A Father's Promise by Mindy Obenhaus

Author:Mindy Obenhaus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-04-09T12:41:34+00:00

Chapter Ten

After dropping Sarah-Jane with her regular sitter Mary Lou on Wednesday morning, Laurel headed over to Bliss Hardware with thoughts of last night still tumbling through her mind.

Why didn’t she date? Because she was afraid of falling in love and having her heart broken. Between her mother and her father, she’d endured enough rejection. There was no way she’d tell Wes that, though. No matter how much she might want to. Instead, she needed to work harder at keeping her heart in check. Especially after Wes had all but said he’d given up on the idea of marriage.

I guess my dream died when they did.

Dreams were fragile things. One little slip and they could shatter into a million pieces.

“All right, your color gurus are present and accounted for.” Paisley’s sweet southern drawl was unmistakable.

Laurel tore her gaze away from the wall of paint chips to hug Christa and Paisley. Since Christa owned Bliss Hardware and Paisley had a flair for decorating that would put even professional designers to shame, it seemed only logical that they help her choose the paint colors for Irma’s bedroom, bath and family room.

“You must be busy at Irma’s.” Christa slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “I’ve barely seen you since that day Mildred ran you down.”

At the moment, that whole incident seemed like forever ago. Yet it had only been nine days. And, my, how things had changed since then.

“I couldn’t help noticing you sitting beside Rae’s brother at church on Sunday.” Paisley lifted two perfectly arched brows. “Wesley sure is easy on the eyes.”

A grinning Christa added, “I heard he’s doing the repairs at Irma’s, too, so I guess the two of you are spending a lot of time together.”

Before Laurel could cringe at the implications, she realized that she’d not told them about Wes. What kind of friend was she, telling a matchmaking Irma when she hadn’t even told her best friends?

“Oh boy.” She rubbed her forehead.

“What is it, darlin’?” Paisley took a step closer.

Shifting her attention to Christa, Laurel said, “Any chance we could talk in your office?”

“Sure.” Christa’s hazel gaze narrowed. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, there’s just something I need to tell the both of you.”

Christa wasted no time in hustling them across the store, past the power tools, hummingbird feeders and door locks.

“Annie,” she hollered over her shoulder to the gal behind the counter, “I’ll be in my office for a bit.”

While the rest of Bliss Hardware was very utilitarian, Christa’s office had a cozy farmhouse vibe going on, with warm white shiplap walls, a colorful area rug and a modern-yet-rustic wooden desk with a sawhorse-style base.

Laurel eased into one of two trendy metal side chairs as Christa closed the door in such a hurry that the black-and-white-checkered valance over its window stuck straight out for a moment.

Paisley took the second chair, crossing her denim-covered legs, her cornflower blue eyes fixed on Laurel. “All right, darlin’, what’s going on?”

With Christa leaning her backside against the desk, Laurel looked from one friend to the other.

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