“Up for some dinner tonight?”
He nods. “I was just about to knock off for the day. I have to do a couple things, and then we can head out.”
I nod and wait while he signs out and leaves his deputy with instructions for the night. We head off to Wyatt’s. He’s another local, and his bar serves the regular greasy food most bars do. It’s slow because it’s a little early for the drinking crowd. We take one of the booths in the back. Wyatt shows up.
He’s a few years ahead of us, closer to forty than both Josh and me. Tall and broad, he looks like he could play linebacker for the Cowboys. He tops six foot six inches, with dark hair and dark eyes. The fact that he rarely smiles is normal.
“Hey, guys. Didn’t know you were back in town, Fillmore.”
“Just got back today. We finished up the season last night.”
He nods. “What do you two want?”
We both order longnecks and burgers, and he leaves us alone.
“So, you’re staying with Nancy?”
I sigh. “No. At the office.”
Josh’s eyes bug out of his head. “What?”
“Yeah, we’re having a few issues.”
He chuckles. “Nothing new there. I just watched the episode where you sprayed her with a hose.”
I remember that from the second season. We had been finishing up the landscaping and the reveal was scheduled for the next day. Nancy and I had been fighting a lot more than usual that week—at least at that time. That day, she had been wearing a pair of short shorts, a tank top that hugged her tits in the most delicious ways and I snapped. I needed her mad at me, so I sprayed her with the hose. There were two problems with that. One, once the thin fabric of her tank got wet, it clung to those spectacular tits. I also didn’t know they were filming it. When she saw the final cut of the episode, she refused to talk or even text with me for three days. Jesus, it seems like a lifetime ago.
I look around and notice Wyatt coming back with our beers. Once we’re alone, I lean forward.
“She’s leaving the show. Or says she is.”
Josh was in the process of swallowing some beer, and the announcement leaves him choking.
“Jesus, warn a guy. She’s leaving?”
He says it so loud a few people turn and look over our way.
“Shh. First, I don’t want it to get out right now. I’m trying to convince her to stay. Also, if she finds out I told you and word got around, she’ll be even madder at me.”
“Oh, so you drove her away? What the fuck did you do? Nancy’s a sweetheart.”
I bite back a growl. I’m more upset that he dated Nancy for a bit than the fact that he and my sister dated. Possessiveness slaps through my blood, heating it. To cover my true feelings, I take a big swig of my beer. The yeasty cold brew slides down my throat but does nothing to calm my irritation. So, I take another one. Otherwise, I’ll probably tell him to shut his dirty mouth and to never talk about Nancy again.
“Whoa, sorry, but what the fuck is that look for?”
I can’t tell him. I’ve hidden my attraction from everyone, even someone I consider a friend. If he or other people knew, they would start reading too much into my actions. I have to get her back and the only way to do that is by making her think that I’m just her friend.
“Nothing. Just, I really fucked up this season. It’s all my fault.”
He studies me for a long moment. “Ah. Okay. You know she’ll forgive you.”
God, I hope so. But there is a big part of me that is worried I broke us completely. I hurt her so deeply. I don’t know how I did. I know what I did, but I didn’t think I could hurt her that much. But now that I have had a tongue lashing from my sister, I have been thinking back over the last couple of seasons and realized that they were both right. I was disrespectful and worse, things I said seemed to have a lasting impact. I know there are circumstances in her past that I don’t know. Her fucked up family definitely makes her emotions a minefield at times. So, maybe something I did triggered that. Is that at the root of this?
Granted, I was an ass just like she said, but normally, she would laugh it off, or throw objects at me. This season I felt I truly hurt her. That was never something I thought I would do. And now it feels like I might have pushed her past her breaking point.
“What do you know about the Howards?”
Josh studies me. “Not much. You know they keep to themselves.”
“Hmm.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“I’m staying at the office. You think she’s gonna have a heart to heart with me?”
“How about Syd?”
That is a good idea, but she might not tell me either. “Yeah, I’ll text her later.”
“So, her and that Grady still together?”
Josh got a front row seat to their romance when Syd and Nancy went on a bender after Grady and her had a misunderstanding. Nothing like having to pick up your sister and her best friend—and your cohost—at the jail the next morning. In fact, Grady had to plunk down a lot of money to fix up Wyatt’s because they started their brawl there.
“Yeah. She’s talking about coming up here this weekend.”
“Please tell me he will be here to keep a leash on her.”
“Can I group text her and Grady about that? I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you about the fact you called her a bitch.”
“I didn’t call her a bitch.”
“Saying that Grady has to keep her on a leash is the same thing.”
He flips me off just as Wyatt returns with our burgers.
“Hey, Wyatt, Syd’s gonna be back in town this weekend and Nancy’s probably gonna want to blow off some steam.”
He eyes us both. He’s almost as big as I am. I’ve heard Syd call him a bear, and she would be right, but he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.
“They’re banned until month after next. They can come in separately but not together. Syd’s the fire and Nancy the gasoline.”
