Lucky in Love

by Kelly Elliott

  I looked up at Lucy who was still giving me a questioning stare. “I can’t tell either.”

  Truitt

  SARYN PULLED UP and parked. She sat in her car as she stared through the windshield at me. Liliana was running her toy car up and down my arms and back as Ryan sat on the porch steps next to me.

  When Saryn’s eyes narrowed, Ryan laughed. “She has that look on her face that says she thinks we’re up to something.”

  I smiled, and she got out of the car and made her way over to us.

  “What’s going on? Why are you here, Truitt?”

  Ouch. She sounds annoyed that I’m here.

  “I’ve called and left you three messages on your phone regarding the paint color for Liliana’s playhouse. Your mother keeps referring me to you, you keep ignoring me, so I had to make the time to come over and ask you in person. I wasn’t sure of your work schedule, and Ryan told me you’d be home shortly, so I waited.”

  Saryn folded her arms over her chest and gave me an expression that said she was calling bullshit. “I sent you a text back, Truitt. You didn’t get it?”

  Pulling out my phone, I brought up my text messages and scrolled. It could be possible it had come through and I’d forgotten about it. But I didn’t see anything from her.

  “I don’t have a text from you.”

  With a heavy sigh, Saryn pulled out her phone. “I sent it yesterday and I know…”

  Her voice trailed off and her cheeks turned a bright red.

  “Shoot,” she whispered as Ryan laughed, causing Liliana to laugh for no reason other than mimicking her uncle. He pulled her into his arms and tickled her.

  When I looked back at Saryn, she was chewing on her lip. “I’m so sorry, Truitt. I never hit send. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. I was at work and must have been distracted.”

  My phone buzzed in my hand and I glanced down to see her reply.

  It wasn’t like I had all the time in the world to be tracking down freaking paint colors, but it was hard to be annoyed with Saryn. She looked tired and slightly defeated by something. So I stood and gave her a smile.

  “It’s not a worry at all. I brought the swatches with me, if you could pick the one you like, then I’ll get out of your hair and let you enjoy the rest of the evening with your daughter.”

  A flash of something moved over her face before she replaced it with a smile and then a nod. I walked to my truck and Saryn followed.

  “Mommy!” Liliana cried out as she ran over to Saryn who picked her up and hugged her.

  “You can come, too, and help Mommy pick the color for your playhouse.”

  A girlish giggle came from Liliana, and I glanced back over my shoulder at the two beautiful ladies following me.

  With my eyes focused back on my truck, I pushed away the weird sensation in my chest and threw open the passenger-side door. These feelings I felt when I was around Saryn and her daughter annoyed me. As if a part of me was missing something. I was not missing anything. I was happy with my life, where it was going, and how I was living it.

  Wasn’t I?

  Ever since Saryn came back into town and all those old feelings started bubbling up again, I found myself second-guessing everything.

  For fuck’s sake, get it out of your head, Carter.

  I yanked the swatches out and handed them to Saryn. “Here you go. I narrowed the colors down to these six.” My voice was clipped and an edge of annoyance came through.

  She looked at me with a surprised expression and took them out of my hand before setting Liliana down. She began showing her daughter each color.

  “This one, pwease!” Liliana said, pointing to the Fun Yellow color. I couldn’t help but smile.

  Saryn glanced up at me, a grin plastered on her face. “The girl knows how to pick out colors.”

  I nodded and took the swatch back from Saryn.

  “Where will this color go?” she asked, almost timidly.

  “Most of the exterior is going to be rock, but there will be a few areas that we’ll need to paint. Since Liliana stated yellow was her favorite color, I figured we’d add that color to the exterior. The inside will be more princess-type colors.”

  A smile slowly moved across her face. “More princess-type colors? Such as?”

  I lifted my shoulder in a half shrug. “Pinks, greens, the usual.”

  Saryn folded her arms across her chest and said, “You baffle me, Truitt Carter.”

