The Stars at Night

by Gerri Hill

  “She’s here early.”

  He shook his head. “No. This is her normal time on Fridays. Chicken fried steak is the special tonight. It’s usually our biggest crowd.”

  “I see. So she comes early to beat the crowd?”

  “It gets noisy. She comes to visit and drink a few beers while it’s quiet, yeah. The Mertz brothers will come before four. Stuart gets here by four thirty. They’ll drink beer until six, then order dinner. Same thing every day.”

  “Then I should go. Give you two some privacy before your regulars come.”

  Mark frowned at her. “What is wrong with you? You’re acting weird.”

  The bell jingled as she finished her beer and she avoided looking in the mirror. Yeah, she was acting weird. She wasn’t prepared to see Kyler. Which was ridiculous. They were friends.

  “Hey, Lexie.”

  She turned as Kyler sat down beside her. “Hi.” Thoughts of leaving vanished as soon as Kyler smiled at her. Oh, the hell with it. She returned her smile. “How was your week?”

  “It was nice. I had campground duty this week. Not a lot of campers so I had free time.”

  Lexie playfully bumped her shoulder. “Do a little bird watching, did you?”

  Kyler smiled easily at her teasing. “I did.” She nodded a thank-you at Mark when he slid a beer toward her. “I took a couple of leisurely hikes and had the trail to myself.”

  Mark took Lexie’s empty mug and refilled it before she could protest.

  “It’s three in the afternoon and I’m sitting at a bar drinking beer,” she said with a shake of her head. “I should at least call Mom and let her know I’m not coming back to work.”

  “It’s three forty-five and she knows Kyler’s routine. I’m sure she assumes you’re over here with us.”

  She took her phone out and sent a quick text anyway. She was technically shirking her duties. Her mother responded quickly with two words and a winking smiley face. “Have fun.” Okay, but why winking? What did that mean? She put her phone facedown on the bar and took a swallow of the fresh beer Mark had placed there. She knew what it meant, of course. Her mother thought she was over here because Kyler was here. Her mother—despite saying she and Kyler were complete opposites—was playing matchmaker.

  “The weather has been nice. I kept expecting you to call so we could take our bikes out.”

  Lexie bit the corner of her lower lip. “I…I was really busy this week.”

  “I thought the lodge was almost empty,” Mark supplied. “You said there was nothing to do.”

  “Training. Payroll. Stuff like that.” She glared at him. “Busy stuff.”

  “I see.”

  She turned to Kyler then. She couldn’t possibly continue to avoid her. “How about tomorrow?”

  “Can’t. I have to work until five.”

  “Oh.”

  The bell jingled and Lexie looked in the mirror, seeing two men come inside. The Mertz brothers, she assumed. She then looked at Kyler, meeting her eyes in the mirror. That proved to be a mistake. Try as she might, she couldn’t look away. She was aware of Mark getting two beer bottles from the cooler, seeing him walk away.

  “I missed you this week.”

  Lexie finally turned to meet Kyler’s eyes in person. She nodded. “Yes. Me too.” And she had. She was avoiding her, yes, but she’d missed her. Maybe that’s why the words were out before she could consider them fully. “You want to have dinner tomorrow?”

  Kyler’s right eyebrow arched questioningly.

  “Well, I don’t really have a kitchen, as you know, so it would have to be at your place.”

  Kyler nodded. “Okay. Sure.”

  “Good. I’ll bring everything. It’ll be fun to cook again.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t tell Mark, but it’ll be nice to eat something other than off his menu.”

  Lexie relaxed, feeling the tension—self-induced tension, she knew—dissipate. This was just Kyler, her new friend. There was no need to avoid her.

  “The weather has been nice though. I’d love to get out.”

  Kyler nodded. “How about a hike?”

  “A hike? Okay, I’m not really a hiker, but I’m game. When?”

  “Sunday morning?”

  “Sure.”

  “Early.”

  “Okay.”

  “Daybreak.”

  She groaned. “What’s with you and daybreak?”

  “Best time of the day. Besides, we have a football party at noon.”

