrote it.
Simple.
Honest.
Straight from the soul.
And curse Emil—it worked.
A shadow fell across him interrupting his thoughts and bringing him back to the present, where he was sitting in theCoyotes locker room. A hand clamped down on his shoulder with too much familiarity.
