“I heard that,” Alice yelled, before she waved him onward.
Ruby sat on the couch and beamed when Julia joined her. “Escape with me,” the pixie invited. “If I’m not at the restaurant, I avoid kitchens at all cost.”
“Smart.”
“Everyone’s a little tense in there. Graham, mostly. He wants everything to be perfect.” Ruby laughed. “He forgets he’s kin to a bunch of Hastings. It’s not going to be perfect.”
“They’re all sweet for wanting to do something special for me.”
“That is definitely true. The Hastings boys are definitely sweet. Speaking of…” Ruby pointed to Graham as he shoved Lawrence out of the way so he and Calvin could extend the dining table and add extra leaves for sitting room. “You and Graham going to continue this little spark you have going?”
“I’m not sure. We haven’t really had a chance to talk about it.”
“Well, you leave in the morning, better get on it.”
“I know.”
“Just so you know,” Ruby patted Julia’s knee. “I’ve known the Hastings brothers my whole life, and Graham has never acted this way. He’s never been serious about a woman before. All work for him. But he’s a dedicated man. To his family, his community, this ranch. If he decides he wants to make it work with you, Julia, you’ll never have to worry about his dedication. Long distance can be tough, but I think it’d be doable with a man like Graham.”
“Thanks, Ruby.”
The friendly red lips parted into a smile. “And thank you for always calling me Ruby instead of Sloppy.” She giggled as her nickname was yelled by Seth from the kitchen and he waved her over. Sighing, the woman set her glass of tea on the coffee table. “If only the rest of them would get the memo,” she murmured on a laugh as she stood and walked to see why she was needed.
A few minutes later, Graham walked up and helped Julia to her feet. “Your dinner awaits.”
“You guys were fast.”
“Thank Annie for that.” Graham led Julia to the kitchen. No one stood there but her and Graham. Everyone else was seated at the long table, crowded, but happy. Graham pulled the chair out next to his at the head of the table, and they squeezed in next to each other.
“To Julia.” Alice raised her glass. “My best friend. My hard worker, for whom I’m still bitter is leaving… and my confidant.” She winked at Julia. “We love you.”
Everyone toasted their glasses her direction.
“Now let’s eat.” Alice handed the plate of steaks to Graham, so he and Julia had first pick. An honor, Julia knew, when sitting around a table of hungry men. She’d miss the rowdy bunch, their teasing and elbow jamming already receiving scolds from Annie and Henry as plates were passed and dishes exchanged. She smiled as she looked at each person, her eyes ending on Graham. He’d been watching her study his family and friends, and when she met those dark blue eyes of his she leaned forward and kissed him on the spot, despite the immediate teasing that came from his brothers.
∾
It’d been two weeks since Julia headed home to Santa Fe. Two long weeks of adjusting back to the solitude of quiet mornings. Alice never sat on the porch of the guest house to catch the sunrise and offer him a morning send off. She didn’t wait for him to arrive home to make dinner and enjoy a glass of wine on the porch and watch the sunset. Alice was just Alice. Workaholic, high-strung, no-nonsense, Alice. And though she had chosen to take up temporary residence in the guest house, it wasn’t the same without Julia. For either of them.
Sure, he and Julia had phone conversations. Long ones at that, which surprised him. He didn’t think he’d have much to talk about with someone other than his brothers, but their conversations flowed easily. He liked hearing about her day, about the tourists she encountered, the exhibits she’d been helping set up. But he missed seeing her. He missed how she’d sit and smile as he complained about one of his brothers, knowing full well they had plenty of reason to complain about him. The light scent of her flowery perfume, the way she gently brushed her fingers down his arm right before she’d slide her hand in his. Little things that he hadn’t realized felt so nice to have.
“Earth to Graham.” A leather rein flung out and caught him on the back of the thigh with a pop. Jumping, he turned to viciously attack the culprit. Hayes grinned wickedly as Calvin rewound the rein and hung it on the wall. “Thinkin’ ‘bout Julia again?” Calvin asked.
“No.”
“Liar.” Hayes laughed as he tucked his work gloves into his back pocket.
“I’m not lying.”
“Through your teeth,” Hayes continued. “You get all soft and doe-eyed when you are.”
“You couldn’t even see my face,” Graham growled, as he stormed towards the square hay barrels and began to disperse some fresh straw in the stall for Trisket.
Lawrence’s head popped up over the side of the stall next to his and Graham bit back an oath as his younger brother wriggled his eyebrows. “When you just going to admit it, Graham? You love her. We all see it.”
Graham continued dispensing hay. Lawrence flashed an annoyed glance at his other two brothers.
“Alright, fine.” Lawrence held up his hands. “I wasn’t going to do this, but seein’ as how you’re not going to act upon anything, I’m callin’ her up.” He fished in his pocket for his phone. “Going to ask her on a hot date.”
“She’s in Santa Fe.” Graham ignored him.
“So? A woman like that… I’d travel for her.” Lawrence pretended to search through his cell phone for Julia’s number. “Ah. There it is.”
