Later he sat in the recliner with the TV going, not watching it. Her laugh. The way she tilted her head when something caught her interest. The weight of her hand in his. He picked up his phone, thumb hovering over her name for longer than he’d like to admit, then hit call. It rang out. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then typed a text and read it back three times before he sent it.
Hey. Would you like to go out Saturday night?
He watched the bubbles appear and held his breath.
I’d love to. Where?
Diner, then Dewey’s.
I’d like that. I’m so glad you called.
I’m glad you didn’t turn me down.
I don’t think I could ever do that.
He felt something loosen in his chest.I like the sound of that. Callie came by the house today. I want you to know I had no idea she was in town.
I saw her. She came into the diner. She wants you back, doesn’t she?
Yes. But I promise you that’s not going to happen.
I believe you. I’ll see you Saturday. I’m sorry about how Sunday ended.
Don’t be. We’ll talk about it. I’ll pick you up around six. Have a good night, sweetheart.
It would be better if a certain cowboy was spending it with me.
Cole laughed quietly to himself.Better for me too. Night.
Goodnight.
He set the phone on the arm of the recliner and sat back. He was glad he’d picked up the phone. Morethan glad. He never wanted to stop seeing her and he knew it, had known it for a while now if he was being straight with himself. He just needed to know how she felt. And the way she’d answered gave him something to hold onto.
****
Aftyn was still smiling when she plugged her phone into the charger. She’d been in the bath when he called and had been about to ring him back when the text came through. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the conversation on the screen.
How could she leave him?
“God, I need some help with this,” she said quietly. “I’m scared but I know what I want. I want to tell him I love him. I want to stay. You brought me to Clifton for a reason. Please let it be him.”
The rest of the week moved quickly. Callie didn’t come back into the diner. Connie mentioned spotting her going into a shop with a friend, but that was all anyone saw of her. If she was still in town, and Aftyn suspected she was, she was biding her time.
Saturday she kept it simple. Worn jeans, blue sweater, her boots. She planned on dancing at Dewey’s and she was looking forward to it, but mostly she was just looking forward to Cole.
At six on the dot, a knock at the door. She opened it and her eyes went straight past him to the snow coming down behind him, settling white on the brim of his hat and the shoulders of his coat.
“When did it start snowing?”
“About twenty minutes ago.” He smiled. “Can I come in?”
“Yes, sorry. I’m just surprised. I looked out anhour ago and there was nothing.”
“Darlin’, you lived in Colorado. Snow shouldn’t shock you.”
“It wasn’t doing anything an hour ago.”
He leaned down and kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her in close and deepened it, unhurried, like he had all the time in the world. When he finally lifted his head his lips were still close to hers.
