Chrissy dished an identical look right back at her. “And now it’s definitely time for you to go.” She flashed him a little smile as she opened the front door.
Wyatt waved. “I hope you have a great rest of your evening.” He stepped outside and was half surprised when Chrissy followed, closing the door behind her. She walked with him to his Jeep. He stopped and turned to face her. “Your mom and sister seem really nice.”
“Yeah, they are. They’re both stubborn as the day is long, but they’re pretty great.”
“And you are the only one in the family without that particular gene?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Exactly.” She tried to look serious but failed miserably.
Wyatt grinned when she started chuckling. “You have a great laugh.”
Chrissy clasped her hands together behind her back. “Thank you.” Her chin dipped a little as though she were trying to hide her face.
“You’re welcome. I’d better go. I guess I’ll see you at the coffee shop this next week?”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
“Good night, Chrissy.”
It wasn’t easy for Wyatt to get in his car and leave Chrissy behind. There was something about her that made him want to help her. Protect her. Get to know her better. All of which went against every drop of common sense in his body.
By the time he’d driven out of the neighborhood, he’d already decided that he’d be stopping by a certain lady’s place of work for a cup of coffee first thing Monday morning.
Chapter Five
When Wyatt walked into Clearwater Coffee on Thursday morning, Chrissy wasn’t all that surprised to see him. Honestly, she’d half expected it. While she wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone else, she would’ve been disappointed if he hadn’t shown up after seeing him every morning since the birthday party. Unfortunately, between the morning crowd and his hurry to get to his own job, there was little time to talk and discover the reason behind his increase in visits.
Thursday evening, after eating dinner with Mom and Emma, they settled down in the living room to watch an episode or two of their favorite streamed show.
Emma had been dealing with a cold all week. Chrissy glanced at her, concerned about the dark circles under her sister’s eyes. Chrissy had already decided that, if Emma didn’t feel better in another day or two, she was going to insist on a doctor’s visit.
After going to so many doctors over the years, Chrissy understood why Emma was hesitant. But after a heart transplant, Emma really did need to take every precaution.
Chrissy tried not to flinch when Emma sneezed. Instead, she rested her cell phone on the arm of the couch and did her best to focus on the show. When that didn’t distract her from worrying about her sister, her mind turned to Wyatt. Just thinking about him coming in every morning with that friendly smile of his made her feel a little better.
She finally picked up her phone and texted him. “You’ve sure been in a coffee mood this week.”
Chrissy really didn’t expect him to text back, but maybe a minute or two later, her phone pinged. She switched it to silent when Mom glanced at her, then she pulled the text up to read it.
“I’ll be there tomorrow, too.”
She wasn’t sure what to say to that then smiled as she typed out, “If you do, you should try something besides your usual.”
“Why fix what isn’t broken?”
It was the winking emoji at the end of his post that made her grin.
Another text came through. “Are you busy Saturday night?”
What?! Chrissy glanced at Mom and Emma who both seemed unaware of her texting conversation with Wyatt. “Why do you ask?”
“LOL Are you or not?”
“I’m never busy on a Saturday night.” Or a Friday night, either. Sadly, that was the truth. In fact, what she was doing now was likely to be on repeat through the weekend. Not that it was a bad thing. She enjoyed hanging out with her family. But when she said it out loud—or in text—it sounded lame.
“Then you’re free to go to dinner with me.”
Chrissy’s jaw dropped, and she closed her mouth with a snap before anyone else noticed. What? He wanted to go to dinner? Was he asking her out on a date? Surely not.
She must have taken too long to respond because another text came through.
“I’d like to officially thank you for going to Gran’s party. Nothing fancy. Pizza maybe?”
He’d already paid her; he certainly didn’t need to take her out to dinner to thank her. But if that was his reason, then this wasn’t a date. Which meant agreeing to go would be okay, right? Besides, pizza did sound good.
“Pizza would be great.”
“Can I pick you up at six?”
Chrissy ignored the bubbles of excitement in her chest as she typed her response. “Sure.”
“Awesome. Have a good evening, okay?”
She stared at the words on her phone and couldn’t stop smiling. She was going on a non-date with Wyatt.
~*~
Yes, Wyatt was stopping by Clearwater Coffee for the fifth morning in a row. The caffeine fix certainly helped him face whatever was going on at the country club. But more so, there was something about the smile Chrissy greeted him with that put him in a good mood for the rest of the day. It probably wasn’t a good thing that he was starting to get as addicted to that smile as he was to his daily cup of coffee.
He only realized how addicted he was becoming when he walked into the shop and spotted someone else behind the counter in place of Chrissy. He waited in line like he planned. After placing his order, he casually asked, “Is Chrissy working today?”
The woman with a name tag that had “Lil” written on it shook her head. “She was supposed to, but we switched shifts. She called me early, early this morning.” Lil put a lid on his cup of coffee and handed it over. “Said she had to get to an unexpected doctor’s appointment or something. Anyway, she should be here tomorrow.”