I chuckle because it’s true. “Are you kidding me?”
He shakes his head. “I talked to them about it after last time, and they both agreed.”
Then he turns and leaves us alone.
“Well, I didn’t know that,” Josh says.
“Oh, you mean something happened in this town you didn’t know about? Losing your touch?” I ask.
He flips me the bird again, but with both fingers.
“Besides, if I don’t know about it, there is a ninety-eight percent chance the LOLs don’t. And if they don’t know, no one knew about it.”
I chuckle as I pour ketchup on my fries. “That’s true. Although, the LOLs keep me up to date on everyone.”
“Sure, you like to get messages from them, because you aren’t here year-round. I tried to have a staycation. Just a few days off to take a break before the insanity of summer. Know what happened?”
I shake my head and bite into my burger. God, there is so much grease and fat in this thing to kill an elephant and it is glorious. I hum as the flavors dance over my tongue.
“Do you want me to leave you alone with your burger?”
I finish chewing my bite, then swallow it. “Please, go on with your sad story.”
“That Mrs. Peterson was convinced there was a man following her. She had it on good authority that he was after her person.”
I blink. “Was there?”
“It was the mailman; you know one of the county people?”
Outside of town, there are people who deliver the mail via personal vehicle. The only difference is that the driver’s side is on the right.
“She was out visiting her sister and he kept—and I quote—‘catching up with her.’ I just can’t with those women.”
I laugh. “Well, at least there was no one bothering her, and they do love you.”
He nods. “True. I’m happy to live in the sleepy town of Juniper Springs again.”
I know that he worked for the Rangers for a while before coming ho
me and was assigned to a particularly grisly serial killer case. It was right after that he returned home and started working as a deputy for his father. A year later, his father retired, and he ran for the office. Usually, I wouldn’t be in favor of something like that. I mean, you need to earn your way through this world. I’ve definitely had to do that. Josh is different. He’s probably overqualified, and he didn’t just walk into the job. He took a position as a deputy first to make sure he knew how to do the job. Also, the people of Juniper Springs wouldn’t keep electing him each year if they didn’t think he was doing a good job.
We don’t talk about anything really important. Just catching up with gossip and I discuss a bit of the show this season. On my way back to the office, I decide to pick up a few things to keep in the little fridge. Once I’m settled back in, I check my phone for about the thousandth time today. Of course she hasn’t texted me. I know that I stepped out of line, but I will do anything to get her back.
When I acted like I wasn’t worried, it was a lie. It’s easy to pretend that I can handle it all on my own. Thinking back to those first episodes, I realize that I never would have made it without her. It’s easy to forget that, to minimize my need to have her near me.
The thing is, as rough as those first few shoots were, we were having the time of our lives.
3-1/2 years ago
Halfway through our ten-episode run and I still can’t make it to the set the first day of filming each week without losing my breakfast.
Fucking embarrassing. Worse, Nancy knows. I don’t think she’s said anything to Syd, which is a miracle.
I flush the toilet and straighten up. When I see myself in the mirror, I cringe. Fuck. I didn’t sleep worth shit last night. It’s always like this. I don’t get any sleep, then I barf my breakfast.
There’s a knock on my hotel door. After filming the first episode, At Home decided to put us up in hotels, at least for a while. The trailers were too difficult to maintain, and there was a security issue, so Grady put us up in the hotel.
Another knock.
“Open up, Tray-Tray.”
God, that stupid nickname from high school. And Nancy has the whole crew calling me that. I step out of the bathroom, which is right by the front door and open it. She’s got a couple of containers of some kind of hot liquid.
“Drink,” she shoves a cup towards me.
For a second I just stand there, unable to act. It has been like this since I met her, and over the years, it has only gotten worse. She’s my sister’s best friend, and the kind of girl next door who has half the town crushing on her. I was definitely in that category. Still am. She’s dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and even though it’s early, she looks happy and bouncy. Her hair is up in a ponytail, leaving nothing to frame her beautiful face.
“Coffee will only upset my stomach more,” I mumble out as I fight back the bile. Just the thought of coffee makes me want to barf.
“It’s tea, special kind for your tummy,” she says, still holding the cup out to me. Apparently, she’s not giving up on finding me a ritual to deal with my nerves. I take the cup and sip at it. It’s light with an herbal taste to it, but it doesn’t make me want to Ralph all over her. I turn and walk into the hotel room and she follows.
“Thank you, Nancy. You’re the best,” she says sarcastically.
I sigh. “Sorry. Thanks. I hope this works.”
I turn and find her smiling at me. “No problem. I know we can come up with something.”
After my first show issues, my stomach and nerves had settled down. We thought we were in the clear. When we started filming the second weeks’ show, I had the same reaction. Nancy proclaimed she would help me.
