“That should tell you something. Ouch, Juno, not the claws.”

“I need to keep in practice, though, if I ever need to again.”

“Nate called and asked if I wanted to go biking later. He’s going to ride over here and then we’ll head for the park, sans car.”

“Good for him. He is such a nice guy.”

“I know.” Loren studied her plate. “I think I kind of like him.”

“Good. Me too. I know he likes you; you can see it every time he looks at you.”

“Really?”

“Really, big time.”

Loren sniffed. “He said he had a crush on me in high school. I hardly even knew him. I mean, he was one of the nerds.”

“And you were pretty quiet yourself.”

“Maybe you think that might be changing now?”

Roxie nearly dropped her chicken. This was her daughter, the one who hardly said a word in public. Thank you, Lord. “I think that is entirely possible. Good for you.”

“I read an article that said change is difficult.”

“That is so true, but not impossible and hopefully part of growing up.” She handed Sir Charles the gristle off the ends of the thigh bones and reached for her iced tea. “Sometimes life forces us into change and other times we can make choices and work at it. But some people are paralyzed by fear and others refuse to do the hard work.” She shrugged. “The way of life. You ready for ice cream?”

Loren shrugged. “I thought we could wait and have dessert when we get back.”

“I think that is a fine idea. Shame we don’t have some of Addy’s cookies.”

“Mom, we can bake our own. I’ll stir up the batter, and if he gets here before they are baked, would you please finish?”

“I will and I’ll wait to read the letter until later.”

“What smells so good in here?” Nate asked when he arrived. He stared at the rack of cooling chocolate chip cookies on the counter.

Loren pulled out the last cookie sheet. “Help yourself and then let’s go before the mosquitoes are out.”

“I did bug spray. You?”

“I baked cookies.” She handed the turner to Roxie. “See you in a while.”

“The insect repellent is in the front bathroom.” Roxie grinned at Nate. “Take some if you’d like but we have ice cream to go with them for later.”

“Ah, bliss.”

Roxie waved them off, poured herself more iced tea, snagged two still-warm cookies, and headed upstairs to her office. The never-ending to-do list called her name.

For some strange reason, she could not quit smiling. Besotted might be more fitting than liked in Nate’s case.

She’d just sat down at her desk when her cell chimed. “Roxie here.”

“Sure glad to hear that.”

Rich. She’d recognize his voice anywhere. The tingle started somewhere about her knees and zipped to the top of her head. “Hey.”

“I was just thinking about you and wishing I had time to see you tonight, but since I have a meeting in a few minutes, I thought I’d ask if you’d like to go out for breakfast in the morning.”