Graham pinned him with an icy stare that quickly dissolved when an actual voice could be heard on the other line.
“Well, hi there, Ms. Julia. Lawrence Hastings here. You know, the cute one.” He beamed as Graham made a swipe for the phone and missed. Lawrence ducked away and down into his stall so as to avoid the next attack. “My, it sure is nice to hear your pretty voice.”
Hayes and Calvin laughed as Graham grew madder and Lawrence continued his over the top flirtation.
“Oh, I’m doin’ just fine. Thanks for askin’.” He winked at his brothers. “Say, I’ve been needin’ to make a trip to Santa Fe, been puttin’ it off for weeks, you know, due to ranch work. Graham sure keeps me busy.” He paused and peeked a glance over the side of the stall, Graham nowhere to be seen. Lawrence’s brow furrowed until he felt and smelled the horse dung being dumped on top of him. Howling and trying to swat it out of the back of his shirt and off his neck, he lost his grip on his phone as Graham wrenched it free, Hayes and Calvin bursting into fits of laughter as Graham tried to salvage the conversation.
“Sorry about that, Julia, my brother had a moment of insanity.”
Her light giggle lifted his face into a smile. “And why is Lawrence calling me, Graham?”
“To be a nuisance.”
“I see.” She patiently waited for more of an explanation.
For privacy sake, and so as to avoid more teasing, Graham stepped out of the horse barn. “Seems I’m a bit obvious with my… missing… you.” Even the words coming from his own lips felt awkward, but they were the truth.
“Is that so?” Her voice lifted. “I miss you too. Perhaps we should remedy that soon. It’s been a couple weeks. I might be able to swing a trip to Parks this coming weekend.”
“I hate you driving all the way out here.”
“Graham…” She paused a moment, a muffled conversation on the other end telling him she was stepping away from whatever work Lawrence had interrupted. “Sorry about that, it’s a busy day.”
“You can call me later.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s technically my lunchtime anyway. So, about this weekend? I could leave early on Friday, maybe be there by mid-afternoon.”
“Or…” He inhaled a deep breath, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck as he contemplated leaving the ranch for an entire weekend. “I could come see you. There. In Santa Fe.”
“You would com
e here?” The surprise in her voice made the decision easy. He’d drive there every weekend if it meant seeing her face to face.
“Yes.”
“Oh, Graham, that would be wonderful!” The smile in her voice relaxed his shoulders.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll aim for late afternoon then.”
“Are you sure you can be away from the ranch?”
“I think out of six brothers at least one of them could manage things while I’m gone.”
“Calvin,” they both stated at the same time and Julia giggled.
“I can’t wait to show you around. I’m sure you’ve been here before, but I can’t wait to show you my favorite spots in the city.”
“Sounds like a plan then.”
A door opened and a range of voices flooded the line, the clink of dishes and conversation interrupting their phone call. “I need to order a sandwich and get back. Call me Friday when you head out, okay?”
“I will.”
“And Graham?”
“Yes?”
“I can’t wait to see you.” And with that, Julia hung up, leaving him rocking on his heels, a thousand thoughts swarming through his mind. When he turned to head back into the barn, his brothers all stood outside, leaning against the red siding, arms crossed, cheesy grins plastered on their faces, and all eager to hear about his plans.
He pointed a finger at them. “Don’t even start.”
Laughing, Hayes slapped him on the back as they walked back into the barn.
“Wait ‘til Clint hears about this,” Lawrence muttered to a serious Calvin. Noticing his brother’s stoic face, Lawrence stopped in his tracks. “What’s the matter?”
Calvin, speechless over the thought of Graham actually taking a weekend off, much less for a woman, had him shaking his head in disbelief. “I think our brother has officially been shot by Cupid’s arrow.”
“Great, isn’t it?” Lawrence grinned as he darted into the barn to further the teasing of Graham.
Calvin lingered a moment longer, still in shock that Julia had accomplished what no woman had ever done before. Graham was almost human now. The last two weeks he’d been quieter than even his usual temperament. Weighing his options most likely. Figuring the details out. Graham Hastings wouldn’t fall in love with someone without weighing and measuring every option and detail. The fact he planned to drive to Santa Fe for an entire weekend said he’d made up his mind that Julia was worth the effort, time, and pursuit. Calvin thought she might be, but he’d never in a million years thought Graham would be the first brother to fall head over heels in love. With a city woman at that. Calvin’s lips twitched at the thought of the fun road ahead for Graham and Julia. And, he figured, for the rest of the brothers. They’d have a sister now. A womanly presence in their midst. Well, other than Alice. Just how was this all going to play out?
