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

they’re wrong all day. You’re telling me, your best friend, that you can’t pick up the phone and tell this man, who wants to love you, that you were wrong… and ask for another chance?”
    “What if he doesn’t want to see me?”
    “That won’t happen. Give him a chance.”
    Her eyes welled with tears and she brushed the back of her hand quickly across her cheeks.
    Jenny wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close. “I know you’re scared, but not everyone is Chet. Give Tray a chance.” Jenny stepped back and held Isabel’s gaze. “Give yourself a chance, Issy. You deserve to be happy.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
     
     
     
    The afternoon passed quickly, but Isabel found herself distracted during the sessions. She wanted to see Tray. Was there a chance that he’d still want to see her?
    Jenny was right. She was scared and it was time to start living again. Tray was a breath of fresh air in her safe, sterile life.
    She was busy, she was successful, but she didn’t feel triumphant. It all felt empty without being able to share it with him.
    She could swallow her pride. She would admit she’d been wrong. If he didn’t want her, then she’d learn a valuable lesson for next time.
    She checked the phone book for his address. She didn’t have the patience to start randomly calling numbers again. She’d have to go to the college. If she hurried, she might catch him still there.
    She punched the button on the intercom. “Heidi, I need you to cancel my five o’clock.” Heidi was silent at the other end. “Heidi?”
    “I can’t do that, Dr. Chapel.”
    “Why not, Heidi?”
    “I’ll be right in, Dr. Chapel.”
    Heidi poked her head around the door and stepped into Isabel’s office, quickly closing the door behind her. “Your five o’clock appointment is in the waiting room, Dr. Chapel.”
    Isabel glanced at the clock. “Damn,” she swore softly.
    “Excuse me, Dr. Chapel?”
    “Never mind. Who’s my five o’clock? There’s no name on my list.”
    “The gentleman insisted on not giving his name, Doctor. And he’s alone.”
    “Alone?” Isabel paced, her frustration mounting.
    “He said his partner wouldn’t agree to come, to talk, but he thought she might change her mind – once he saw you.”
    “Who referred our mystery gentleman?”
    Heidi fidgeted, her boss’s sharpness making her nervous. “No referral, Dr. Chapel. He said he met you once and you’re the only therapist he wants to see.”
    Isabel pursed her lips. She couldn’t afford to cancel this appointment, not as she was just getting things back on track. Referral or not, the man had an appointment.
    Isabel sighed deeply and walked to the window. “Okay, Heidi, show him in. It’s the last appointment for today, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    There was a chance she might still find him at the college once she was done here. If she didn’t find him tonight, she would find him tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, the next day. She wouldn’t let her life be empty again.
    She didn’t hear the man enter, but the small click of the door closing got her attention. She turned to greet her new client.
    “Tray? What are you doing here?” Her eyes raked him in, all six feet plus of him. She couldn’t barely believe he was standing in her office. His dark locks framed his square jaw and his blue eyes smiled back at her.
    “I’m your five o’clock.”
    “ You’re my five o’clock?”
    “It seemed like the only way to see you.” He crossed the room in long, self-assured strides. “And I need some expert advice.”
    Isabel leaned against the window, and steadied herself with her hands against the sill.
    “I’m listening.”
    Tray continued to close the distance between them, until he was within arm’s reach. The clean natural smell of him enveloped her and she watched the small tick in his cheek flutter. She felt weak with joy to see him.
    Tray locked eyes with hers and licked his upper lip. “I met a woman-”
    “It always