Perfect Enough

Chapter Twelve – Sophia

Chapter Twelve

SOPHIA

Josh didn’t even think twice about my question before he answered.

“Do you believe there’s a soul mate for each person?” Josh asked.

“I think so. I want to believe there’s one person who was meant for me. I used to think my mother and father were soul mates…but now I’m unsure.”

He frowned slightly. “Why?”

“If they were that connected, would he have done what he did? Wouldn’t he have told her what was wrong?”

Josh thought about that for a few moments before he asked, “Was your father occasionally depressed, or suffering from depression?”

His question caught me off guard. I wasn’t sure why. “Wouldn’t you have to be depressed to kill yourself?” I asked bitterly.

“No. There could be several reasons why a person might take such a drastic action. Helplessness, depression, feeling as if they had no other way out of a particular situation. Guilt.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Why hadn’t I ever considered all of those things before?

“Sophia?” Josh asked as he reached for my hand. “I’m sorry if I hurt you by making you think about your father.”

I shook my head. “No, no, it’s okay. You actually gave me something to consider.” Glancing at him, I added, “My mother and I never talk about my father, and I think it’s time we did. Maybe together we can answer some of the questions that are haunting us. It doesn’t do us any good to pretend it never happened or continue to stay angry at him.”

He gave me a soft smile.

“What plans do you have for today?” I asked, ready to change the subject.

His smile grew bigger. “I was going to ask you the same thing. Are you free today?”

I looked up as if giving it a lot of thought. “Let me mentally check my busy schedule. Nope. Nothing going on.”

“How would you like to take a little tour of the ranch? Maybe do some horseback riding?”

“I think that would be a great idea, if I had the right clothes for riding.”

“I can drive you home and you can change. Then we can drive to the ranch together, and you’ll still have your car here to go home later this evening.”

I fought to keep a wide grin off my face as I said, “Why, Josh Shaw, are you asking me out on a date?”

He winked. “I am.”

My chest fluttered, and I tamped down the urge to giggle. “I would love to spend the day with you.”

The way Josh’s eyes beamed with happiness caused me to feel like I was in high school all over again.

“Let’s finish breakfast then and head on out.”

I nodded, and for some reason, knowing that Josh wanted to spend the day with me made me feel…special. I wasn’t sure why, but something about the moment made me think that everything was about to change. And in a good way.

“What should I wear, Chloe?” I asked as I stared at my closet.

“Well, considering I’m not there, it’s going to be hard for me to help you pick out an outfit, Soph.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s horseback riding. So I should wear jeans?”

“And boots.”

“Should I go super casual, T-shirt with a sweatshirt for backup?”

“No, this is the first date…you need to make an impression.”

I sighed. “I think I’ve already made the impression by talking to him for the past few weeks, and with my crazy family dynamic on full display last night at the wedding.”

“We need to have drinks when you get back. I want to hear about all of it.”

I pulled out a light, long-sleeve shirt. “What about the long-sleeve we got up at Glacier?”

“Oh, that is a cute shirt. It’s light enough that you won’t be too hot.”

I shook my head and said, “No, it’s too casual. I need something with a bit more punch.”

“I know!” she cried out. “The long-sleeve light blue shirt.”

Spying the very shirt she was talking about, I pulled it out. “Perfect!”

“What time do you need to leave?”

“He’s waiting for me in the living room.”

There was silence on the phone.

“Chloe?”

“He’s there right now, and you’ve taken this long to figure out what to wear? He’s going to think you went to poop.”

Walking toward my bed, I stopped. “I’m sorry, what ?”

“You’ve been on the phone with me for…almost nine minutes. Any normal woman would run to her room, change, and return to him in less than five minutes.”

“That is the stupidest thing ever. I cannot believe that’s where your mind went. Pooping? Really, Chloe?”

I put the phone on speaker, slipped the shirt over my head, and pulled on my jeans. Meanwhile, Chloe continued trying to justify why Josh would assume I went to the bathroom.

“You stayed at his place last night, so you couldn’t go there. It only makes sense you would go now.”

I went to button my jeans and paused. “Now I have to go to the bathroom, Chloe!”

“You do not. Take a few deep breaths, you’ll be fine.”

Glancing over my shoulder to the bathroom connected to my bedroom, I sighed. “If this ends badly, you’re to blame.”

“And I’ll take all the blame gladly. Get off the phone with me and go have fun!”

“Okay. Love you! Bye!”

“Call me when you get home.”

I hit End and quickly made my way to the living room. Josh wasn’t there.

“Josh?”

Turning, I caught sight of him on the balcony. As I moved closer, I saw him on the phone and stopped. Should I go out and interrupt him or stay in the living room, act like I’ve been waiting on him?

“That’s stupid, Soph; you don’t know how long he’s been out there.”

I decided to head to the kitchen and pack some treats. I had no idea what we’d be doing besides riding horses, and I liked to be prepared, food-wise.

After a few minutes, I heard the sliding-glass door open, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Josh walking in.

“Is everything okay?” I asked as I pulled out a cutting board and chopped some fruit.

“Yeah, I’m sorry if you’ve been waiting on me.”

I sighed in relief and smiled. “No, it took me forever to get changed. Chloe called and, well…yeah.”

He nodded and walked up to the small island in my kitchen. “I was talking to my cousin. I wanted to find out what horses they had up in the main barn. It’ll be easier to just ride out from there.”