  “Oh, yeah. Okay. So where will you take me?”

  “Let’s take the trail up to Skyline Drive.”

  She frowned. “It’s going to be strenuous, isn’t it?”

  “It’ll be a good workout, yes.”

  “Okay. I’m in. Daybreak. Sunday.”

  “I swear, the Mertz brothers can talk. Get them and Stuart together and it’s never-ending,” Mark said, wiping at the water spot under Kyler’s glass. “You going to eat here?”

  Kyler nodded. “I am. Got fish on the menu yet?”

  “Funny. But I hear it’s coming.” He looked at her. “The new grill should be here late next week.”

  “Oh good. So when you place your next order for food, I’ll have a few things to include.”

  He pointed at her. “We’re going slow, remember?”

  “I know, I know. Grilled fish, grilled chicken, and fajitas. That’s not drastic.”

  “Fajitas? That’d be good. Something different.” Kyler pointed at her mug. “I’ll have another.”

  Mark glanced at Lexie. “You?”

  “No. I should probably go.” She stood and touched Kyler’s shoulder. “So? Tomorrow?”

  Kyler nodded. “Sure. Looking forward to it.”

  “I’ll be over a little after five. Or is that too early?”

  “No. I’ll try to knock off early. I’ll be home.”

  “Okay.” She gave a short wave to Mark. “Thanks for the beer.”

  She was smiling as she heard Mark grilling Kyler. “Tomorrow what? You got a date or something?” Lexie shook her head. Between Mark and their mother, it would be a miracle if she and Kyler made it through this unscathed.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Lexie heard the familiar ringtone and snatched up her phone with a smile. “Hey, Trish!”

  “So you are still alive? That’s a relief.”

  “I’ve texted you several times.”

  “I thought you would have called by now.”

  She heard traffic noise. “Where are you?”

  “Stuck on MoPac. I swear, it’s freaking Saturday morning and you’d think it was rush hour or something.”

  “I don’t miss that,” she said truthfully. “But where are you going? I probably miss that.”

  “Brunch at Trudy’s.”

  She groaned. “You’re going to order the cheesy migas, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. And one of their famous Bloody Marys. Jealous?”

  She paused. Was she? While it did sound like fun—the eating and drinking part—the thought of being stuck in traffic on MoPac kinda took some of the pleasure out of it. “Surprisingly, no.”

  “Do you miss Austin at all?”

  She closed her eyes for a moment. “I miss you, of course,” she said quickly. “But no, I haven’t fallen into a fit of depression being away.”

  “God, I thought you’d already be going crazy. I mean, it’s what? Two weeks?”

  “Two weeks yesterday, actually.” She moved to the door of her apartment and opened it. “Seems longer,” she murmured.

  “I imagine so.”

  She smiled. “I actually meant that in a good way. I’ve been keeping busy. Mom’s got me running the lodge pretty much on my own. I’ve had to hone my customer service skills. I haven’t had a job dealing with the public since I worked at Whataburger in high school,” she said with a laugh. “And Mark has a friend who has taken me bike riding a few times.”

  Trish gasped. “Really? I thought after Mia that you’d nev
er ride again.”

  “Mountain bike. We ride the trails in the park. It’s been fun.” She watched as a flock of finches flew into the bird garden and a smile lit her face. “We’ve become friends. She’s someone to have dinner with, grab a beer with. And Sunday football parties—that’s apparently a weekly thing during the season.”

  “She? Oh?”

  “We’re just friends,” she said quickly, not sure if it was herself she was trying to convince or Trish.

  “I know you were worried about that.”

  “I was. And it’s been great to be around Mark and my parents again. Everything is all Christmasy, but the weather has been surprisingly pleasant. Well, we had a couple of really cold days, but that’s it. Sunny nearly every day.” She stepped out into the sunshine now. “I actually kinda love it so far,” she admitted.

  “Wow. Never thought I’d hear you say that. I expected you to say you couldn’t wait to get back.”

