“It’s a tank top and shorts,” she answered, even more confused. He envisioned her looking down at her clothing, trying to figure out where he was going with this line of questioning.
“Yeah, you need to work on it. It’s not natural for you,” he said dryly, teasing her even more.
“Augh!”
“Stop making those noises if you’re not going to follow through!” he exclaimed, laughing solidly now. He enjoyed teasing her. She was unintentionally funny at times—he loved that about her.
She was silent for several long moments until she started laughing too. “You need to sleep. Call me when you wake up.”
“You call me. I’m ahead in time,” he replied.
“When are you getting on the road?”
“Early. Just call me.”
“Good night, Connor,” she said. He liked when she said his name with that sweet tone she used.
“Good night, Julie. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He ended the call and turned to his side. It didn’t take long to fall asleep, and Julie starred in every dream he had.
~~~
The next day, Connor pulled down the long gravel driveway of his childhood home and looked around the property. His parents lived on thirty acres right off the country road. They were at least fifty miles south of Sweetwater. As he put the truck in park, he took it all in. The signs were all there, but they didn’t make any sense—windows closed up tight, screen doors not open as they usually were, and the pack of dogs they always had wasn’t beating a path to his truck. His parents were clearly gone; he just had no idea to where. They never left the place. In all of his thirty years of life, they’d been right here in this little house—not one vacation, not one overnight stay. They’d spent their whole lives within a sixty-mile radius of that homestead.
He reached for his phone and checked again, but his mom still hadn’t called him back.
Only because he saw no other choice, he dialed his brother’s cell phone number. If nothing else, he should be somewhere close by, no doubt lurking and sneaking around.
“Is the great Connor McDaniel really lighting up my phone?” Chris’s tone grated on his nerves instantly.
“Where’re Mom and Dad?” he asked, forgoing any pleasantries. They didn’t like each other on any level and couldn’t be more opposite had they tried.
“They didn’t tell you?” He exaggerated the last word, and it irritated him as his brother had intended.
“Where are they?”
“Mom won a cruise on the radio and they went.” Short, simple, and said with complete superiority.
“Where are you?”
Chris’s silence answered that question. His brother didn’t believe much in work. He liked the quick-buck theory of life and regularly crashed at his parents’ house while waiting on his next big get-rich scheme. “Never mind. Don’t tell me. When are they gonna be home?”
“You’re such a douche. It’s always all about you. Never take a minute to see how I’m doing.”
“Chris, now’s not the time for your bullshit.”
“It’s never the time for anything other than the high and mighty Con.”
That was their other problem; Connor had no doubt he’d been the easier child to raise. He purposefully tried not to be a drain on his family. Chris was the exact opposite. Experience with his brother had proved this call would go downhill from there…and fast. They would be trading insults until he wanted to put his fist through something, preferably his brother’s face.
Instead of going there again, he ended the call and dialed his aunt. He should have called her first.
“Connor! Is everything all right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m in town and saw Mom and Dad’s house closed up,” he said, hoping that was enough to get his aunt talking.
“I didn’t know you were coming? Did they know?” she asked.
“No, it was spur of the moment.”
“Oh, your mom’s gonna be so disappointed. How long are you here for?” she asked excitedly. He suspected she was already planning his welcome-home get together—just another reason to have a BBQ and drink lots of beer. His family excelled at that.
“I don’t really know how long, but where did they go?”
“She won a cruise on one of those radio programs she listens to. They had to go right away. I think they come home next Monday. Are you staying for Thanksgiving?” Again with the planning. He grinned, staring out at the back pasture.
“I don’t really know. I don’t have a solid plan. Is Chris around?” he asked, out of nothing more than curiosity.
“No, he’s in West Virginia. He got hired on with some new oil company. He left last week.”
Good, he and Chris would make it about a night before one or the other was bumping chests and trying to fistfight the disagreement out. His brother couldn’t ever seem to figure out that Connor could kick his ass about twelve different ways before they ever got out to the yard. Chris was such a dumbass.
“Who’s feeding the animals?” he asked.
“Uncle Johnny’s going by there on his way home from work.”
“Okay, I think I’ll probably just stay in the house then. So if you see someone here, it’s me. And if I don’t catch Johnny, tell him I can feed.” With one foot out of the truck, he reached for his bag as he watched his parents’ pack of mutts tearing across the back pasture, running toward the house. He’d need to see how they got out of the fenced backyard and fix that hole, but they’d find another. They always did.