“Oh. Sounds good. But you look…worried, maybe?”

He frowned slightly. “My grandfather isn’t feeling well, and my uncle Brock is taking him to the doctor.”

“Josh, if you need to be with your family, I don’t mind pushing off today.”

“Thank you for offering, but Blayze said it wasn’t serious and for me not to cancel our first date.”

Studying him for a moment to make sure he was okay, I finally nodded. “I hope you don’t mind if I bring a little snack.”

He raised his brows. “Don’t tell me you’re the type to get hangry if you go too long without food.”

My hand went to my chest, and I gasped. “Me? Hangry? Never!”

He rolled his eyes. “I could see it.”

“Fine,” I said as I dropped my hands to my sides. “I get hangry if I wait too long to eat.”

“Good to know.” He let his eyes roam over my body, then asked, “Do you have plans for later tonight?”

“Not at all.”

A brilliant smile lit up his face. “Then we can plan for dinner. You know, to keep you from getting hangry.”

“What about lunch?”

Josh leaned forward and winked. “I’ve already gotten that taken care of.”

I raised a brow. “Really? My stomach thanks you in advance.” Grabbing a lid for the plasticware, I put it on the fruit and then returned the rest of it to the fridge. “Ready?”

He motioned for me to lead the way. “I’m ready.”

I grabbed my cell and the small wallet where I’d put my license, debit card, and some cash, and started for the front door.

Before I had a chance to open it, someone knocked.

Josh and I both looked at each other. “It’s one of two people, and I’m pretty sure Chloe wouldn’t be here,” I said as I drew a deep breath.

Opening the door, I forced myself to smile when I saw my mother on the other side. She glanced at me, then broke into a wide grin at the sight of Josh.

“Josh! How wonderful to see you.”

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Montgomery.”

She waved him off. “Please, call me Gloria.”

Josh simply widened his smile.

“Where are you kids off to?” she asked, giving me a look.

I could practically feel Josh smiling from behind me. “We were just heading back to Hamilton. Josh and I are going horseback riding.”

I was wrong if I thought my mother was already happy when she spotted Josh two minutes ago. Now she broke into a grin so wide, I worried she might strain her cheeks.

“Sophia loves to ride horses!” she enthused to Josh. “Don’t you, dear?”

“I do. Um, Mom, was there anything you needed?”

“Of course not,” she replied, as if I’d asked the stupidest thing ever.

“You stopped by just to say hi?”

Her cheeks turned a slight tinge of pink. “I was on my way to the studio and just wanted to see how you were feeling, but clearly, you’re back to your old self.”

“Yes,” I said with a forced smile as I wondered how she even knew I was home. “You don’t mind if I don’t ask you in then, since we were just leaving.”

She quickly stepped back. “No! Of course not! You two kids go and have a wonderful time. I’ll chat with you later, Sophia?”

As I walked past her, I replied, “I’m sure we will.”

We walked to the steps, since my apartment was on the second floor, and my mother couldn’t resist the urge to start peppering Josh with questions.

“How do you like being a firefighter, Josh?”

He cleared his throat. “I enjoy it very much.”

“And you work on your family’s farm as well?”

If I didn’t think I’d fall, I would have closed my eyes and moaned.

“It’s a cattle ranch, and yes, I love that work as well.”

“What do you do on the ranch?”

“Mom, maybe now isn’t the time to grill Josh about his jobs.”

“I was just making polite conversation, Sophia Grace.”

Stopping at the bottom of the steps, I faced my mother. “I’m sorry, it just feels like maybe we should save that for another time.”

Her face lit up—and I instantly knew I’d made a mistake.

“That’s a wonderful idea! Josh, when’s your next evening off? We can have dinner at my house.”

Josh looked from me to my mother, then back at me. All I could do was give him a look that said I was so sorry for walking right into that set-up.

When he focused back on my mother, he wore a killer smile. “I’m off Wednesday, but I’ll have to check with my mom. We usually have a family dinner.”

“Well then, you should invite your parents as well.”

“What?” Josh and I said in unison.

My mother looked between us. “They do know you’re dating, don’t they?”

Apparently, Josh was much smarter than I was, because my first instinct was to lie and say of course I’ve met them, thereby digging myself into an even bigger shame hole. But Josh spoke first.

“No, I haven’t told them I was dating anyone. Sophia and I have kept things rather…casual this past month.”

“Oh, I see, I see,” my mother replied, looking at me as if I’d done something wrong. “I wasn’t aware that things were… casual .”

“Mom,” I warned.

Grinning now, she ignored me. “I’ll let you be off on your date. If you decide to do dinner, just have Sophia let me know. And the invite for your parents still stands.”

“Thank you so much, Gloria.”

I swore my mother blushed as she pulled her gaze from Josh and started for her car. “Enjoy the day, kids!”

Josh put his hand on my lower back and guided me to his truck. Once my mother was pulling away in her car, I said, “I’m so sorry—again.”

“It’s okay. She just asked about my jobs, is all.”

Climbing up into the truck, I laughed. “If I hadn’t stopped her, she would have gotten to your blood type.”

He laughed. “I don’t think it would have gone that far.”

“You don’t know my mother.”

Once he got into the truck and started it, he glanced at me and said, “She wouldn’t really ask my blood type, would she?”

I raised one brow and whispered, “Give her time.”