  “I know. There’s nothing up here that resembles my former life. Nothing. Yet, I’m adjusting. My mom made a veggie lasagna for a group dinner. I ordered tofu from Amazon. There is no fish to be found, even frozen. Mark’s going to order some for the restaurant, though, as soon as he gets the indoor grill set up. And I’ll have to resort to eating more chicken than I’m used to, I suppose.” She didn’t add that her plans for dinner tonight with Kyler included chicken. “It is remote, although not as sparse as I imagined. Everyone’s been very nice so far. Oh, and I have a hiking date tomorrow morning before our football party.”

  “Hiking? Do you hike?”

  “No. It’ll be a first, but I’m looking forward to it.” She didn’t add she was mostly looking forward to being with Kyler. “I’ve been on the mountain bike on some of the trails and this hike is pretty much straight up to Skyline Drive. I’ve been up there in Kyler’s Jeep for a sunrise and a sunset, but this will be my first hike.”

  “Kyler?”

  “That’s Mark’s friend. Well, my friend too.”

  “So you’ve replaced me already?”

  “No, of course not! She’s very different than you. Different than anyone I know in Austin.” She stared at the bird garden, seeing two doves land there. What had Kyler called them? Collared doves? Or were these the white-winged? “She’s very outdoorsy. Kind of earthy, I’d call her. Into birdwatching and stuff.”

  “Birdwatching? God, she sounds positively boring,” Trish groaned. “What do you have in common with her?”

  Boring? No, Kyler was the opposite of boring. “She’s actually quite fun. She enjoys football as much as I do.”

  “Football? You like football?”

  “I do. And she’s teaching me about the birds up here. My mother has a bunch of feeders that I tend to. The bird garden.”

  “Oh my god. What have you turned into? Would I even recognize this side of you?”

  Trish tempered her statement with a laugh, but Lexie knew by her tone that she wasn’t teasing. Would Trish—or any of her friends—recognize her? She didn’t feel like she’d changed. Who changes in a mere two weeks?

  But she had, hadn’t she? She found pleasure in the small things that she once overlooked or considered boring, as Trish had said. Sunrise? Who got up early enough to catch one of those? Sunset? Sure, she’d made a point to catch a few—margarita in hand. Staring at thousands of stars on a chilly December night in a crystal-clear sky? No people, no sound, no city lights—just the stars at night and an attractive woman to share them with. And watching birds? She smiled, picturing Kyler pointing out the red-tailed hawk to her. Little things. Yet she felt so much richer for them, didn’t she?

  “Maybe you wouldn’t recognize me,” she finally said. “I’m usually in bed by ten, up by five thirty.”

  “Oh my god, Lexie, really? You’re thirty. Have you turned into your mother already?”

  She smiled, knowing her mother—with her coffee habit—rarely went to bed before midnight. And she got up in time to shower and stumble downstairs and into the office by eight, where Lexie had already been working for at least an hour.

  “I have changed my routine, that’s for sure.”

  “So no nightlife?”

  “No nightlife. And I don’t miss it.”

  “Oh, come on. Surely you miss hanging out on Sixth Street on Saturday nights?”

  “I don’t. I certainly don’t miss the Sunday morning headache from too much drinking.”

  “Oh, come on. That’s part of it! That’s what Sunday brunch and a Bloody Mary is for.”

  “Well, I’ll have to make do with Mark’s bar, I guess,” she said a little more curtly than she’d intended.

  “So what about tonight? It’s Saturday. Are you saying you’re doing nothing?”

  “I’m actually going over to Kyler’s and cooking dinner. My apartment here doesn’t have a kitchen to speak of.”

  “The birdwatcher? You’re having dinner? What in the world do you talk about?” She paused. “Oh my god, are you dating her?”

  “No, we’re not dating!”

  “Oh, finally! We’re creeping up to thirty miles per hour!”

  “Glad it’s you and not me stuck on MoPac.”

  “But seriously. What do you talk about with a birdwatcher?”

  “I don’t know. We just clicked. There haven’t been any lulls in conversation.” She paused. “I like her.”

  Trish paused too. “But you’re only friends, right? Because if something romantic was happening—with a freakin’ birdwatcher!—I’d wonder about your sanity,” she said with a laugh.