“Okay, honey, if I hear from your mom, I’ll tell her you’re at home. Let me know when you decide on how long you’re staying. We’ll have a BBQ over at Nanny’s place. She’d love to see you.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you. I’ll come by one night this week and see everyone,” he said, slamming his truck door. He slung the bag over his shoulder as he headed toward the front door.
“You do that. The door’s always open if you need some dinner.” And it was always open. That was his family’s way.
“Okay, I’m going in. Bye, Aunt Pat,” he said, taking the porch steps up.
“Bye, baby.” He didn’t have the key in the door before his phone began to vibrate in his hand. He wasn’t sure the device had had this much activity in all the years he’d owned it. Absently unlocking the door, he lifted his phone to open Julie’s text. Her flight information. She was coming Wednesday evening and flying into a small private airport about two hours away. Trying to get inside the house with the dogs racing around the porch, nipping at his heels, had him almost missing the comment at the bottom that she would rent a car. Bruno wanted them to have transportation. Once inside, he tossed his bag on the sofa and replied, making it clear he’d pick her up. Bruno could rent a car and follow behind them.
It was silly how much he missed her; he knew that. He’d never missed anyone like this before. If he met her at the airport, he’d get to see her two hours earlier, making the drive to the airport totally justifiable. When she replied with an argument of saving gas, he decided it didn’t hurt to tell her how much he missed her in the reply message before tossing the phone aside.
The house looked weird all shut down and the air inside had become a little stuffy—it had that old house smell. He didn’t like that at all. He went from window to window, opening the drapes before lifting each window to let the fresh air inside. After he’d gone through the house, he made his way to the refrigerator. As suspected, his mom had cleaned it out before leaving on her trip, but the emptiness was another weird experience. His mom always had something cooked, ready to feed whoever stopped by.
Digging through the crispers and compartments, he found the makings for a sandwich while mentally going over a grocery list. He could feed the animals, go see Cole, and make a grocery store run before coming back home tonight.
With his sandwich made, he took a big bite and headed to the living room to grab his duffle bag. Since his mom spent most of her life cleaning an already clean house, he woul
dn’t have to worry about cleaning his old room in order to use it. She would have everything perfectly together before she’d left. All he had to do was make sure it was clean when she got home. That was always the struggle. He opened the door to his childhood room—not much had changed and just like all the other furniture in the house, this room looked exactly the way it had when he was growing up.
He tossed his bag on his desk and took another bite of his sandwich as he looked around. Completely outdated. He didn’t see Julie here either, but this was by far much better than the one-bedroom cabin he’d built on the back of the property. At least Bruno would have a bedroom inside the house instead of the sofa at his place. Maybe he should get them a hotel in Sweetwater for the week. He’d have to see.
Chapter 8
Connor bounced, twisting and turning with each deep rut and edge he hit on the well-used dirt track, carved out from years of use. He knew the way like the back of his hand. He’d traveled these rough paths since before he could even drive. There wasn’t an easier way across the two hundred or so acres to get to the barn Mrs. Willis thought Cole was working at today. There were a total of four barns on the thousands of acres the Willis family owned. If by chance, Cole wasn’t there, it would be a crap shoot to find him at any of the other three. Cell phone signals proved useless the farther he went and Cole hadn’t answered on the walkie-talkies.
When he got closer to one of the horse barns, he saw several trucks parked out front with men standing just outside the corral fence, watching one of their own trying to tame a spectacular-looking animal.
Connor slowed to a crawl to limit his dust as he scanned the bodies of the men he saw; Cole’s unmistakable stance wasn’t hard to locate even when they all looked about the same from behind—Wranglers, plaid shirts, and hats, either cowboy or baseball. Of course, Cole had never worn a cowboy hat a day in his life. His baseball cap was years old, and choosing to wear a Red Sox emblem over the mighty Texas Rangers—the one his dad owned a large share of—might be the only rebellious thing he’d ever done. Cole had worn that thing at some point every single day since high school.
As Connor crept forward, his arrival must have grabbed Cole’s attention, because he swiveled his head and gave an irritated look back at the truck. It took less than half a second for recognition to set in and a giant grin to spread across his face. Cole left his perch on the fence and headed straight toward Connor’s truck. Out of all the guys, Cole had always been his very best buddy. The great thing about Cole was also one of the things he really liked about Julie: Cole filled in Connor’s holes in conversation, never letting silences get awkward or uncomfortable between them.
He’d barely parked and gotten out of the cab, the truck door still wide open, when big arms engulfed him in a giant hug. Though Cole was a few inches shorter, he still encased him solidly with a good, strong whack to his back.
“What are you doing here?” Cole asked when he pulled away.