  I laughed. “Why is that?”

  “It’s just surprising to see a man like you doing a job like this.”

  One of my brows lifted. “A man like me? Should I take offense at that?”

  Liliana was currently wrapping her arms around my legs and asking me to walk like a monster, so I did.

  “Liliana, sweetheart, let go of Mr. Carter.”

  I lifted my leg off the ground as Liliana squealed in delight. Saryn stared down at her daughter.

  “I swear, she has never taken to anyone like this. I mean, anyone other than my brother and father. There’s something about you she adores.”

  I glanced down at the little girl currently wrapped around my leg who was looking up at me with those blue eyes that would make anyone melt. I winked at her. “It was the little playground in my office that won her over.”

  Saryn quickly averted her eyes and turned back to Ryan who was standing on her porch watching this whole scene play out.

  “I really do need to get going, though,” I said, motioning at the small child still clinging to me. “I’d take her with me, but I’m afraid it’s not the safest place for a three-year-old.”

  “Oh, my gosh, right. I’m so sorry,” Saryn said, reaching for her daughter and peeling her off of me.

  “I see even the young ones attach themselves to you still, Carter,” Ryan shouted.

  “Ha ha, I’ll see you tomorrow night?” I asked as I put the swatch back on the passenger seat of my truck and made my way to the driver’s side.

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ryan stated.

  “Tomorrow night?” Saryn asked, glancing between the two of us.

  “Bachelor party for one of our friends,” Ryan said, taking Liliana out of Saryn’s arms, then flying her around like an airplane.

  One quick look at Saryn and I nodded, smiled, then slipped into my truck. “I’ll give you an update on the playhouse in the next few weeks.”

  “Okay. Thank you, Truitt. And again, I’m sorry you had to come over here to track me down. I didn’t mean to avoid your calls. Most of the time my phone is on silent.”

  “No worries.”

  “Well, I really am sorry you had to come over.”

  With a wink, I replied, “I’m not.”

  Before she could reply or I could see the look on her face, I started my truck and slowly turned around and headed down the driveway. I gripped the steering wheel as I attempted to slow my racing heart.

  Paul sat down next to me and handed me a beer as Rus, my ten-month-old silver lab, looked up and then promptly laid back down when no signs of a ball could be found. “Thanks for coming, Truitt. I know how busy you are.”

  I took the beer from him and pulled a long drink from it. “Dude, it’s not very often I get to take a day off, and no better reason to do it than a bachelor party.”

  He grinned like a fool, then looked out over the deck. Paul’s family owned a house out on Lake Cannon, and he had asked a group of us to come celebrate the last few days of his freedom.

  “You look happy,” I said.

  Turning to face me, he nodded. “I am happy. She makes me happy. I tell ya, Truitt, I never thought it would be me going down this path, you know? I figured I’d be like Roger, carefree and hooking up with women when and where I pleased.”

  At that moment I looked over and found my brother deep in conversation with Pete. They had hit it off when I first introduced them, back when Pete was new in town. The doctor and the lawyer. Perfect pair.

  “Roger puts on a
good show, but I think it’s starting to weigh on him. That, or my mother’s nagging for him to settle and give her grandbabies.”

  Paul looked out over the balcony, some intense expression on his face. Worry?

  “You’re not having second thoughts, are you, about getting married?” I asked.

  He snapped his head and looked at me. “Hell no. I want to marry Lisa more than I want my next breath. It’s just, we’ve had something unexpected come up.”

  “Something good or bad?” I asked.

  Paul lifted the beer to his lips and took a long drink. Then he let out a breath and faced me. “Lisa’s pregnant.”

  “What? Holy shit, dude, congratulations,” I said, reaching my hand out to shake his, then pulling him in for a quick bro hug and slap on the back. “This is a good thing, right?”

  He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Yeah, I mean, it’s just faster than I had wanted. I want kids, don’t get me wrong, but I was hoping to spend some time with Lisa first. You know, travel, go on last-minute trips, stay out as late as we wanted. All the things couples do when they don’t have kids yet.”

