So, yeah, she already knew that there would be no second date with Kathryn, if you could even call this a first. But Cassidy would be a good hostess. She’d already planned brunch for tomorrow. And if the forecasted rain showers held off, they could enjoy the pool a little before heading back to Dallas. She would then tell Kathryn she’d enjoyed meeting her and leave it at that.

And the next time Erica—or any other friend—tried to set her up, “No thanks” would be her answer. She could find her own dates. That had never been a problem.

Or maybe that was the problem. There was always—always—a date.

Chapter Twelve

Laura had made quick work of Cassidy’s lawn. As expected, she had it mowed in less than an hour. She turned the mower off and sat there, mentally estimating how long it would take to complete the tedious trimming and edging. Another hour? At least. Then she turned and glanced at the pool.

Inviting, to say the least. It was nearly noon. The sky was clear. The temp was over eighty. Sweat clung to her skin. How wonderful would it be to strip off her clothes and…

“Don’t even think about it,” she murmured. With her luck, Cassidy would come home unexpectedly and catch her. But it was Thursday. Surely Cassidy wouldn’t pop over on a Thursday.

She would finish trimming and edging. She would map out where she would put flowerbeds…and then, she would get in the pool.

Laura found herself humming as she walked around a particularly large oak, buzzing off the grass along its base with the weed trimmer. At the edge of the lawn, where the woods grew, she paused, wondering if any of her old trails were still there. Probably not. How many years had it been since she’d played there? Twenty or more? Of the ten-acre lot, she guessed the house, pool, and lawn took up only two. As Cassidy had said, she’d left most of the woods intact. When she was a kid, Laura had thought the woods went on forever. She never seemed to run out of places to explore. She smiled as she remembered the leaning tree. It was at the edge of a clearing and—after climbing the tree—there was a perfect view of the summer sunset. The land wasn’t hilly by any means…just gently rolling hills here and there. But from that tree, she’d felt like she was on the top of a mountain, looking down as the sun disappeared below the horizon. She made a mental note to sneak over one afternoon and see if she could find the leaning tree again.

But not today. No, today—after the yard was done—she was going to sneak into the pool.

And pray that Cassidy didn’t come home early.

* * *