A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy (Love in Sweet Bloom)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

Every time Sophie thought back to a couple days ago when she’d come to visit her brother for dinner—only to inexplicitly run away because she forgot about her plans—she got red in the face. Pippa had called her asking where she was and she’d already gotten back to her apartment.

She groaned at the memory. Thankfully Pippa believed her when she’d said she wasn’t feeling well and needed to get a raincheck.

All of that could have been avoided if she hadn’t gone over to Duke and flirted with him.

What was getting into her?

Sheesh, she used to be able to control herself. Now she was dealing with a heart that wasn’t willing to be reined in.

As Sophie walked along the main street in town, she did her best to make excuses and shove the experience aside. She didn’t need the drama being with Duke would put in her life.

“Being with Duke.”

She scoffed at that thought.

“Sophie?”

A yelp ripped from her throat and she spun around to find Duke standing behind her. How long had he been there? Amusement played on his features and she frowned. Had she said or done something to warrant that expression?

That’s when her stomach dropped. Oh no! Had she said his name out loud? What she wouldn’t give to melt into the sidewalk at this very moment or become a Christmas decoration and blend in with the rest of the brightly colored décor lining the street.

Duke tilted his head, his eyes twinkling. He glanced down at the one bag she held from the candle store she’d emerged from a little way down the street. “Doing some last minute Christmas shopping? Or is that just for fun?”

Sophie lifted the bag and let out a strangled laugh. “Yeah. Christmas shopping. I needed to get a few things for Pippa and Allie and the last time I was here, they were with me.” She nodded toward him. “What are you doing in town. Shouldn’t you be working?”

He motioned farther down the street. “I have to get some supplies. I ran out of shoeing nails.” Duke seemed to hesitate as he thought about something for a moment then he motioned once more. “If you’re going that way, we can walk together. I hear there’s a decent store that just opened a few months ago down there. Um, I don't recall what kind of shop but I heard from one of the other volunteers it's good.”

She should decline. Especially since he didn't even know where he was inviting her to visit. That would be the smart thing to do. She should tell him thanks but no thanks and that she wasn’t heading that way. Except he'd know that was a lie. She’d been marching toward the new bath and home scent store when she’d foolishly said his name out loud. Fire roared beneath her skin as she stared at him with uncertainty.

His grin faltered for only a moment. “Of course, if you don’t want to?—”

“No,” she blurted. “I was just headed that way. Sure, we can walk together.” The words spilled from her lips as if a dam had cracked and could no longer keep her from making a fool of herself. “And then perhaps you could get me coffee.”

His brown brows lifted in surprise and her face grew even hotter.

She didn’t say that! Why couldn’t she regain the small amount of control she used to have when she was around him? She wanted to crawl away into a cave somewhere and hide from the embarrassment.

“Sounds great.”

She stared at him blankly. It did? He wanted to get coffee? “You don’t have to,” she stammered, “I know you’re busy?—”

“Sophie,” he said smoothly. “I want to get coffee with you.”

A shiver skittered along her skin and she looked away as if she could hide the already flushed state of her cheeks. It was a lost cause. There was no way he hadn’t noticed. If she’d been in Rocky Ridge, then she might have been able to blame it on the cold. As warm as it was in Texas, there was zero chance of that.

“Shall we?” His question broke through her reverie and she forced herself to look him square in the face.

“Sure,” she murmured.

They strode along the street as if it were the most natural thing in the world but inside, her body was warring with itself. She was supposed to despise him—or at least dislike him enough that spending extra time outside of their volunteer hours would be out of the question. Instead, she was becoming more drawn to him.

Duke stopped into the supply store first—it was an in and out sort of visit—then he motioned for her to lead the way to her next stop.

She kept looking at him, half-expecting him to tell her he was joking and he had no interest in going to get a coffee after she picked up a few lotions and bubble baths. They entered the store and were immediately hit with heady scents of Pine, cinnamon, and vanilla. Most of the smells in the shop were Christmas themed. Sophie grabbed a bag and moved over to the bubble bath table. She grabbed a sweet pea and a melon cucumber. Those were Pippa’s favorite. She wasn’t quite sure on Allie, but she opted for a vanilla sugar cookie and a pumpkin spice.

