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Patience gave her a watery smile. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just…happy.”
“About what?”
“About what a great person you are. About having our own place. About my new job. And about Kanon staying in town instead of moving away.”
“Kanon’s staying?” she said, immediately keying in on that.
Patience nodded, and Ari’s smile stretched wide.
“I knew you loved him!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Patience warned. “We need to get to know him a lot better than we do now before…before we start using words like that.” At least to each other, she thought.
Ari’s big smile turned into a sly grin. “But there’s something there.”
“There’s something there,” she acknowledged. “Would you mind if he became a bigger part of our lives?”
“Of course not. Daddy told me he paid him a visit to let him know it’d be a mistake to pass you up. I’m glad he’s smart enough to realize.”
Patience came to her feet. “Jack visited Kanon? Why would he do something like that?”
“He did it for you,” she said. “He says you deserve to be happy, and I think so, too.”
This brought fresh tears and a lump in Patience’s throat so big she could hardly speak. “You have a good father,” she said.
Ari threw her arms around Patience’s neck. “I have a good mother, too. Happy New Year!”
* * *
Patience’s heart pounded with excitement and hope for the future as she drove to the motel. Since it was only eight-fifteen on a holiday, there was a chance Kanon would still be asleep. She’d left her house right after reading his letter. But she couldn’t put off her visit or she’d have to wait all day. She still needed to fulfill her promise to take Ari to Reno for New Year’s. She’d left her daughter at home to get ready while she made this trip. She would only be gone for thirty minutes or so, and since the Devlins had offered to watch Hairy while they were away, Patience knew they were home, which meant help was readily available if Ari needed anything.
The parking lot was mostly empty, making her believe the vacancy rate at the motel had been high last night. That was never a good thing. But Hard Luck wasn’t a big destination for New Year’s, so Kelsey and Kanon had probably expected as much and were enjoying a chance to catch their breath before tackling their goals for the new year.
Taking the open space right next to Kanon’s truck, she breathed deeply and climbed out.
“Kanon?” She knocked softly on his door, careful not to wake any nearby guests.
He didn’t respond verbally, but after a couple of minutes, the door swung wide and he stood in the opening wearing only a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The way his hair stood up in back testified to the fact that she had, indeed, gotten him out of bed.
“Morning,” she said. “Sorry if…if I woke you up.”
A sexy smile curved his lips. “I don’t mind. Does this mean you got my letter?”
“It does.”
“And?” His grin slanted to one side. “Was it pretty good?”
She couldn’t help laughing. “It was really good,” she admitted. “I’m not sure many women could’ve resisted it. But you had me at ‘I want you.’” She stepped forward so she could lift her lips to his, and his arms went around her as they kissed.
“Now I know I made the right decision,” he said and used his foot to nudge the door wider as he attempted to draw her inside.
“I can’t stay,” she said, resisting despite her own desire to spend more time with him. “I have to take Ari to Reno. I only came over because a text just didn’t seem like the appropriate response. I couldn’t wait to tell you that I also hope this is the beginning of something wonderful—even if it’s just a friendship.”
He kissed her again. “I’m not giving up a quarter-million a year for friendship,” he teased. “But does dating you mean I’ll have to start going to church?”
She gave him a look. “My father will like you a lot better if you do.”
Feigning a long-suffering sigh, he said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten rid of all of those Bibles.”
