by Parker, Ali
“Okay, now that we have the paint taken care of, I just want to show you the order request that we did for the furniture. It’s already been submitted, but I wanted to double-check with you, and verify the paint schedule. If everything looks good, I’ll have them schedule delivery and we’ll get it coming for early next week,” I said, showing the order request to both of them.
“Yes, this all looks good to me. Just as we discussed. I absolutely love it, Lydia. You did really good with these designs. It is exactly what I had dreamed of when I wanted to update everything but keep the farm and country look of our heritage. I knew what I wanted, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. I know that Father is going to like it too, once he sees it all together,” Abi said.
“Thank you Abi, that means a lot. I have worked hard on this project and there’s still a lot more work to come.”
“I agree with Abi. It looks like home, only fresh and brighter. I like it, too.” Connor gave me a wink. I smiled. He was always able to make me smile, just by looking at me with those gorgeous eyes.
“I have to warn you though, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, once we start clearing the rooms, painting and all. But if everyone will hang in there with me, I promise that you’ll love it when it’s done. I will be there along the way to make sure everything gets done correctly, and that everything ends up in the right place when the furniture delivery happens.”
“Great, so is that it?” Abi asked.
“Yep, that is everything for today. Thank you so much for coming in. I’ll keep you both updated on the painter situation.”
I stood up, officially ending the meeting. They both stood up as well and Abi grabbed her purse, heading toward the door.
“Abi, can you give me a minute and wait in the truck. I’ll be right there,” Connor threw his keys to his sister. She caught them and rolled her eyes.
“Don’t take too long, it’s damn hot out there,” she said. Then, turning to me, she gave me a smile. “Thanks again, Lydia, I’ll see you soon.”
“Thanks Abi. There are drinks in the small fridge up front, help yourself,” I said.
“Thank you very much,” she said, and then walked out.
Connor moved quickly and closed the door. I gave him a look.
“It’s wasn’t very nice of you to ask your sister to wait outside in this heat. She could wait in the lobby, you know,” I said.
“Is your boss here?”
“No, why do you ask?” I narrowed my eyes, wondering where his mind was going.
He put his hands on my desk and bounced them up and down, as though testing his weight on them.
“This is a good sturdy desk you have here.”
“Connor Dawson! We will do no such thing. My coworker is here and your sister is outside. This is the middle of my work day, in my office. No! Absolutely not!”
“Well, you can’t blame a cowboy for trying. I mean, look at you. I just can’t get enough of you.”
His words warmed my heart. I liked hearing him talk like that, and it did turn me on. For a moment a quickie seemed reasonable because he was turning me on. Just his presence had that effect on me.
“No, and that is final, you bad cowboy.”
“Well, what are you doing this weekend? The local fair will be going and I’d love for you to come with me? I’ll win you a prize, I promise.” He whispered this, leaning closer toward my face, and then finally planted his lips on mine. His kiss was soft, and lingered. I let out a soft moan.
“Yes, I think I could do that.”
“Great, I can’t wait to see you.”
“Okay, we’ll go to the fair.”
He kissed me again, and then pulled away. He walked out the door and I took a deep breath, pleasantly turned on and feeling like I could use a cold shower.
23
Connor Dawson
It was awkward having to sit there in front of Lydia with Abi at my side, because Abi knew what had happened the night before. But my family would all eventually know anyway. I planned on seeing a lot of Lydia, I couldn’t get enough of her. So, it was just as well they knew and we got that out of the way. It was just very inconvenient and awkward to have them know my business.
Because of that I worked hard all day Tuesday, getting into my work, and really catching up on it. I had to admit that I had been lagging because of the time I’d been devoting to Lydia. So Tuesday was a good day for catching up. It was a hot Texas day and all of us were very hard at work. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty exhausted.
“You got the line ready for the fair?” Wyatt asked, coming over to the barn.
“You know it. They’re ready,” I said.
“Good, that’s what I like to hear. It will be strange not showing this year,” Wyatt said.
“Yeah, but that’s how Father wants it. It’s good in a way, we can’t keep winning every year with our Brangus cows. They won’t let us win any longer, so it’s good to take a year or two off and keep that mystery alive.”
“Dang. It’s a hot one today. I’m through, y’all about done?” Dylan came over taking the headband off from under his cowboy hat and dunking it in a bucket of water to wipe the sweat off of his neck.
“Yeah, I'm done,” I said.
“I finished, too,” Wyatt said, with a smile. “Tanner headed out already.”
“How about we go get a cold one? We deserve it.”
“Not me. I have to go shower and clean up. I’ve got a hot date,” Wyatt said.
“Who you got a hot date with?” Dylan asked.
“None of your business, that’s who. I’m going in,” Wyatt smiled, and walked toward the house.
“Alright Connor, looks like it’s just you and me. Let’s go get a cold one and play some pool.”
“It’s Tuesday. I don’t think we need to go get drunk on a Tuesday. Save it for the weekend, brother,” I said.
