it. The volunteers who participated in the box social were kept out of the loop in case our names were drawn.”
“Why the big secret? It isn’t like the competitors would practice the challenges if they knew what they were ahead of time...” Cole stopped when she shot him a look. “No way.”
Dreams of a peaceful ride to clear her thoughts dissolved under the impact of his smile.
“If you were here at Christmas, you would know how competitive people can be,” Grace said. “The mayor had to pass a special ordinance a few years ago, limiting the number of lights people could display in their yards. He claimed Mirror Lake was going to singlehandedly drain the power grid if he didn’t do something.”
“But you must have heard rumors. No one can keep a secret in a small town.”
“I only know what he told us at the dance last night. We’ll be required to complete several ordinary tasks in a certain amount of time.”
“Ordinary tasks,” Cole mused. “That doesn’t sound too difficult.”
“I should have said ordinary for 1887,” Grace muttered. “I watched Eddie Gunderson unload some of his chickens into a pen behind city hall when B.C. and I had our first tour yesterday.”
“Chickens?” Cole repeated, his smile growing wider. “That doesn’t sound too disturbing.”
Grace swallowed hard and turned her attention back to the passing scenery.
It was her heart’s traitorous response to Cole’s presence that Grace found disturbing.
* * *
Cole released a slow breath.
Maybe spending the morning with Grace wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought it would be.
After he’d returned to his grandfather’s house the night before, he’d called Iola to break the news that he wouldn’t be returning to work until Monday afternoon. Even though his secretary was constantly after him to take a few days off, the reality was it was difficult with a business as small as Painted Skies. Every minute Cole spent offsite put an additional burden on his dedicated but already overworked crew.
Not only would Virgil have to fill in for the lessons they’d scheduled on Monday morning, but Cole also had a mountain of application forms to sign before he met with the bank on Tuesday.
But Iola had laughed when he’d said he planned to stay in Mirror Lake through the weekend. Not exactly the response he’d been expecting. She’d gone on to explain that both his students had canceled their lessons and rescheduled them for later in the week.
Then she’d tacked on a comment about God’s timing being perfect.
Cole hadn’t been able to argue with that. If Iola hadn’t found Kate’s letter when she did, he might have never found out about the inheritance. It could have taken months, if not years, to put his business expansion plan into motion.
And he wouldn’t have run into Grace by the lake the evening he’d arrived.
Something, of course, he didn’t dare mention to Iola. As often as the woman scolded him about not taking any time off, she scolded him more about the fact that he didn’t have a “social life,” which, in Iola-speak, meant a steady girlfriend.
So, to maintain the peace— his peace—all Cole had said was that he needed to fix a few things around his grandfather’s house before he met with the Realtor Monday morning.
“Don’t you dare feel guilty about spending an extra day or two,” Iola had clucked. “You’ll still be working toward your dream.”
That’s right. His dream.
Just in case he forgot the reason he’d returned to Mirror Lake.
It still didn’t stop Cole from sliding a sideways look at Grace. Or tracing the lines of her profile with his eyes. The fringe of sable-brown lashes. The straight little nose. Before he was tempted to linger on the full curve of her bottom lip, Cole wrenched his gaze back on the road where it belonged.
Focus on what’s straight ahead.
He had the feeling it was going to become his mantra over the next few hours. The only reason he’d
“Why the big secret? It isn’t like the competitors would practice the challenges if they knew what they were ahead of time...” Cole stopped when she shot him a look. “No way.”
Dreams of a peaceful ride to clear her thoughts dissolved under the impact of his smile.
“If you were here at Christmas, you would know how competitive people can be,” Grace said. “The mayor had to pass a special ordinance a few years ago, limiting the number of lights people could display in their yards. He claimed Mirror Lake was going to singlehandedly drain the power grid if he didn’t do something.”
“But you must have heard rumors. No one can keep a secret in a small town.”
“I only know what he told us at the dance last night. We’ll be required to complete several ordinary tasks in a certain amount of time.”
“Ordinary tasks,” Cole mused. “That doesn’t sound too difficult.”
“I should have said ordinary for 1887,” Grace muttered. “I watched Eddie Gunderson unload some of his chickens into a pen behind city hall when B.C. and I had our first tour yesterday.”
“Chickens?” Cole repeated, his smile growing wider. “That doesn’t sound too disturbing.”
Grace swallowed hard and turned her attention back to the passing scenery.
It was her heart’s traitorous response to Cole’s presence that Grace found disturbing.
* * *
Cole released a slow breath.
Maybe spending the morning with Grace wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought it would be.
After he’d returned to his grandfather’s house the night before, he’d called Iola to break the news that he wouldn’t be returning to work until Monday afternoon. Even though his secretary was constantly after him to take a few days off, the reality was it was difficult with a business as small as Painted Skies. Every minute Cole spent offsite put an additional burden on his dedicated but already overworked crew.
Not only would Virgil have to fill in for the lessons they’d scheduled on Monday morning, but Cole also had a mountain of application forms to sign before he met with the bank on Tuesday.
But Iola had laughed when he’d said he planned to stay in Mirror Lake through the weekend. Not exactly the response he’d been expecting. She’d gone on to explain that both his students had canceled their lessons and rescheduled them for later in the week.
Then she’d tacked on a comment about God’s timing being perfect.
Cole hadn’t been able to argue with that. If Iola hadn’t found Kate’s letter when she did, he might have never found out about the inheritance. It could have taken months, if not years, to put his business expansion plan into motion.
And he wouldn’t have run into Grace by the lake the evening he’d arrived.
Something, of course, he didn’t dare mention to Iola. As often as the woman scolded him about not taking any time off, she scolded him more about the fact that he didn’t have a “social life,” which, in Iola-speak, meant a steady girlfriend.
So, to maintain the peace— his peace—all Cole had said was that he needed to fix a few things around his grandfather’s house before he met with the Realtor Monday morning.
“Don’t you dare feel guilty about spending an extra day or two,” Iola had clucked. “You’ll still be working toward your dream.”
That’s right. His dream.
Just in case he forgot the reason he’d returned to Mirror Lake.
It still didn’t stop Cole from sliding a sideways look at Grace. Or tracing the lines of her profile with his eyes. The fringe of sable-brown lashes. The straight little nose. Before he was tempted to linger on the full curve of her bottom lip, Cole wrenched his gaze back on the road where it belonged.
Focus on what’s straight ahead.
He had the feeling it was going to become his mantra over the next few hours. The only reason he’d
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