Two weeks. Three weeks. A month. Now two months had passed since Julia said her farewells at the 7H Ranch and Parks, Texas. The phone calls from Graham hadn’t stopped, but his first trip to Santa Fe never panned out due to Seth’s rotating cows to a new pasture and missing a few calves. Naturally, Graham saddled up and helped finish the job, which took him and Seth longer than intended. Since then, she’d been busy; he’d been busy. Their lives operated in two separate circles that never seemed to conjoin to form one of those lovely little Venn Diagrams she’d always been such a fan of. Instead, the phone calls were more frequent but shorter in length. Hurried. As if they were trying to hold onto what little thrill they’d experienced in those two weeks, despite time interfering, and the reason for the thrill had started to fade. However, they’d grown to know one another more intimately. Deeper than she expected over the course of the short phone calls. They needed to see one another if this, whatever it was, was meant to happen.
Alice beckoned her to just take the plunge and move on down to Parks, but that was due in part to the fact her dad how now retired, and she felt swamped at the clinic. Though she didn’t doubt Alice genuinely wanted her help and company, Julia wasn’t quite ready to make that jump if she and Graham couldn’t seem to figure out a path forward. Still too many unknowns. And as crazy as she was about him, she still wasn’t quite sure he felt the same. His emotions and feelings weren’t at the top of his list to openly discuss.
She slid the freshly copied sign-in sheets onto a clipboard and placed it by the front entrance of the museum. People from all over signed their names and where they’d traveled from to the record. She loved perusing that list at the end of each week. She especially loved when she spotted non-residents of the U.S. She loved that her beloved city was a must-see on their list. She picked up the sheets from the previous week and clipped the current day’s sign-in sheet to the front of the new stack. Her eyes traveled down the page. California, Oklahoma, Arizona, a handful from various Texas cities, and… she paused, her heart skipping a moment when Parks, Texas appeared in scratchy handwriting. She slid her finger to the left to see the name and paused. Hello, Beautiful was written in the same script. She looked up, turning in circles to survey the room to see if Graham lurked anywhere. He was nowhere to be seen. She rushed over to the front desk where Tabitha, her boss, stood clicking away on the computer. Beneath black framed glasses, Tabitha’s sharp blue eyes darted up towards Julia. She paused. “What’s wrong?” Concern had her removing her glasses.
“Have you seen a man come inside? Tall. Cowboy hat, most likely. Ummm…. a scowl on his face.”
“I’m not sure…” Tabitha’s concern turned to worry. “Are you alright? Is he someone we need to contact security about? I could have them do a sweep.”
“No, no!” Julia waved her hands. “That’s not necessary. I… he signed in and I don’t know where he is.”
“Maybe he’s actually doing what tourists do here, Julia.” She pointed across the room to a group of people studying one of the various paintings displayed.
Julia exhaled, disappointed. He’d come and hadn’t found her. Why would he stop by and not say hello? Maybe he was outside. She tapped her hand on the desk. “I’ll be right back.” She darted out the double doors and glanced up and down under the covered porch. Graham was nowhere. Now she was just getting mad. She crossed her arms and on a defeated sigh walked back into the museum.
Gasping, she froze. Graham stood in the middle of the room, a bouquet of flowers in his hand, and with that sweet, familiar ‘I’m-uncomfortable-so-hurry-up-and-take-these-flowers’ look on his face. Squealing, Julia ran towards him and jumped into his arms. She pulled back long enough to plant a solid kiss on his lips, as the tourists all turned with interest to the public display. Julia slid to her feet and accepted the flowers with a flush to her cheeks. “What are you doing here?” Searching his face, she loved the small sparkle in his eye as he leaned down towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“I was hoping that was quite obvious.” He pointed to the flowers and Julia laughed, hugging him again.
She held a hand to her flamed cheek and motioned for him to follow her towards Tabitha. She made a quick introduction but the two seemed familiar enough already. “Wait,” Julia pointed a finger between the two of them. “you knew he was here?”
“Yep. Why do you think I made you print copies of the sign-in sheet?” Tabitha chuckled as she held up an entire fresh stack next to her.
“I wondered how we’d used those up already.” Julia shook her head and looked up at Graham in disbelief.
“So, do you typically describe me as wearing a scowl?” Graham asked.
Julia blanched as she didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t until she saw his lips twitch that she knew he wasn’t offended. “Well, it is a bit of your signature.”
“Go.” Tabitha waved them towards the door. “I’ve got the rest of the day. It was nice to meet you, Graham. Finally.”
Graham nodded as he tugged on Julia’s hand and led her outside and down the steps.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? What made you decide
to come? When we talked yesterday you had some conference you were headed to.” Rattling off question after question helped ease her nerves. Feeling his hand in hers, seeing him again, her heart racing in her chest at the sight of him, had her continually reminding herself he wasn’t a dream.
“I had to make you think I was busy.” He waited at the base of the stairs as she continued to gawk at him. “Well?”
“Well, what?” Nervously, she hugged him again and rested her head against his chest. “I’m still in shock. Give me a second to just soak you in.”
“Now you see why I didn’t come right up to you. I needed to just soak you in a bit before I made my move.”
She nibbled her bottom lip to bite back what felt like the thousandth smile since she’d laid eyes on him mere minutes ago. She pulled away. “Okay, you’re real. I just needed to make sure.”
Graham Page 14