  My eyes searched our group of friends and it hit me. Not one of us had kids yet. How had that possibly happened? Some friends of ours who did have kids had left our group not long after, stating that hanging out with a bunch of single guys wasn’t going to go down well with their wives. Or they simply never got the time to get away.

  “Paul, you and Lisa have dated what, three years now?”

  “Yeah, almost four.”

  “And in those four years, you’ve traveled, stayed out and partied till all hours of the night, and did all those things that couples without kids do. Just because you’re now going to have a piece of paper tying you together doesn’t mean your life is any different.”

  He looked at me and a slow grin moved across his face. “Shit, man, you’re right, we have been able to do all of that.”

  “Do you think y’all will miss the late nights?”

  “Hell no. We hardly even do that anymore. As a matter of fact, the other night we went out and left at ten, both of us exhausted. We simply wanted to be home with each other.”

  A small part of me ached with jealousy. It must be nice sharing your life with someone in that way. Just to sit on the sofa each night, watching a movie together. A part of me deep inside longed for it, but I wasn’t ready to admit why I had never searched for it. For now, I’d have to be content with Rus. He was my partner in crime.

  “How is Lisa feeling about the baby?” I asked.

  “She’s over-the-moon happy but worried I’m not happy. I haven’t actually been over the moon, dick move on my part, I guess. I’ve just been worried.”

  I nodded, then reached down and started to rub my dog on the head. His tail hit the wood deck in approval.

  “Have you sent her flowers or anything?”

  Paul looked at me once more, his brows pulled in tight. “Flowers?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe just send her some flowers that tell her you’re excited about starting this new journey together and you can’t wait to see what an amazing mother she’ll be. Some shit like that.”

  When he didn’t say anything, I looked at him. “What?”

  “Since when did you become so knowledgeable on women and flowers and shit like that?”

  I chuckled and took another drink of my beer. “Who the hell knows.”

  Roger came walking up to us, reached down, and rubbed Rus on the belly. “When are the strippers getting here, dude?”

  Paul laughed and stood as he clapped Roger on the back. “Sorry, buddy, no strippers at this party.”

  As Paul walked away, Roger tossed up his hands and shouted as he followed Paul, “No fucking strippers? What kind of pussy-ass bachelor party is this!”

  I looked out over the water and stared at the clouds reflecting off it. It was a beautiful fall day. A sense of melancholy moved over me and I closed my eyes. I tried not to think about what she was doing, or where she was, but those beautiful coffee-brown eyes popped into my head and I couldn’t help but smile.

  Saryn

  MY MOTHER SET the plate of pancakes down in the middle of the table. Ryan and my father were the first to dig in. I picked up Liliana’s plate and put a pancake on it, then cut it up into slices for her. I poured the syrup into a bowl and set them both in front of her. She loved to dip her pancakes into the syrup and eat it that way. It had driven her father mad when she did it. He had wanted me to force her to eat them with a fork.

  One more reason I was glad I had left him.

  “Did you happen to check on that mare this morning, Ryan?” Daddy asked.

  “Yes, sir, I did. She isn’t ready to foal yet, but I think we’re getting close.” My brother looked at Liliana. “Liliana, are you ready to see a baby horse?”

  “Yes!” she cried out in delight. “Can we see her now, pwease?”

  Ryan chuckled. “She isn’t born yet, princess. Soon, though.”

  I loved watching my brother with my daughter and wished he would find a girl to settle down with and have a family. He’d make such an amazing father. Truitt would make a great father, too.

  I nearly gasped when I realized what I had just been thinking about.

  “What if it’s a little boy horse, Liliana?” Momma asked.

  Liliana smiled and her little blue eyes sparked with excitement. “We can name it Twuitt!”

  I jerked my head over and attempted not to look like I hadn’t just been thinking of said man. My father groaned next to me as I waited for what he was going to say.