  “We’re new friends, yes,” she said carefully. “She’s my age, so that’s a plus.” She blew out her breath. “But, no. We’re not dating. She’s not my type at all. And I’m not hers. Like I said, she’s kinda earthy, outdoorsy. She’s a park ranger here at the state park. Not my type.”

  “No, definitely not your type.” She laughed. “A birdwatcher? I’m trying to picture you dating a birdwatcher!”

  “I know, right.”

  “So you’re still going to stay until January?”

  “I think so, yes. I feel about as good as I have in a very, very long time. I’m in a good place, mentally. Emotionally, too. I feel good, Trish. Things are slow and stress-free and I’m not constantly thinking about being unemployed. In fact, that hasn’t crossed my mind in days.”

  “I know that was getting you down.”

  She looked up into the sky. “It was. That weight I was carrying around has slipped away, thankfully.” And it had. The constant worrying about her future had taken its toll, practically zapping the life out of her, but it seemed to have disappeared. Right now, right this minute, she actually had a rosy outlook on life, something that had been missing for many months. She moved to the patio on the corner and sat down. “So, who are you meeting for brunch? Tell me some gossip.”

  They talked for exactly thirteen more minutes, until Trish reached the parking lot of Trudy’s. They said their hurried goodbyes with Lexie promising to call more often.

  She set her phone on the patio table and leaned back, her gaze going to the bird garden. The sun was bright and felt warm on her arms. Yes, whatever depression she’d been feeling was gone. She smiled more, she laughed more. Part of it was being around her family—it was heartening knowing they were right here and not six hundred miles away.

  Part of it was Kyler, too. She’d taken her out of her comfort zone from the very first. An early sunrise, a scenic tour in a Jeep, bike rides. A sunset. A hike tomorrow. She watched as two doves landed under the feeders, scattering some little birds that had been there, making her sigh contentedly. Who would have thought she’d find peace on this remote desert mountaintop?

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Kyler tidied the already clean cabin, shifting her books into a more orderly pile, then picking them up altogether, looking around for another place to put them.

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  She put them back down. Lexie had already seen her house
.

  As five o’clock approached, it brought the impending dusk along with it. She went to the Christmas tree and turned the lights on, pausing to watch them twinkle for a few moments. She glanced to the fireplace. It had been another nice day—fifties and sunshine—but it would cool off quickly once the sun set. She already had the fire ready to go but wouldn’t light it until later.

  She turned the living room light off, leaving on the overhead in the kitchen. She stood there, restless, her gaze going from the lights of the tree to the front door and back again. Why was she feeling so nervous?

  Well, because they would be alone. And the last time they were alone, they’d held hands. The last time they’d been alone, she’d wanted to kiss her. Because she was sexually infatuated with her. She looked to the ceiling and shook her head. A damn crush. At her age.

  She chanced a glance up to the mistletoe that was hung on the ceiling fan. Maybe she should take it down. She didn’t want Lexie to think she put it there for a purpose. She rolled her eyes. Mistletoe was a part of the holiday tradition. Yeah, it was. That didn’t mean she wanted to drag Lexie under the damn thing. Yeah you do.

  She’d found the mistletoe just last week and had hung it up with, yes, visions of perhaps kissing someone. That someone being Lexie.

  She heard a car door slam and she moved to the window, seeing Lexie getting some bags from the backseat. She went out to help.

  “Hi. Need some help?”

  “Oh, good. Yes. I have four bags.”

  “What all did you bring?”

  “I didn’t know what kind of pots and pans you had so I raided Mom’s kitchen.”

  “I don’t have much, really. I guess I should have warned you.”

  “Mom did.” She handed her another bag. “And of course a shopping trip to Potter’s. They actually had everything I needed.”

  They had all of Lexie’s loot spread out on the table and she was surprised to find chicken on the menu. Before long, she was helping to chop and dice a mixture of onions, red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic. An iPad was propped up against the coffeepot and she glanced over to see what they were making. She cocked an eyebrow.

  “What is ‘Kinda Chicken Primavera’ and where did you find a ‘kinda’ recipe?”