moment longer, loneliness wrapping itself around him. He heaved a sigh, then went to shower and get dressed for work. He fed Kiss, had breakfast, got Stacey up and dressed, and made her breakfast. At eight o’clock, Terry arrived and after he took the dog out, he settled in with a coffee for a quick replay of their respective weekends.
“I’m so glad you and Stacey had a good time. You both needed it.”
Jake encircled his mug of coffee with his hands, watching Stacey eat her bagel. He wondered whether Shea had tried his bagel yet. He blinked and cleared his throat.
“Uh, so I was thinking…I’d like to go away for a week. Take Stacey to that dude ranch I went to on the retreat.”
Terry finished sipping her tea. “Are they set up to handle children? How’s their safety protocol? These are things you have to consider.”
“Absolutely. And I’ve talked to them about it. They’ve had summer camps for children, even children with special needs, and some of their horses are trained in equine therapy.”
“Well, it sounds perfect.” She nodded with approval as he ticked off their attributes. “When were you thinking of going?”
“I have some things at work I can’t get out of.” Yearly reports and the revamping of the agency’s code of conduct were some of the major projects he tackled every July. “So…the beginning of August?”
“Should be a good time to get out of the city.”
“We’ve never traveled together before, but I was hoping you’d be able to come to Texas with us.”
She clapped her hands. “Oh, I’d love to. I was hoping you’d ask me. Would you like that, Stacey? For me to come with you?”
Stacey nodded while chewing her bagel. Kiss licked her hand, and she reached down to hug her dog, never taking her eyes off him.
“Of course, honey. Kiss comes with us. She’ll stay in your room.”
Stacey nodded. Her attention shifted to the vase on the table that held her yellow rose.
“And you’ll see Shea too. That’s where he lives. You liked him, right?”
Another nod.
The recent weeks of her being more communicative had given him hope.
“He’ll help you with your horseback riding, and there are other cowboys there as well.”
“Nothing like a vacation filled with cowboys. What could be bad?” Terry’s eyes twinkled.
Thankful as always for Terry’s support, Jake kissed Stacey good-bye and left.
As soon as he arrived at the office, he was overwhelmed with Monday morning meetings and the collating of all the information he needed to get the reports done.
At a knock on his door, Jake didn’t even shift his gaze from the screen. “Yes. Come in.”
He highlighted one final section and looked over his monitor to see both Maria and Keisha staring at him with matching smiles.
“Oh, no.” He directed his attention to the computer screen again. “Don’t think you’re going to gang up on me.”
They each pulled up a chair, and Maria spoke first. “Listen, mister. If you’re going to have a gorgeous cowboy stroll in here, looking like he wants to take you for a ride in his saddle—as Tiffany and Keisha both mentioned—and you think we’re going to stay quiet, you don’t know us very well.”
“Keisha met him.”
“I sure did.” She sighed. “His name is Shea, and he’s so handsome, with beautiful blue eyes and the most amazing accent. Maria, I swear he makes your insides—”
Jake had enough. “Okay, is there a reason you’re in here? Aside from talking about your insides, of which I have no desire to hear the details.”
“So Keisha gets to meet him, and yet I’m your deputy, but I have to hear about him from second-hand gossip?” Maria crossed her arms. “Talk about rude.”
“You were in a meeting, and why are we talking about this?” Jake yelled. He pushed his hands through his hair. “There’s nothing to tell. He’s gone anyway.”
“You’re such a grouch.” Keisha smiled sweetly. “And Sterling called earlier. He wants a meeting.”
The phone rang, and Jake glared at Keisha. “Well?”
“Hmph. Whatever. I’ll be back.” She hurried out of the room to answer it.
Maria remained behind and raised a finely plucked brow. “Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“Yes, actually.”
She waited, expectancy written all over her face. Jake wondered if she’d forgotten who he was and if that was why she anticipated him to suddenly spill his guts.
“The reports for next week need to be in to me by this Wednesday, so I have time to go over them. We need demographics on all the new hires—ow.” A rubber band