True Love Cowboy by Jennifer Ryan

Trinity once again read the text messages Jon sent last night. They made her smile and hope for things to go back to the way they were before he had decided to talk business.

She wanted something much more personal with him.

That was at 8:04 p.m.

At 9:22 p.m. he sent . . .

At 10:47 p.m. . . .

She texted him back at 11:01 p.m. . . .

At 11:04 p.m. she ended with . . .

She should have driven out to see him. They could have cleared the air and spent the night together. She didn’t believe, at least she didn’t want to, that he wanted to buy her company and somehow cut her out of it. It just didn’t make sense. Yes, it would be a good business deal for him. But why buy it from her and reap all the benefits for himself? He had to know that wouldn’t sit well with her.

Which is why he wouldn’t do that to her.

She wondered if it might be something like he did with the grocery stores he helped save. Except she and Adria already owned the buildings they opened the shops in, so that concept wouldn’t work.

She really had no idea what he wanted to propose.

She tamped down the rising hope that maybe it was something more personal.

“How could you lie to me?” Nathan startled her out of her thoughts.

She turned to him, her heart pounding, hands shaking, but she kept her head and didn’t let the panic overwhelm her. “I’m sorry, but—”

“I hooked you up with Bountiful Foods. They made you a great offer, and you turned them down. Now you’re taking an offer from your boyfriend.”

She didn’t understand the anger in his voice and why this seemed so personal to him.

“What I was going to say before you interrupted me was, it’s none of your business what I do with Almost Homemade. It’s my business. My decision. You work for me.” She tilted her head and studied him. “Why are you even here? You should be at the Billings store doing your job.”

“I came to talk some sense into you.”

“Excuse me?” How dare her employee talk to her that way.

“Bountiful Foods is ready to pay you a fortune for your stores. You wouldn’t have to work ever again. They’d expand Almost Homemade in a way you can’t on your own. Take the deal.”

“No.” She didn’t owe any further explanation.

“Why are you being so stubborn about this? If you want more money, I’m sure they can sweeten the deal within reason.”

“You are late for work. Get back to Billings. Do your job if you want to keep it.”

Nathan took a menacing step closer. “You’re being unreasonable.”

She held her ground even though everything in her screamed for her to run. “You’ve overstepped. I’ve given you, and them, my answer.” She held his gaze when his angry eyes narrowed. “Do you want to keep your job or not?”

“You need to listen to me. I have the experience in the food industry you don’t.”

“That’s why I hired you to run the Billings store. And you’ve done a great job. I’ve known you since culinary school. I admired your drive. I appreciate that you’re passionate about the deal Bountiful offered us.”

“I helped put that deal together. It’s extremely generous.”

She had no idea he’d worked with Bountiful Foods to put together the offer. She wondered if there was something in it for him if she took it. “As you know, Adria and I have plans to continue to expand the business. More stores. We’d love to get our products into larger grocery chains.”

“Adria is about to have twins and you’re wrapped up in your boyfriend and his kid. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got married and had kids, too, which means you won’t be able to work.”

“First, that’s a completely sexist and antiquated way of thinking. I can have a family and work.”

The eye roll pissed her off.

“Second, my relationship with Jon is none of your business. I’m paying you to do your job. Third, while I value your input on the operation and the menu, Adria and I make the final decisions about the business.”

“Maybe I should be talking to her.”

“You’re out of line,” Adria said from directly behind him.

Nathan didn’t know it, but Adria had walked into the kitchen and overheard the last part of their conversation.

His eyes went wide, he pressed his lips tight, then turned to Adria. “You’ve been taking more time off because of your pregnancy. You’ll be home with your twins for months. You know you can’t dedicate the time and attention to the business it deserves. Bountiful Foods can see your vision and make it a reality.”

Adria stared hard at Nathan. “Trinity and I are on the same page, the way we always are when we come to a decision. We do not want to sell. As for me, it is the luxury of owning my own business and hiring smart, dedicated employees to oversee things in my absence that makes it possible for me to take the time I need and want for my personal life. I have a loyal partner who has my back and will keep me apprised of the business in my absence.”

Trinity went to Adria and stood beside her. Them against Nathan. “We gave you the job you wanted. If your heart and loyalty are to Bountiful Foods and not Almost Homemade, perhaps you should go work for them.”

“My job was supposed to be overseeing the opening of each new store. So far, all I’ve done is open Billings after you opened Bozeman. Everything else is stalled.”

“Delayed, yes. Stopped, no. The other stores will open. We’re just taking our time, making sure we don’t stretch ourselves or our finances too thin.”

“Bountiful could have ten stores open over the next year.”

“Good for them. Let them open their own stores. We are doing things our way.”

Nathan gave them an exasperated look. “They want the Almost Homemade brand and reputation.”

“It’s not for sale,” she and Adria said in unison.

Nathan stormed out.

Adria turned to her. “What was that all about?”

“Jon.” He started this.

Adria raised a brow in question. “I know I missed the meeting he asked to have with us yesterday. So tell me, what does he have to do with Almost Homemade?”

“I think he wants to buy it.”

Confusion lit Adria’s eyes. “You said he owned a company. Is it in the food industry?”

“A couple aren’t, no. But he kinda helps out several independent grocery stores.”

Adria leaned back against the counter. “How so?”