“Oh come on, it’s just one beer, maybe two. Besides, we have the fair this weekend and that’s gonna be all work and no play. Just a couple of beers and one game, just like we always do, what’s the big deal?”
I didn’t want to tell him that I was thinking about Lydia. I wanted her to think of me as a man that had his shit together, not one that was going off and getting drunk at the bars all the time. She already had that sort of image about me, about all of us. But looking at my brother, I couldn’t let him down. He was right that this was something we’d always done at least two or three times during the workweek. There was no harm in having a couple of beers and a game of pool with him.
“All right, let me go wash up and then we can get going.”
“Woohoo! I knew I could count on you brother. I’ll meet you out here in five,” he said, jogging back over to the tractor and pulling the keys out. I went inside and washed up, but didn’t bother changing out of my work clothes. Everyone at the bar showed up in their work clothes around this time, it was the after-work cowboy version of a big city happy hour. Everyone was rough, rugged, and dirty.
A few minutes later, Dylan and I were in my truck headed to our local dive bar. It was good to be out with my brother, it had been a while since we had done anything together. Lydia had been occupying my mind and my time, and I realized that I’d been neglecting my brothers. Even more so, because I’d been spending time with Abi on the remodel project.
“I can’t wait to sling back a cold one. Are you ready to lose a game of pool?”
“Care to put some money on that?” I teased him back.
“Oh, now you’re talking, big brother. I've got a twenty that says I win the first two rounds,” he said.
“I’ll take that wager little brother,” I said, with a grin.
We laughed, and I even started to drive just a little bit recklessly in the spirit of brotherhood and fun. We were on an isolated dirt road, of course, but I was just having a good time. Something told me that Dylan really needed it.
We pulled into the local dive and walked in. It was half full of guys
that were there after putting in a hard day on the ranch, farm, construction, or you name it. We were all there to relax.
“Two beers,” I said to the bartender.
“And two shots of tequila,” Dylan added.
I looked at him. “Tequila? That’s a little strong for a Tuesday afternoon, don’t you think?”
“Nah. Come on, it will even the playing field when we get on that pool table.”
“None for me, thanks. I don’t want to wake up with a hangover. Not having to put in another day like today.
“Here you are. Two Lone Stars and two shots of tequila,” the bartender pushed the drinks in front of us.
“That’s fine, I’ll take yours.” Dylan tipped back one shot of tequila, followed by mine as well. I handed the bartender twenty bucks with a nod, then shook my head at Dylan as I grabbed my beer and took a drink.
“You are going to be feeling that in the morning, little brother,” I said.
“No, I ain’t. I ain’t an old man like you. I’ll be just fine.” Clapping his hands, he rubbed them together, then grabbed his beer and took a swig.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said, turning my barstool around to face the room. There was a group of guys playing darts, and one group playing pool, but there was an empty pool table. The tables around the bar were only a quarter full. I liked it like this, not too busy, but enough people to make you feel like you weren’t drinking alone.
“That table is empty, should we grab it? It won’t be empty for long the more people get off work,” I said, pointing at the pool table.
“Yeah, go ahead and grab it,” Dylan said, as he tilted his beer back, chugging it. He slammed it down on the table, empty. “Bartender, another beer.”
I gave him a quizzical look.
“What? I was thirsty. Go grab that table before someone else does,” he said. I shook my head at him and walked over and put a couple of dollars down on the green felt, holding the table for us while I picked out a pool stick. Dylan walked over with his brand new beer and picked out a stick as well.
“You go ahead and break, I’ll give you a head start that way. Remember, we’ve got a twenty on it,” he said.
“I remember.” I racked the balls and pulled our money off the green felt, putting it on the side of the table along the border rim. I hit the cue ball and got a few stripes in. The game was on.
“That’s a lucky break. Boy, you sure are getting lucky a lot lately. Aren’t you, Connor?” He teased me while I continued to play. I didn’t get the next ball in.
“Watch your mouth, little brother.” I narrowed my eyes at him as he set up his shot and knocked in one ball after another. It was turning into a good game.
He laughed. “I do like her. She fits right in, so don’t screw it up.”
“I’m trying not to. She’s coming to the fair this weekend, so try not to embarrass me, or her, with all this teasing. I’m a grown man you know,” I said, taking my shot.
We teased each other like this throughout the entire first game. Dylan won, but I think it was because I was distracted by the fact that he kept going back to the bar for another beer, and then another. I was only on my second beer and I wasn’t really interested in having a third. I was starting to lose count of his beers, plus the two shots of tequila he’d had. I wasn’t even sure that he hadn’t gotten another shot when he was at the bar, while I was busy setting up the next game. But his eyes were glazing over, meaning he’d had quite a bit to drink.
We played our second game, but halfway through I realized it was time to go.
“Why don’t we go ahead and call it a game and get home. We’re going to be late for dinner anyway,” I said.
“What? But we’re only halfway through! Looks like you’re winning, too, so who will win the twenty spot? That will be a tie, so we gotta play through this one, and then play a third to break the tie.”