Her hand hovered over an almond infused shea butter but then she returned it to the table.

“Aren’t you going to get it?” Duke asked from behind.

Sophie glanced up at him, ignoring the chills his low voice elicited. “Not today.” With everything in her blog up in the air, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to go through a bottle before leaving the country. Her agent had said there was a high probability she’d be sent to Paris first.

Duke’s focus lingered on the bubble bath then he looked to Sophie, but he didn’t utter a word. “Anything else you need?”

She shook her head.

“Good, because after we get coffee, I’m going to run a few more errands.” He winked at her. “I think today is the perfect day to play hooky.”

Sophie bit back a smile. “What other errands are you talking about?”

He shrugged. “You’ll see.” Then he wandered over to the front of the store and grabbed a basket before grabbing various shampoos and body washes. They both checked out and they were on their way.

Once they had their coffee in hand, Sophie met his gaze. “So…” she drawled, “where to next?”

He pointed with a finger from the hand that held his coffee to a shop across the street.

She followed his gesture and smirked. “A toy store?”

Duke nodded.

Then Sophie laughed.

“What? You don’t think I should be entering such establishments?”

“I guess that depends on what you’re going there for. Unless your little sister is still a child…” She noticed the slight way he stiffened but then he relaxed once more. “Nope. But you could still help me pick out a few things.”

A few toy cars, dolls, and various craft sets later, and they were back on the street. Duke was utterly weighed down and yet he wanted to head into the pet store at the end of the street. Sophie opted to wait outside so she could finish her coffee while she watched people coming and going. When Duke emerged, he grinned at her. “Want to help me deliver these?”

“Deliver—” She didn’t have a chance to finish her question when he headed down the street, presumably to where he’d parked.

Sophie scrambled after him, climbing into his car without a second thought. It wasn’t until they showed up at a local woman’s shelter that she started to piece everything together. She turned surprised eyes on the man she clearly didn’t know well at all.

Duke grinned at her as he climbed out, pausing before he shut the door. “Well? You gonna help, or what?”

She hurried from the truck and moved around to the back to gather the bags of items Duke had purchased. “You’re donating all of this?”

He grunted as he hoisted one of the larger boxes for a toy track set onto his shoulder. “Yep.”

She stopped, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. “You’re doing this to impress me, aren’t you?”

Duke gave her that flat look he’d worn when she accused him of faking his accent. “I do this every year.”

“Oh.” It was all she could muster, the single syllable practically dripping with embarrassment again. She watched in awe as he took the items to the front desk. The woman up front knew him by name, validating what he’d said before. After they chatted for a moment, he led Sophie back outside.

The heat from his hand at the small of her back sent waves of warmth skittering along her nerves. She skidded to a stop at the truck and turned to face him. “You’re literally a saint.” Sophie hated how her statement sounded so accusatory.

Duke brushed her off and opened the door for her. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes you are. You volunteer at the animal shelter. You donate to the woman’s shelter. Let me guess—you’ve donated both of your kidneys, too.”

At that, he laughed. “I have both of my kidneys, I assure you.” He practically pushed her into the truck. “Come on. We still have to drop off the stuff I got for the animal shelter.” She gaped at him as he shut the door and walked around the vehicle. The second he got behind the wheel, she faced him. “There has to be something wrong with you I’m not seeing.”

He smirked at her.

“I mean it. Besides your disregard for my career choice, you’re practically perfect.”

“I’m not perfect,” he murmured, putting the truck into reverse. “I know plenty of people who would argue with that sentiment.”

“Oh yeah? Name one.”

“My father.”

Her head reared back. What was she supposed to say to that? He hadn’t mentioned his family besides having a sister. What could he have possibly done to assume his family didn’t approve of him?

When he didn’t expand on his statement, she prodded him.

“Why do you say that?”

Duke heaved a sigh. “Because when I was just out of school… basically, instead of staying in England and helping my family with our farm, I chose to move across the world and I ended up working here in Texas. It doesn’t get any farther than that.”

