“That’s our choice.” Bridget set her phone on the table. “What do you all think?”
Rain winked at Cassidy. “I vote we stick around here for a few days. It’s a neat town.”
“I agree.” The mischief in Lark’s grin couldn’t be disguised.
Jessica gave a pointed stare to Joel’s truck parked outside. “I also think we should stay. You never know what, or who, we might discover.”
Cassidy willed a hole to open in the ground and swallow her. The only saving grace was that Joel sat in his truck, oblivious to the conversation inside. Her embarrassment couldn’t handle her friend’s blatant attempts at matchmaking. She opened her mouth to oppose them, but the words refused to leave her mouth.
Could she secretly want to stay?
The idea was ludicrous. They had a schedule to keep and lives to get back to.What life? She wished she could turn off that obnoxious voice in her head, but it had a good point. Whatdidshe have to return to? A luxury apartment in Foggy Bottom that would require a substantial dip into her savings to keep the lease?
Was it worth returning to? Not really. She didn’t want to return to Washington, but what about Treasure Harbor? It wouldn’t be the same without her friends, and they’d all be moving to pursue new lives.
The thought depressed her, and not even the long-awaited sugar-laden breakfast could appease her. Her blank future stared her boldly in the face, daring her to take a risk and paint a colorful new canvas. Only God knew what that canvas would come out as, but did she trust Him?
“Let’s stay,” she said before she could change her mind. “Why rush when our goal was to see the country? We might never make it this away again, and I’d like to see the town. Maybe we could even attend part of the convention.”
***
Á hand written out of order sign taunted Cassidy. It wasn’t so much the sign, as the fact her friends were up to something. She’d been on the phone when they’d knocked on her door and told her they were going next door to do laundry.
That was a half hour ago, and they hadn’t returned to say anything about going elsewhere. She could only surmise they’d gone in search of a laundromat but obviously had reasons for not including her.
And she was ninety-nine percent sure that reason related back to Joel.
After she’d made the announcement to stay until the SUV was fixed, her friends had taken that, along with Joel’s donut treat, and ran with it. Each had decided that Cassidy’s turn for love had come and that Joel would turn out to be her soulmate.
Funny, they didn’t care that she didn’t believe in soulmates. Never had. She also hadn’t been one of those girls who had planned their wedding from an early age. When the others had flipped through magazines they’d borrowed from their mothers and picked out the perfect color schemes—and the girlie celebrity magazines to pick out their husbands—she’d tuned out.
On a scale of one to ten, she came in as a three on the romance scale, and that was only because she believed in true love, if not soulmates.
She lugged her bag of dirty clothes back to the motel room and tried calling Bridget. No answer. Continuing down the line, she received the same response. Nothing. Not even to text messages. Suspicions confirmed, she decided to show them. She’d find out where the laundromat was and meet them there—presuming that’s where they were.
And she’d do it without Joel’s help or contacting him. Her friends’ schemes irritated her, although she knew it came from a good place in their hearts. However, her father’s massive betrayal had left her sensitive to manipulation and schemes of any kind.
She already regretted her impulsive decision earlier in the day to stay. Once she found the girls, she’d talk to them, explain that she didn’t want any matchmaking. Then she’d tell them how much she loved and appreciated them so there would be no hard feelings. They meant the world to her—she just didn’t want to be pushed into a romance, especially one that held no possibility of a future.
After connecting to Joel’s internet, she searched the browser on her phone for a laundromat. Nothing popped up in the results, and she let out a low growl. Making a mental list of her options, letting the laundry go another day topped the list.Except I need clean clothes. We’d planned to wash them when we got to Camp Margo.
Reluctantly, she trudged out of her room and cut to the back of the motel and crossed the path to Joel’s small house behind the property. She knocked on his door.
When he answered the door, his face registered surprise to see her. “Everything okay with your room?”
“Yes, and I’m sorry to bother you, but is there a laundromat in town?”I’m not paying attention to how good he looks in jeans and a white T-shirt. Really, I’m not.
He shook his head. “Is the Desert Breeze full?”
“It’s out of order.” She scowled, wondering where the girls had gone. “I was supposed to meet my friends there, but they’re nowhere to be found.”
“I have a washer and dryer in the house you can use if you need.” He shoved a hand in his pocket. “They are apartment size, so you might have to do several loads, but you’re welcome to it.”
“Thanks, but I couldn’t impose on you like that.”
“It’s no problem. Who wants to wear dirty clothes?” His smile revealed perfect teeth. In the full light of day, he was even more attractive than last night.
She lamented her thoughts and pushed them aside. Should she accept his offer? Shedidneed clean clothes. “Where’s the closest place to buy a small pack of laundry detergent?”
