“Why not?” Bella looked curious, not challenging.
“Because… I don’t know.” Sunshine rubbed her cheek against Duke’s fur, unwilling to express her fears.
“Don’t tell me you’re not staying.” Bella sounded upset.
Sunshine looked up in surprise. “Would it affect you if I went?”
“It would affect everyone I know. People talk about you two all the time.”
“Really?” She hadn’t realized that. She’d miss Chance Creek and its inhabitants if she left, but if she and Cole broke up she wouldn’t be able to stay here. Seeing him all the time with someone else would kill her. “Anyway, I don’t plan to leave.” Yet, she added silently, then gave herself a mental shake. She and Cole were far from splitting up. She was being overdramatic. Time to change the subject. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course.”
As Sunshine filled Bella in about the ranch and her efforts to spruce it up, Bella’s eyes shone. “I have an idea.” She bit her lip. “Or maybe not. I don’t want to offend you.”
“How would you offend me?”
“It’s just… Evan inherited a bunch of furniture last month from his great uncle. A lot of it was pretty great, so we’ve integrated it into our house, which means we have too many of everything. I’ve got extra couches and chairs and tables. All of it is practically new. I don’t want it to go to waste. Do you want to look through it and see if any of it works?”
“Sure. That sounds great. But how will I transport it without Evan learning where it went? None of the men can know until Christmas morning. They couldn’t keep a secret from Cole.”
“We’ll figure out something.” Bella watched Sunshine pet Duke. “So I heard a funny rumor. Something about you starting a rock band?”
“Oh, lord. Are you serious?” Rob must have said something.
“I’m dying to know what that’s all about.”
As Sunshine recounted what had happened, Bella snorted.
“It’s not funny,” Sunshine said, getting to her feet.
“Yes, it is. But you know what? I’ve actually got a couple of guitars. I’ve taken some lessons.”
“I took a few, too. I know just enough to be dangerous.”
“So let’s practice later. We can figure out a song.”
Sunshine shrugged. “Why the hell not? I don’t suppose you have a tambourine.”
“No, but we’ll order one tonight. Express mail.” She patted Duke’s head. “Tell you what. I’ll hold onto Duke for a week, too. That will give you a chance to think things over. If you can’t take him, I’ll put him up for adoption then.”
“I don’t want you to waste your time…”
“Are you kidding? I love this dog. I’m not in any hurry to let him go.” Bella grinned. “Of course, I can say that for all the rest of the pets in the shelter, too.”
“You really are obsessed with animals.”
“Hey, I said I was a sucker for them, not obsessed.”
“Is there a difference?” Sunshine grinned back at Bella. It was hard to be depressed around her optimism and can-do attitude. “You know, I think I could get obsessed, too.” She nearly melted when she spotted a passel of kittens stumbling around one of the pens in the cat area.
“My suggestion is to come volunteer for me rather than getting knee deep in critters yourself.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
Chapter 6
Cole was pleased to see that Sunshine was in a better mood at dinner, which Bella and Evan served in their elegant dining room. When he’d come home late again he’d found her taking a nap in the bedroom Bella had assigned them, something he’d rarely seen her do before. He’d been worried; she looked exhausted, but when he woke her up she claimed she’d only been resting her eyes for a few minutes.
Now she laughed at Bella and Evan’s jokes and she’d eaten two helpings of the vegetarian chili and cornbread Bella had whipped up.
“This is good practice for me,” Bella told them. “Evan’s whole extended family is arriving in town for Christmas and I’ve never hosted such a large group of people. I want to make sure I know what I’m doing. We always eat in the kitchen.”
“We’ll gladly be your guinea pigs,” Sunshine told her.
“Everything is vegan, including dessert,” Bella announced. “Morgan told me about your preferences, Sunshine.”
“Oh, I hope you didn’t go to a lot of trouble.”
“No, that was good practice, too. One of Evan’s cousins prefers gluten-free food, another is vegetarian and a third is doing the Paleo diet.”
Sunshine laughed. “That’s a tricky combination.”
“But I’m determined to pull it off. And I’ve got all kinds of activities and games planned. You should see all the holiday decorations I still have to put up. I actually hand-sewed a bunch of them.” Bella smiled sheepishly. “I’m not sure where this rush of domesticity is coming from. Maybe it’s the pregnancy.”
“Maybe.” Sunshine took another bite of cornbread. It was delicious.
“I hope when Sunshine gets pregnant, she gets a similar rush,” Cole said as he helped himself to another serving of chili.
Sunshine snapped her head around to stare at him. “Two days ago you said you didn’t want kids,” she said dryly.
“What? I never said that,” he lied. He knew exactly what she meant, but it wasn’t fair for her to bring it up like that. He’d said what he’d said in the heat of the moment. Maybe Sunshine didn’t realize that, though.
Sunshine looked like she’d say more, but instead she changed the subject. Cole hoped she hadn’t taken his hasty words to heart. He’d always wanted to be a dad. He just figured they’d sort out the details after they were married.
Halfway through dessert Sunshine’s cell phone rang. To Cole’s surprise, she put a hand in her pocket and turned off the ringer without answering it.
“Aren’t you going to get that?”
“Not at dinner.”
“Oh, don’t worry about us. We’re not formal,” Bella said. “By the way, Cab Johnson called. He and Rose would love to put you folks up tomorrow night. He sounded put out you hadn’t stopped by to see him yet, Cole.”
“I’ll call him right after dinner. Why don’t you get that call, honey,” he said to Sunshine. “It could be your folks.” He was beginning to feel guilty that he hadn’t suggested they spend Christmas with Sunshine’s family. He knew she missed them. He felt bad he hadn’t gone to see Cab, either. He was letting too much slide.
Sunshine bit her lip, pulled out the phone and looked at the screen. She got up from her seat before answering it, and left the room.
Cole frowned. Was it his imagination or was she acting secretive? He’d bet anything that wasn’t her parents who’d called. Without meaning to, he stood up too and followed her without an explanation to their hosts. Something about Sunshine’s manner triggered all his instincts. She was hiding something.