The former beauty queen is convinced that there’s something out there that will help me with these jitters. She talked about the last year she competed—before she dyed her hair pink just to get kicked out of the Miss Texas Pageant. She hated it, but her mother had wanted her to compete, and she did for a while. There was even talk that she was the favorite for Miss Texas America. That’s when she dyed her hair neon pink. Other than hating beauty contests because she found them demeaning, she also had horrible stage fright, so much so, that she passed out the first time her mother forced her to compete. I never knew that.
I sip a little bit more of the tea and my stomach seems to settle.
Meanwhile, Nancy makes herself at home in my room, climbing up on the extra bed.
“Feel better?’
I nod and keep sipping on the tea.
“Your color is better already. See, I told you,” she says, offering me a huge smile. Damn, she’s pretty. Like stunning. When she smiles, it’s like the whole world around her sparkles. Maybe that has more to do with my infatuation with her than anything else. Although, I have noticed that she garners a lot of attention from the crew. Not in a bad way, but that they all like her. Nancy comes from one of the richest families in Texas, but you would never know it. She’s gracious and works just as hard, or maybe harder, than anyone else.
“So, I was going over all the stuff for our family.”
We’re in West, Texas. A few years ago, they had a massive explosion out at the chemical plant. One family lost their breadwinner, but worse, last year, the family of six kids almost lost their mother to cancer. She’s done with treatment, but they are devastated financially and have been for a while, so things in the house have kind of been overlooked. At Home is letting us do one of these a month, Texans who need help to put their lives back in order.
She nods. “I can’t wait to get in that girls’ room. They’re both big into Wonder Woman. It is going to be so much fun decorating.”
I smile, my stomach finally settling. “Yeah. This whole thing is going to be fun. I don’t mind doing those other redo’s, but this one means something more.”
We share a smile, but then mine fades. “Of course, if I can’t get this under control, we might not be able to make it.”
She cocks her head and studies me. Her blue gaze is direct, but soft. She has no makeup on since we will both have to get made up for the shoot today.
“You’ll get over it. I promise.”
“Did you?”
I don’t have to elaborate. She knows what I mean. That’s something I have noticed happening more and more often as we film together. We both can sense what we mean without always explaining it. It’s a heady experience, having a woman as sexy as Nancy paying attention to me and then getting exactly what I mean. It’s hard to ignore my need for her while we work this closely, but I have to. A crush from my teenage years is no reason to ruin a perfectly good working relationship.
“No, but I hated it. You love what we’re doing, right?”
I don’t hesitate to respond. “Yes.”
She gives me a brilliant smile that has the breath backing up in my lungs. Fuck.
“See. We will get through this together. I got a call from Syd on the sly last night.”
“Why didn’t she call me?”
“I told her you were busy.”
Both of us know that my sister would freak out if she knew how much my first days of filming were affecting me. I nod and sip some more of my tea. This might just be working, as I feel my nerves settling a little more.
“So, they did some test studies of the show.”
“Why didn’t they contact us?”
“They will, as soon as they do a few more tests, but every one of them have been fantastic. People love us, and At Home said they think they might have another hit on their hands.”
I pause lifting my cup to my lips. “Seriously?”
She nods, fairly bubbling with excitement. She’s always like this, most of the time happy. She’s practically bouncing on the bed. The movement makes her tits go with the motion, and it is taking all of my concentration not to look.
“They said, and this is a direct quote, ‘They might give Fixer Upper a run for their money.’”
My eyes widen. Fixer Upper is the epitome
of shows. Hell, they helped rebuild Waco into something after years of a bad economy and worse press. Thanks to Joanna and Chip, Waco is more than just a destination for Dr. Pepper lovers (there is an actual Dr. Pepper museum there).
“Fuck.”
“Right? I was so stunned. I mean, I knew we were kicking ass, but to be compared to Fixer Upper? I about died right there.”
The rest of my nerves seem to settle. “Yeah, well, shit.”
She laughs and we start talking about plans for the shoot and places she has scoped out to eat. And when she does mention hitting up the West Bakery so we can grab some Czech delicacies, my stomach doesn’t revolt.
We might just make it through this.
Present Day
The memory fades away, but my smile doesn’t. At least for a few moments before I remember where we are now. God, I hope she takes me back. And even though I promised my sister I wouldn’t do it; I grab my phone and text Nancy.
Me: Ball is in your court.
I don’t hit send right away. Instead, I stare at the words, trying to decide if it is a good idea. It isn’t pushy and lets her know that I’m still there. Still waiting. A few seconds tick by, then I hit the send button. I know she won’t answer me right away, so I drop the phone and head off to clean up for the night. I know there’s a good chance I won’t get any sleep, but at least I won’t stink.
Chapter Seven
Nancy
I don’t wake up until almost eleven the next morning. I got up a couple times to use the bathroom, but I stayed off my phone. I guess all the stress of the season, along with the drive back without enough sleep that night, helped. All told, I had about sixteen hours of sleep. Jeez.
Love to Hate You: An Enemies to Lovers, Best Friend's Brother Romantic Comedy (The Fillmores Book 2) Page 6
