Honor Bound by Joey Hill (speld decodable readers .txt) 📕

She sighed. “All right. Shopping? I have to go shopping?”

“Yes.”

Once Tish set her mind to something, there was no getting around it. “Fine. I’ll need drinks first.”

“You got it. We’ll go tomorrow.”

After Tish left, Ella stared down at the files on her desk. Paperwork could wait until tomorrow. She needed some air. She went outside and headed toward her truck, rolled the windows down when she got in, grateful for the constantly changing Oklahoma weather that had brought a springlike day in the middle of winter. Maybe the fresh air would clear her mind and blow away thoughts of Clay.

She loved this city. Big enough for progress, for constant changing and reshaping, which meant her business thrived. Small enough for suburbs and getting from one end of town to the other in a hurry. Tulsa had growing industry and the feel of a major city without any of the congestion or drawbacks. Yet there were enough surrounding small towns that you could feel as if you really were in Middle America and get away from it all. That was what she and James had wanted, why they’d bought a house outside Tulsa. Ella had wanted the escape, had loved the small-town feeling of their little place in the suburbs with its quiet street where children played without worrying about cars zooming by.

She and James had talked about having kids, but the time had never seemed right. She had jumped into the construction business with both hands and had loved it, and the whole having-kids thing had fallen by the wayside. Someday, they kept saying. They had plenty of time. And someday never happened.

She was glad they hadn’t had children. She’d been devastated when James died, couldn’t imagine trying to cope and handle grieving children at the same time. She’d had to grow up herself at the age of twenty-five, had to learn to manage a business and take care of herself.

Now, five years later, she was a different person than she’d been then. When James had died her entire world had fallen apart. She had never lived alone, had never had to stand on her own. But she’d managed it, and she’d grown the company. She had the respect of every man and woman at Hicks Construction. She loved her job. It had filled her nights and days. Mostly.

And she’d managed to fall in love again, despite thinking she never would.

So maybe she didn’t end up with Clay in her life. And maybe that did hurt a little. Okay, a lot. But she’d set the ground rules for their time in Hawaii. And she’d chosen the man—a man she knew didn’t want strings attached to their time together.

But at least she knew now that she could love again. And she would fall in love.

Someday.

But despite Tish’s insistence, it wasn’t going to be with Clay.

Clay walked out of his office, surprised to find Tish still at her desk. Kind of unusual for a Friday afternoon. Usually she was gone at five o’clock sharp, ready for her weekend.

He couldn’t blame her.

“Workday’s over. Shouldn’t you be gone by now?”

Tish looked up from her computer. “Thought I’d hang out for a few minutes.”

Uh-oh. That usually meant she had something to say and she didn’t want to say it with the other staff around. He leaned against the desk opposite hers and folded his arms.

“Okay, what’s on your mind?”

“Ella.”

Just the mention of her name was a gut punch. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since Hawaii. Oh, sure, he intended to honor her wishes, but it was damn hard not to call her, to drive over to her house, to tell her how he really felt . . . what he really wanted.

“What about her?”

“She’s in love with you.”

He frowned. “No, she’s not.” If she was in love with him, she’d have called him in the weeks since they’d been back from Hawaii. She’d have expressed some interest in getting together. She’d made things clear in Hawaii. Sex only. Onetime thing. Done and over.

“You know, for someone who’s had a ton of experience with women, you are completely blind.”

He pivoted and headed back to his office. “Stay out of my personal life, Tish.”

He started to shut his door. Tish stopped him. “She loves you.”

He whipped around to face her. “She told you this.”

Tish opened her mouth, closed it, then finally said, “Why don’t you ask her yourself ?”

“So this is just something you’ve conjured up on your own. I’ve been on the receiving end of your misguided matchmaking skills before, Tish.”

“This isn’t matchmaking. The match has already been made. You two pigheaded idiots just need to open your eyes and figure out you love each other.”

“Uh-huh. And you believe in fairy tales.”

She smirked. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Good night, Tish.”

She shook her head. “Don’t forget about the charity ball tomorrow night.”

“I’m not going.”

“I already rented a tux for you. It’s hanging near the door. You are going. Key building and political contacts you need to talk to are going to be there, and like it or not, you’re going.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Tish said with a laugh. “See you tomorrow night.”

Clay sat at his desk and looked outside at the growing darkness. The weather had been unseasonably warm for early March. Maybe spring would come early, which was a good thing. Clear, nice weather meant more construction days in the year. He’d have to map that out on his calendar, maybe bid on a few extra projects.

Yeah, right, as if he had even been thinking about work since he’d gotten back from Hawaii. All he’d thought about was Ella. How she was, what she was doing. Oh, he kept in touch work-wise through the guys, knew what jobs her crew were working on. He’d even thought about stopping by, but figured she’d be uncomfortable.

Hell, he was uncomfortable. Which really sucked because he’d never thought twice about dropping in on her before they’d had their week