  “Lord, the girl is obsessed with that man. She’s going to make me gray, I can see it now.”

  “I’m still shocked by how open and affectionate she is with him. He’s so good with her and patient,” I stated.

  “I think it’s from working around kids,” Ryan stated matter-of-factly. “I mean, look at his job. Kids are what keeps the man in business.”

  “No,” I said, glaring at my mother. “It’s grandparents who want to spoil their grandkids who keep the man in business.”

  She huffed. “Please, like it’s only the grandparents who are paying. Plenty of parents are spoiling their own kids.”

  Ryan pointed to our mother. “Yeah, but they don’t have a busybody mother trying to fix them up with the builder of said playhouse.”

  “Oh, son, you took it too far with the name calling,” Daddy said as my mother shot daggers at Ryan.

  “If you prefer me to move my attention to you, dear son, I’m more than happy to fix you up on a few blind dates,” Momma said. “A number of women in my book club have single daughters.”

  “Did I say busybody? I meant, the most caring and amazing mother ever, who is simply looking out for her daughter’s happiness.”

  I snarled my lip at my brother. “Kiss up.”

  He winked at me.

  My phone rang and my mother glanced down at the same moment I did. “Speak of the devil.”

  Sliding my finger across the screen to answer it, I quickly put the phone to my ear and got up from the table to take the call. I could feel the heat of my mother’s stare on my back.

  “Hello?” I said, peeking back at her before I stepped out onto the sun porch.

  “Hey, Saryn, this is Truitt.”

  My chest did a little flutter and I tried to sound casual. “How are you this morning, Truitt?”

  “In a bit of a pickle. Listen, Lee is on vacation in England and fell and broke her leg in two spots. She’s due to have surgery over there and won’t be back for another few weeks, at the least. I really need to get some of the decorations down for the rooms in Liliana’s playhouse, as well as the paint colors.”

  “Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that. Mind if I ask who Lee is?”

  “Shit, yeah sorry. She’s my cousin, and she works for me, doing the interior decorating and paint for the playhouses. I can build them, but when it comes to decorating them, she’s the go-to girl. I’ve got
your playhouse and another one I’m making for a senator in Austin. That one is for a boy, Jack, and I can pretty much take care of that one, but Liliana’s, yeah, I’m thrown for a loop. I have a few ideas, but I could really use some help, and who better to ask than her mother?”

  I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. When I looked up, I noticed my parents and Ryan were all staring at me. I dropped the smile and acted casual. “What do you need me to do?”

  “I was hoping you and Liliana might go shopping with me today.”

  For a moment I was stunned into silence. I wasn’t sure if it was from the anticipation of seeing him, which was crazy, or the fact that he had thought of Liliana in his invitation. Then again, the playhouse was for her, so of course he would invite her to come along. Or maybe he wanted her to come along so I wouldn’t think it was a date.

  “Um…”

  “If you have plans I’ll totally understand, I know it’s last minute, but today is about my only free day to get this done.”

  “No, we don’t have any plans. Should I meet you somewhere?”

  “I was thinking I’d just pick y’all up, if you don’t mind me driving with Liliana in the truck, that is.”

  Good Lord, my stomach dropped. I’d never met a man who put such thought into my child and my feelings regarding things. It was so damn refreshing. “I don’t mind at all,” I said, barely above a whisper.

  “Perfect, I’ll swing by in about an hour if that works for you. We can head to the Rim in San Antonio.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “See you soon, Saryn.”

  The line went dead and I stood for a few moments, trying to let what had happened sink in. I was going on a shopping date with Truitt. Truitt Carter. The guy I left Boerne because of. The guy who I was almost positive still had a piece of my heart whether he knew it or not. Broken as it may be.

  And it means nothing, you fool. He’s building your daughter’s playhouse and he needs your advice. It’s as simple as that.

  Then why in the hell is my heart racing in my chest?