Concern balled in his chest as Wyatt accepted the coffee, dropped a tip into the jar, and made his way back out again. Was Chrissy sick? She seemed fine yesterday. What if something was wrong with Emma? He got to the country club and was about to get out of his car when the concern and curiosity got the better of him. He pulled his phone out and sent Chrissy a text. “One of your coworkers said you had to take off today without much notice. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
It was silly, but he hoped for an immediate response. He definitely didn’t get one. Five minutes later, he sighed and went to work. Chrissy could be in with the doctor right now. Or driving. Or there were any number of other reasons for why she wasn’t responding. For that matter, texting back may not be one of her priorities. Their friendship was new, after all.
Did she even count him a friend? Or was he simply one of her frequent coffee customers? Thinking about it made him realize that he did consider her to be a friend. That she felt the same way was more important to him than it ought to be.
When he reached his office at the club, he was surprised to find Violet there waiting for him. She was sitting on the edge of his desk with a hand on one hip as though waiting to scold him about something. Just what he didn’t need.
“What’s up, Violet?” He walked past her and took a seat in his chair. There was a stack of papers resting on his desk that hadn’t been there yesterday evening. Most likely new to-do lists from Dad. He motioned to them. “It looks like I’m going to be busy today.” Hopefully Violet would say her piece and go her own way. It wasn’t likely, though. Violet took her sweet time about everything, unless it was something she thought was important.
“Who was she really?”
“Who was who?”
Violet scowled. “Chrissy. You know, the date you brought to Gran’s birthday party? I went by to visit Gran yesterday, and Chrissy was all she could talk about.”
“Okay.” He was glad Gran liked Chrissy so much, but what did any of this have to do with Violet’s visit here? If a
nything, this was a conversation that might be coming up between him and Gran. He’d deal with that when he had to. Why was Violet so invested in this? “I guess I’m confused as to what any of that has to do with you.”
That was probably the wrong phrasing to use. Violet felt anything going on in the family was something she should not only know about, but at least be invited to give her input. She raised an eyebrow and slid off his desk to stand and face him.
“You never mentioned Chrissy before. She doesn’t seem your type.”
Now it was time for Wyatt to raise an eyebrow at her. “Excuse me? And you know my type?”
Violet only shrugged. “Come on, little brother. You and I both know Chrissy’s not the right person to help you get over Ashley. She works at a coffee shop, for goodness’ sake. You’re nearly thirty-eight. Dad’s stressed about making sure the country club stays in the family. And Gran’s worried the family name is going to die with you. She’s not getting any younger, you know.”
“I’m aware of that, thank you. And I don’t need help to get over Ashley—I’ve been over her for a very long time.” His ex was the last person he wanted to talk about. Violet, as well as the rest of his family, knew the kind of hell that woman put him through. He wished he could dismiss her actions as easily as most of them had.
He glared at his oldest sister and wished she’d mind her own business. The last thing he needed was for her to throw Gran into the conversation and try to guilt-trip him into something stupid. One would think that her own marriage and three kids were enough to keep her busy. “And since you don’t feel like Chrissy’s my type, you think I should be looking elsewhere?”
Violet’s eyes narrowed. “She works at a coffee shop, little brother. Her hair…” She trailed off as if what she mentioned alone ought to settle everything. “I can’t begin to understand why you asked her to Gran’s party. What were you thinking?”
Wyatt stared at her. Violet had certainly shown her true colors many times growing up, but this was a new low. To dismiss Chrissy entirely based on her employment was unacceptable, and he was certain he’d feel that way if Violet was talking about anyone else as well. He stood again, a good six inches taller than his big sister. “You know nothing about Chrissy.” He nodded toward the obviously new shoes she was wearing—an obsession of Violet’s that she and her husband were in frequent discontent over. “I hardly think you’re in a position to judge my girlfriend on how she makes a living.” He was surprised to hear the word girlfriend leave his lips, but he didn’t think Violet noticed.
Instead, he picked up the stack of papers. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some work to do.” He heard her huff and puff as she left the room and closed his office door harder than necessary behind her. Only then did Wyatt sink into his desk chair again with a groan.
Violet was like a bulldog who didn’t let anything go until she’d shaken the life out of it. He’d like to think she would go on her merry way and leave Chrissy out of everything, but he knew better than that.
His thoughts settled on Chrissy. Sure, she was different from any other woman he dated. And Violet was right about one thing: Chrissy didn’t fit what would’ve been considered his type. But seeing how things had ended in the past, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.
Wyatt checked his phone and wished she’d text him back. Just because she’d agreed to go out with him Saturday night did not mean they were in a relationship. If they were, he’d know what was going on. And Wyatt certainly didn’t need Violet to remind him of how disastrous his last relationship was. Every detail was etched into his brain as well as his self-confidence. He resisted the temptation to text Chrissy a second time and tried to focus on his work.
~*~
Chrissy placed a cup of hot peppermint tea on the table next to the couch where Emma was resting. Her head was on a pillow with one arm curled beneath it. She gave Chrissy a small, tired smile. “Thanks, sis.”