“Why don’t you listen to your older brother, little Dylan, and get home,” a voice interrupted, coming over. “We’re waiting for this table anyway.”
I looked over to see Matthew Dean standing there. This was not good. Matthew and Dylan went to high school together, and they used to be friends. But then there was an issue with a girl. Dylan stole Matthew’s girl as I’d heard it, and they had been enemies ever since.
“Why don't you shut your pie hole, Matthew?” Dylan said, getting in his face. Crap, this wasn’t good. Dylan was drunk and heated.
“Is that a threat, Dawson?” Matthew pushed Dylan, and Dylan immediately pushed him back. I got between them.
“Whoa, whoa. That’s enough, both of you. Dylan, we’re getting out of here.” I grabbed Dylan’s arm, and had to stand in front of him with my chest against his pushing him back while he shouted at Matthew. “Don’t think I won’t remember this!”
Finally, I pushed him out the door and into the sunlight. “Why didn’t you let me take him out? He’s always starting shit with me and you know it. Always,” Dylan shouted.
“Get in the truck now,” I said, as I opened the door and shoved him in. I had to be quick about getting in, starting the truck and getting out of there. Dylan sat in the passenger seat in a heated rage. This was a familiar scene to me. It wasn’t too long ago that Tanner had done the same to me, and I realized just how much I had grown. But that had been different, a lot different because that was about family honor. This was just Dylan itching to get into a fight. I could smell it on him. He wanted to fight just to let off steam, with no good reason behind it. But he was too drunk for me to take him to The Heights to cool off, the way that Tanner had done with me. No, drunk as he was, he might drown.
“We’re going home. Damn it, Dylan, it’s only Tuesday and this ain’t the dance hall. You’ve had way too much to drink. This always happens when you drink too much. You can’t hold your temper.”
“He started it. You make it sound like I was looking for a fight. I wasn’t,” he said, leaning his head back against the seat and closing his eyes. Yep, he was drunk alright.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked.
“I just feel—restless. The ranch. What’s the point? We all know it’s going to go to Wyatt. Then he’ll get married and have kids and kick us out. What’s the point of all of it, working it? Where do I fit in?” he asked. His words were drifting in and out in a drunken stupor. It was then that I realized what was going on. He was having a bit of an identity crisis because he was getting older. He didn’t know where he fit in as the younger brother, and neither did I.
“We can talk about that when you’re sober,” I said.
But I didn’t drive straight home. I drove around for a while, letting him sleep it off some. It gave me time to think, too. I didn’t really know where I fit in at Dawson Ranch either, but I thought it was too early to think of such things. I just assumed we all would always be living there, but I knew deep down it wasn’t possible.
24
Lydia Myers
I really liked Connor, and I was looking forward to the fair. It would be good to spend some time together doing something that wasn’t about the remodel, or about being in my bed. I didn’t know much about him, but I did like him a lot.
My day had been spent working on the project. I was excited because I got a good quote and my favorite painting team to do the job at Dawson Ranch.
Picking up the phone, I called Abi. I’d wanted to use this as an excuse to call Connor, but after he had lied to Abi about the meeting, I had promised to contact her directly with information on the project.
“Hey Abi, its Lydia.”
“Hey Lydia, how are you?”
“Good, I hope you are well. I’m just calling with the information about the job. I was able to get the painting contractor I wanted, and they are available to come out on Friday like we talked about, if that still works for you. That means you’d have to have everything out of the rooms Thursday night or early Friday morning. What do you think?”
“Yes, go ahead and book them. As long as the
y arrive after 9 a.m. we’ll be ready for them. It would work out perfect because we’ll be gone to the fair most of the weekend, and can leave the windows open so everything can dry and air out. It’s perfect timing really. I’ll run it by my father and the boys at dinner, but go ahead and book them and I’ll let you know if there are any problems. If you don’t hear from me then we’re good to go,” she said.
“Great, I’m going to call them now and book them to arrive after 9 a.m. which means they’d probably get there at 9:30. I’ll send you an email with a confirmation on the time.”
“Sounds good. I’m really excited to see this all come together. Thank you, Lydia.” Then she hung up the phone.
I’d had to fight the urge to ask her about Connor, which made me feel silly, like a schoolgirl with a crush or infatuation.
“It’s almost two, are we ever going to get lunch?” Whitney peeked her head into my office.
“It is? Crap, it is. The time got away from me. Absolutely, I’m starving.” Standing up, I grabbed my bag.
“Want to just walk to our pizza joint?” she asked.
“Absolutely.”
We locked up the office because Janet wasn’t there, not a big surprise. Walking out onto the sidewalk, I looked up at the sky. It was a nice, but cloudy day, hiding the sun just enough to make it not too hot. There were a lot of pedestrians walking up and down the wide sidewalks.
“If you ever decide to own your own design company, make sure that the office is more than two blocks from pizza. This is going to be my downfall while working at Patton Designs,” Whitney said.
“Yes, I probably need it to be near a salad bar,” I laughed. Walking to the pizza joint with Whitney for lunch was definitely a highlight of my work day.
