Free Rocky Mountain Hero (To Love Again Book 3) by Kate Fargo Page A

that tell tale crease forming over the bridge of her nose.
    “If you hadn’t convinced me to go to the club that night, none of this would have happened,” she rushed on, explaining.
    “True…” Jenny said quietly. Apparently, she wasn’t going to let her off the hook again so easily. “I had a part to play, but what about your young student?”
    “Tray?”
    “Oh, Tray? Come on Issy. Don’t ‘oh, Tray’ me. He had a big part to play in all of this. You told me so yourself. You’ve blossomed since you spent that weekend together in the mountains.”
    Isabel fidgeted in her seat, twisting the napkin in her lap. “Yes, it’s true he helped, he did play a part in this.”
    “Isabel!” Jenny let a loud laugh roll across the table between them. “Come on. I saw the difference in you after your first night together.”
    “Okay, it was good for me. I won’t deny that. But he was a means to an end, he wanted a teacher and I needed some fresh experiences-”
    “Hopefully the cave was fresh enough,” Jenny laughed again. “That still boggles my mind.”
    Isabel laughed, relaxing again. “I can barely believe it myself. Maybe I’ll use that in my book.”
    “Seriously, though, where is Tray these days?”
    Isabel glanced at her watch, then looked madly around the room, hoping to flag their waiter down.
    “It’s late, I have a two o’clock.”
    “You’re not skirting this. If I have to walk back to your office with you in order to get an answer, I will. You’re no longer seeing Tray?”
    “Not since we got back, well, a night or two after we got back. It was meant to be that way, Jenny. He got what he needed, I got what I needed.”
    Jenny snorted and shook her head, staring straight into Isabel’s eyes. “And neither of you got what you wanted?”
    “I just said-”
    “You got what you needed, I heard you. What about what you want, Isabel? It’s time. You deserve it.”
    “It what? I deserve Tray? I just can’t right now, Jenny. Our deal is done and I need to focus on work. Plus, now I’m writing to a deadline so finishing my book is not exactly optional. Not to mention, I already spent the advance.”
    “Uh huh. And when you finish your book, there will be another task on your list. I know you, Issy. You’ll keep yourself busy, then one day you’ll wake up and wonder why you’ve spent your life alone.”
    Isabel already did wonder. She’d spent the last three years alone. Not to mention that the last few years with Chet had seemed so empty, it felt even longer than that.
    Her dramatic exit from the restaurant that last night with Tray kept coming back to haunt her. She’d acted terribly and was embarrassed every time she thought of it. If nothing else, she could have ended their liaison graciously.
    She was lying to herself about ending it. She hadn’t wanted to, she’d hoped to continue seeing him, hiding behind the sex for a while until she was able to sort out her emotions.
    Time hadn’t diminished her feelings, as she had hoped. She’d known she was falling for Tray, but had fought it every step of the way.
    When he’d admitted his age, announced there was only a handful of years between them, she’d known there was no reason for her to fight it any longer. And it had terrified her.
    “I blew it, Jenny.”
    “What do you mean? With Tray?” They were walking towards the door, past the other fashionable diners and the gracious hostess, into the crisp sunlight of the afternoon.
    “He told me he was falling for me, and I got in a taxi and left. I wouldn’t even let him drive me home.”
    “I knew it. I knew there was more than just casual sex. So you stomped away. If he loves you, he’ll understand.”
    “No, I can’t just pick up the phone and admit I was wrong.”
    “You can’t?” Jenny stopped and grabbed Isabel’s arm, turning her until they were facing each other on the sidewalk. “You’re a therapist. You help people face up to their mistakes and admit when