“You’re welcome.” She sat down on the worn recliner nearby. Everything about the day had been exhausting, from the moment she’d awakened at three in the morning to sounds of Emma coughing and wheezing until she’d returned with medication from the pharmacy not long ago at two in the afternoon. She stifled a yawn.
“You should go take a nap,” Emma said, her words punctuated with a round of coughing.
Chrissy shook her head. “I’m good here.” She crossed her arms for emphasis and leaned into the recliner, a spot in the back poking into her ribs like it always did. One of those comforting annoyances.
The sounds of Mom working in the kitchen filtered into the living room. She was making chicken soup despite Emma insisting she wasn’t hungry. Chrissy completely understood the need to feel busy. That’s why there was a cup of tea sitting nearby completely untouched.
Emma’s eyes drifted closed. Chrissy stared at her sister. Bronchitis was nothing to play around with anyway, but when Emma’s immune system was as compromised as it was, this could be dangerous. She’d spent a good part of the day receiving fluids and breathing treatments. They had a whole list of things to watch for. If Emma developed a high fever, or if the breathing treatments they could now do at home didn’t help, they were to take her to the emergency room.
Emma didn’t want to talk about the fact that her job was making her sick more often than normal, but it was something she was going to have to address sooner rather than later. Working at the desk instead of directly with the animals helped, but she was still around all the hair and dander. And even if Emma wouldn’t admit it, Chrissy was certain she was still helping with the animals at times. It’d be nearly impossible not to in that situation, especially when Emma loved them so much.
Needless to say, Chrissy would be taking shifts with Mom to be certain Emma was doing okay and that her health wasn’t deteriorating through the night.
Chrissy yawned, and this time she didn’t try to keep it hidden. She pulled her phone out and read Wyatt’s text for the sixth time that day. She’d kept meaning to text him back, but then something vied for her attention again.
“I can’t tell if you’re avoiding someone or stalking him.” Emma’s voice made Chrissy jump, which only elicited a smile. “Seriously, you should just call him.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Chrissy turned her screen off and put the phone under her leg. “Speaking of avoiding something…”
Emma immediately shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about that right now.” Another round of coughing plus Mom coming in with a steaming bowl of soup effectively ended the conversation.
Mom got Emma set up with her soup and turned on a television program. Now that Mom was there, Chrissy excused herself. Instead of going to the kitchen, she stepped out onto the tiny back porch. There was just enough room for a pair of folding lawn chairs that had certainly seen better days. Chrissy eased herself into one, amazed as always that the plastic bands didn’t just snap and send her to the ground.
She opened her texts and started to respond to Wyatt. She’d gotten a sentence or two in when she changed her mind. She erased everything and, before she lost her nerve, called him instead.
“Hello?”
Just the sound of his deep voice set butterflies loose in her stomach. “Hey. It’s Chrissy. Sorry I didn’t text sooner.”
“It’s okay. I figured something must be going on. Are you all right?”
“We had to take Emma to the emergency room just after three this morning. We only got back home a little while ago.” She stretched her legs out and allowed the back of her head to rest against the top of the chair.
“Oh, wow. I’m sorry to hear that.” There was some background sound, like shuffling papers, that came through the phone. “Is she okay?”
Chrissy realized that it was only four o’clock. Wyatt was probably still at work. “She has bronchitis. Obviously that’s no fun for anyone, but the medications she takes to keep her body from rejecting her heart also lowers her immune system. It doesn’t take
much for her to go from bronchitis to pneumonia. We’re going to have to watch her closely for a few days.” She paused. “I just realized you’re probably working. I didn’t think of that. I should’ve just texted.”
“Are you kidding? You’ve been on my mind all day. Since I’ve never seen you miss a day of work before, I figured something major must have happened.”
He’d been thinking about her? Chrissy had been so concerned about Emma all day that the idea of being the focus of someone else’s worry sent tendrils of warmth through her. She pictured his kind, green eyes and couldn’t keep a smile from lifting the corners of her mouth. She’d missed seeing him this morning. “You’re right. I’m something of a workaholic. Although I’ll be working tomorrow now to make up for it.” She wasn’t keen on the idea. At least Mom would be home with Emma all day. She’d call if Emma started feeling worse.
“You’ll get a lunch break, I assume.”
“I will. Usually at one.” Most of the time, Chrissy spent her lunch breaks in a corner booth at the coffee shop eating a sandwich and browsing social media on her phone. She couldn’t help but hope Wyatt was asking about her schedule for a reason.
“How about I stop by and we take a walk or something?”
Chrissy grinned, fully aware that her family would be making fun of her right now if they saw. “I’d like that.”
“Great.” He paused. “If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. I hope your sister feels better soon.”
“Thank you.” She wasn’t ready to hang up yet but knew he needed to get back to work. Besides, what else was she going to talk about? “I guess I should let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you then. Get some rest, Chrissy.”
His thoughtfulness settled over her heart like a warm blanket.
Marrying Chrissy (Brides of Clearwater Book 3) Page 5