“You could have moved to California…” she whispered. That joke was in bad taste and she knew it the second she said it without having to see the disgusted look she assumed would be on his face. Sophie cleared her throat and hurried to cover up what she’d said. She placed a hand on his forearm and murmured, “I’m sure you’re wrong.”

He shook his head.

“Unless he said so to your face?—”

“It’s too late for that now, he’s dead.”

She sucked in sharply.

“And my mother and sister are running things in Yorkshire now.”

Sophie blinked a few times. “Sounds like they’re doing okay if they’re taking that trip.”

He shrugged, not looking directly at her.

“Sometimes we’re pulled in different directions than we originally planned. It happens for reasons we won’t understand until far later in our life. You came here and made something of yourself. There’s no shame in that.”

“But—”

“Believe me, Duke. You’re where you’re meant to be. I asked my brother about what you do. He says you’re the best. And that’s saying something because Rob has a ton of experience.”

Duke’s lips thinned and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She squeezed his forearm briefly before withdrawing from him.

“Don’t let your inner turmoil stand in the way of enjoying what you’ve achieved.”

At some point they’d arrived at the animal shelter. He glanced at her. “Wait here, and I’ll take you back to town.”

Sophie watched him hurry inside, arms loaded up with blankets, toys, and a couple bags of food. When he returned, the air seemed tighter somehow. It was like the oxygen had been sucked from the truck itself. They drove back to town in silence and all Sophie could think about was trying to break the tensions that had formed around them.

He opened her door and helped her out. “Where did you park?”

She flung a finger in the direction of the town’s wishing well. “Over there.” They walked side by side, the silence growing intolerable until she couldn’t take it any longer. “Have you ever made a wish?”

Duke laughed.

“I take that as a no?” Her thoughts shifted to her sisters and how they insisted it worked.

He shook his head.

She wandered closer to the well itself, choosing to stop at its side and stare into its depths. “Why not?”

Duke’s stare grew serious. The way it drilled into her threw her off balance and she gripped the edge of the well to steady herself. His voice lowered to a throaty whisper. “I guess I’ve never wanted anything bad enough.”

Shivers rippled down her spine.

“I want my first wish to be special,” he continued.

So it wasn’t a lack of belief. Duke hadn’t made a wish because he wanted it to be memorable. It was crazy how Duke was suddenly saying and doing all the right things. Perhaps Pippa had been right about not making rash judgements based on a first meeting. She glanced at Duke, letting her thoughts drift to the possibility that Duke might make a wish about her, then she immediately squashed it. This was not the time to get all goo-goo-eyed about him.

“What about you?” he murmured. “Any wishes?”

Sophie shook her head. She couldn’t exactly tell him she didn’t believe in the silliness. “I guess I haven’t had a good reason to, either.” But right about now, she might have found the perfect one.

In spite of the whole town making a big deal of the wishing well, she’d never warmed all the way up to the idea. But it was cute. It was fun. Kids loved it and the coins were gathered periodically and used for good causes. What shouldn’t she love about that?

Their hands rested on the edge of the well, side by side. His hand inched closer, his pinky brushing against hers. Sophie caught her breath and turned her head to look at him with curiosity. There was no denying what he was doing. It wasn’t an accident. His head dipped a little lower, inching closer and closer.

“Sophie! I didn’t know you were going to be in town.”

She jumped away from Duke, noting how he did the same. They both turned to find Pippa with her arm linked through Rob’s. The two of them glanced at Sophie then Duke and Sophie couldn’t deny the knowing look that washed over Pippa’s face.

Pippa tilted her head, amusement and excitement in her gaze. She didn’t even give Sophie a chance to defend herself. “Are you coming to Sunday dinner tomorrow? You owe us that raincheck.”

Sophie nodded. “I was planning on it.”

Pippa’s eyes shifted to Duke. “You’re invited too, if you’d like to come.”

Duke stiffened at Sophie’s side, but it was his words that threw Sophie through the ringer. “Sounds fun.”