Free Pretty Face by Sable Hunter Page A

to show you something, then I’ll be on my way.”
    Cody nodded. “Sure.” She looked pointedly at her friends. “Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right with you.”
    Hunter waited for her in the kitchen. He needed to apologize. When she joined him, he was almost tongue-tied. Cody glanced around, noting his progress. “It’s looking good. Now that you’ve got some of the frames built and the doors assembled, it will go up fast. Won’t it?”
    “Yea,” Hunter agreed. “Look, Cody, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    Not happening. She stepped away from him. “Don’t worry about it for a second. I tend to say more about almost anything than I should.” Pasting a smile on her face, she looked over his right shoulder, not at him. “Comes from lecturing people for a living, I guess.”
    “No, it was—”
    “Please, let’s just forget it.” She went to the refrigerator. “Here, take the rest of the jambalaya home. I’ll have to take those two out for dinner, that’s one of the reasons they come. We go to a little Italian restaurant, their favorite. This will go to waste.”
    Hunter took it. “Thanks. Okay, well, I’ll be back tomorrow.”
    Cody’s breath hitched in her throat. She was so confused. This was getting more and more complicated. Sage seemed farther and farther away. “Have a good night, Hunter.”
    Gathering his tools, Hunter headed for the door. “Cody, for what it’s worth, you have no reason not to date. There’s a man out there who’s going to think you’re perfect just the way you are. It would be a crime if you didn’t find one another.”
    Somehow she managed to keep from dissolving into a puddle of self-pity. Watching the man she loved walk out the door while he gave her a dating pep-talk was almost more than she could handle. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She stood still until he shut the screen and moved around the corner of the house by the window. Cody moved to look out of it, watching him climb in his truck and back out of the driveway. She watched until he disappeared down the street and then she began to cry.
    “Hey, Cody, don’t cry.” Marnie had slipped into the kitchen. Cody turned into her arms.
    “I can’t help it, I’ve made a mess. A total mess.” She let her friend lead her back into the living room where Trinity was picking up and cleaning up. Her friend practiced good-housekeeping when she was upset. “Trinity, just leave it. The whole house is in disarray.”
    “Come on, let’s sit down and talk.” Marnie led them to the couch and recliner that sat in front of the fireplace. “Just sit still, I’ll fix coffee. Trinity, get Cody something to blow her nose on.”
    Cody sat there while her friends scooted around, doing little things to make her feel better. “I’m so glad you two came,” she hiccupped. “I feel like I’m in the twilight zone.”
    Marnie brought a tray and set it on the coffee table. “I can imagine trying to be two different people at the same time is exhausting.”
    Trinity hit Marnie with a sofa pillow. “Be nice.”
    Cody wiped her face, then poured them all a mug of strong java. “No, she’s right. I created this monster and I have to see it through. One way or the other, I have to finish it, come clean, beg his forgiveness and say goodbye.”
    “Now wait.” Marnie cuddled up on the end of the couch with her feet tucked under her. “Let me get this straight. Hunter just showed up one day? How did he get here and how did he end up renovating your kitchen?”
    “Yea,” Trinity said. “I’m sorta curious about that myself.”
    Cody took a deep breath and explained. “We were playing one day and like he has before, he poured out his feelings and begged to see me. I gave him the usual runaround, and he shocked the stuffing out of me when he up and announced he had already bought a ticket and was coming to Louisiana—hell or high water.”
    Trinity almost choked on her coffee. “Oh, my Lord, what did