“He buys the struggling stores’ building, then keeps the rents reasonable so the stores can stay open. He invests in the stores, helps them to expand and modernize, and takes a piece of the profits. From the way he describes it, it’s more about keeping the stores open in low-income and food-scarce neighborhoods than it is about making a lot of money. Which he already has because of all the other types of businesses he owned and sold over the past ten years.”

“So he’s an entrepreneur.”

“Apparently a very successful one. He sold most of the businesses he owned and moved here to give Emmy a more family-oriented life. He wanted to have more time for her.”

“Okay. So if that is the case, why does he want to buy Almost Homemade, which would surely take up an exorbitant amount of his time if he plans to expand it the way we do?”

“Exactly. It makes no sense. Plus he knows we aren’t looking to sell. Why would I sell him the business so he could make all the money off it and still date him?”

“Did you ask him?”

She sighed. “I didn’t have time to ask him anything because of what happened with Emmy. The school called right as we were about to discuss his proposal.”

“Did he say he wanted to buy us out?”

“No. Not exactly.” She brushed her long hair behind her ears. “He said it wasn’t what I thought, and we’d talk about it later.” And it weighed on her mind.

“Okay. So if he doesn’t want to buy the business, maybe he has some ideas for us, or he wants to invest.”

“Maybe.” That sounded more promising.

Adria touched her arm. “If he makes us an offer, we can simply say no and that’s the end of it.”

“I guess.”

“What is really bothering you?”

“Is this why he started seeing me? So he could get the inside scoop on the business and gather information to make us the offer and I’d push it with you to make him happy?”

Adria shook her head all through that. “No. I don’t believe that. I don’t think you do either. You’ve been so happy together.”

“I thought so, but then he does this out of nowhere. We talk about Almost Homemade, but it’s more about how my day went. I suppose I’ve given him some idea of our financial status. I’ve definitely spoken about how we want to expand and what that would look like. If he wanted to know all that stuff, I guess I made it easy for him.”

“You’re making assumptions and creating a story that may not be true at all. The best thing to do is talk to him. See what he has to say. Call him now, get to the bottom of it so you’ll have your peace of mind back.”

“I wish I could, but we have a cashier out today and Sunrise Farms is due any second with our delivery.”

“I can cover while you make the call.”

“You’re not even supposed to be here. The doctor wants you home and resting for the rest of your pregnancy.”

Adria sighed and rubbed her hand over her big round belly. “I know. I promised Drake I’d pick up the paperwork and my laptop and go straight home.”

“You need to take care of yourself and those babies. I can handle the stores.”

“I know you can. I’m just not very good at doing nothing. If I can get the paperwork, payroll, and inventory done, then it’s less for you to worry about, and you’ll have more time with Jon and Emmy.”

“I appreciate that. I do, but I don’t want you overdoing it.”

“Believe me, Drake won’t let me.” Adria glanced around the kitchen. “Did the hydroponic greens come in for the salad kits?”

“They’ll deliver to all the stores early tomorrow morning. We’ll switch over to exclusively using the organic greens in everything we prepare, including the spinach in our cooked dishes.”

“I’m so glad we partnered with the new company. Not only will the greens be locally grown, but because they’re grown indoors, we’ll have fresh organic lettuce all year round for less than shipping them here.”

Trinity had made the connection with the hydroponic growers. “That’s what we’re about, working with and sourcing quality ingredients locally. The hydroponics company can set up new locations as we do to supply us. It’s a win-win for both businesses.”

The back door opened and the rep from Sunrise Farms walked in with his tablet in hand, ready to make delivery of their other fruits and vegetables.

Adria touched her arm. “I’ll get what I need and head home. Don’t let Nathan get to you. And call Jon. Let him explain what it is he wants with Almost Homemade and you. I’ve never seen you as happy as you have been since you started seeing him. I know things have been . . . complicated with his ex, but you two seem made for each other.”

“That’s exactly how I’ve felt, and I love Emmy.”

“Do you love him?”

“I think I do.” She loved spending time with him. When they were apart, she thought about him all the time and couldn’t wait to see him again. The time they spent together at his place with Emmy . . . It really felt like they were a family.

Marriage, expanding their family, that all just seemed inevitable to her.

Steph would never be easy to deal with, but they’d make it work somehow. She and Jon would give Emmy the stability and love and home she deserved.

She didn’t want to take Steph’s place, but Trinity could be to Emmy everything Steph couldn’t be. Maybe with her influence, Steph would step up and try harder to be the mom Emmy needed.

“I think Jon loves you, too, Trinity, for what it’s worth coming from me. I see it in the way he looks at you and how he wants you with him all the time.”

She regretted leaving things hanging between them and not letting him explain yesterday before he left. The panic attack had simply made it impossible for her to think reasonably.

“Would you mind telling the Sunrise delivery guy to go ahead and start loading everything they brought into the refrigerators? I’m just going to give Jon a quick call and touch base before I verify the order.” She really wanted to know how the interview went with DPHHS, too. She hoped Emmy wasn’t further traumatized by having a stranger question her about what happened.

“Great. No problem.” Adria went to speak to the Sunrise guy.

Trinity pulled out her cell and hit the speed dial for Jon. It rang. And rang. And rang, until his voicemail picked up. She listened to his deep, rich voice tell her to leave a message, then didn’t know what to say. “Hey. It’s me. Um. I just wanted to talk.” She really wanted to hear his voice and some reassurance that everything between them was okay.

She hung up, disappointed their talk would have to wait and wondering why, when he always answered her call, he didn’t this time.