Getting Lucky (A Nugget Romance Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

to do this with Katie here.”
    “Then I suggest you show up at my place tomorrow and explain. Merely leaving a couple of lousy messages for a guy who’s supposedly the father of your child doesn’t cut it, Tawny. You should’ve done more.”
    “I had my reasons.”
    “Well, I’d like to hear them. Tomorrow.”
    She gave him a faint nod and slipped back inside.

Chapter 3
    T awny examined her latest project with a discerning eye. Each attraction on the boots’ California vintage-style map—the Golden Gate Bridge had been particularly demanding—she’d carved by hand. Samantha Dunsbury, who’d recently married Nate Breyer, co-owner of the local Lumber Baron Inn, had chosen the design. Apparently, the Connecticut transplant wanted to show off her Golden State spirit.
    The boots were black leather and the maps—yellow overlays with orange, blue, and tan icons—reminded Tawny of one of those kitschy “Greetings from California” postcards. Tawny had never done anything like the boots and couldn’t stop admiring each hand-tooled detail. Grapes and oranges in the center of the map to denote California’s rich agricultural heritage. The Hollywood sign to mark Los Angeles. A surfer for San Diego. Redwood trees covered the northern tip of the map. The Lumber Baron, a symbol of Nugget, sat close to the Nevada border. And a burst of orange poppies, California’s official flower, decorated each boot’s toe.
    The boots were showstoppers, and Sam was paying beaucoup bucks. Tawny desperately needed the cash. From consultation to completion it typically took five months to make a pair of custom boots, especially ones this detailed. She usually worked on several pairs at once and had a few pat styles that were big sellers that she could knock out quickly. Still, it wasn’t like she raked it in. But her clients paid top dollar and were extremely loyal.
    For a special customer like Clay McCreedy’s new wife, Emily, Tawny had worked day and night to make sure her boots were done in time for her wedding. She owed it to Clay’s dad, the late Tip McCreedy. He’d been Tawny’s first customer and had kicked off her career. The influential rancher had worn her boots to every cattle auction and rodeo in the West.
    And thank goodness her boots had become so in demand that her clients were willing to wait. Because over the last four years, they’d done a lot of waiting. Katie’s medical issues had to come first, including long hospital stays in Palo Alto.
    Unfortunately, the work gaps created a cash flow problem. Not to mention that as a self-employed single mom her health insurance costs were astronomical. And of course there were out-of-pocket expenses. Insurance didn’t cover everything.
    Katie stuck her head inside Tawny’s studio. “Mommy, the Marcums are here.”
    “Okay. Coming. You dressed warm enough?” Although they were experiencing one of Northern California’s famous Indian summers, the afternoons could get nippy, especially in the high desert.
    “Yeah. I’m bringing my jacket.”
    Tawny made her way around her cutting table and leather samples to greet the Marcums. The couple had been an enormous help to Tawny, including Katie in their family activities on weekends and on various school nights so she could work.
    “You’ve got your boots on.” Tawny had made them for Katie after her last radiation treatment. Pink with silver hearts.
    “Yep,” Katie said. She’d tucked her skinny jeans into them and looked so beautiful and grown-up that Tawny couldn’t resist snapping a picture with her phone.
    She followed her daughter out to the backyard and unlatched the side gate. “You have everything?”
    Katie nodded and Tawny watched her climb into the Marcums’ minivan.
    “Thanks for taking her.” Tawny leaned against the passenger-side window and peered inside to make sure Katie had buckled up.
    “It’s our pleasure,” Cindy Marcum said. “We’ll probably grab dinner after the movie if that’s