“I thought I’d come home for Reed’s shindig.”
Cole pushed his ball cap back off his forehead and lowered his sunglasses to take a closer look at Connor. After a few seconds of staring at him, Cole reached out and lifted Connor’s sunglasses off his face.
“What’s happened?” he asked.
So not a conversation he wanted to have right then. Connor reached out and slapped him on the arm, before slamming his truck door closed and then pointing toward the corral. “Nothing I wanna talk about right now. What’s this?”
Thankfully, Cole didn’t press him for more information. “Somethin’ overpriced my old man thinks we need. I’m not so convinced.”
Connor started toward the fence. He didn’t know much about horses, not like Cole, but the animal looked good to him. Cole came up, walking side by side with him. He caught the telltale sign that something was off with Cole when he lifted his ball cap off his head, scrubbed his hair, then ran his hand down over his face.
“What’s going on with you?” Connor asked, slowing his gait so those at the corral couldn’t overhear. Connor’s Spidey senses weren’t as keen as Cole’s; he’d missed how tired and haggard Cole looked when he’d first seen him.
Cole abruptly stopped in his tracks and threw an arm out toward the corral. “My dad’s gonna buy him no matter what I say.” He shook his head and blew out a breath. “Are you here for a while? We can go back to my place.”
“Yeah, sure.” When Cole started for his truck by the barn, Connor executed a U-turn back to his.
Clearly, he wasn’t the only one having problems right now. Cole never shrugged off work. He was a machine that way. He worked twenty-four seven. When he heard Cole’s dually muffler rumble to life, Connor started his truck and fell in behind to follow Cole the miles to his place. There was no easy way to get there, and they had to stop to open and shut gate after gate.
With a barely discernable track, the drive was a little more treacherous than making his way to the horse barn. The Willises had a massive spread. When Cole built on the property, he’d purposefully chosen a spot right in the middle, wanting distance between him and his family. He built his own house, using designs he’d created in college, miles away from his family’s homestead.
The place was spectacular and extremely ecofriendly. A solid sheet of sun panels covered every inch of roof. Cole had been involved in every part of the build, and by virtual extension, so had Connor. While overseas, he had read by email and listened through video call to all of Cole’s thoughts and accomplishments during the construction. He’d even had to coddle his buddy through the failures, but it wasn’t a hardship, Cole never stayed down for long.
The result: Cole’s electricity usage was minimal, something about gathering water and using it some way… Yeah, Connor had never retained much of the technical details. His role required that he nod and tell Cole how well he was doing and for him to keep up the good work. The money spent boggled Connor’s mind, but Cole’s family had always been the wealthy one in the area, making their friendship that much more unbalanced. Connor’s dad worked for the railroad, while Cole’s dad was a rancher and the state’s senator. When they were kids, he and Cole had been inseparable. He’d never realized the vast difference in their lives until he had left the area and come back, looking at life through a different set of eyes.
Connor pulled the truck in the circle driveway and cut the engine. Cole had even added landscaping to the outside since he’d seen the place. Connor grinned. His buddy was proud of his home. Cole was already on the front porch, letting himself inside, as Connor took his keys from the ignition and hopped out. He shut his door and trailed behind, then closed the door when he entered. The ultra-modern chrome and black furnishing were in complete contrast to the rustic cowboy living inside these walls. That always made Connor smile. As much at home in this house as his own, he went for the kitchen to grab a water bottle from the refrigerator while waiting for Cole to come back from wherever he’d gone.
The giant window along the back wall of the kitchen caught his attention. He saw the new swimming pool. Damn, he’d forgotten that. He’d been involved in planning that too. He had seen all the pictures from groundbreaking through final not more than about a week ago. The thing looked even more impressive in person. He went out the kitchen door, stepped outside on slate Kool Deck and walked the length surrounding the water.
“What do you think?” Cole said as he came out the bedroom door that opened onto the deck.
“It’s incredible. Does it work like you hoped?” he asked, walking along the backside railing. Cole had built the pool and deck on an incline, giving it a nice view of the best part of their property.
“Pretty much. It’s chemical free. Can’t tell, can you?”
Connor bent at the edge and lowered a hand inside. It was the perfect temperature.
“It’s that ion deal you talked about?” he asked, scooping up some in his hand. He smelled the water, then put it to his mouth. It tasted spring fresh.
“Yep. Y
ou staying here tonight?”
“Nah, I stopped by my parents’ place. They’re gone on a cruise, so I said I’d feed the animals and watch the place for my uncle until they get back,” Connor said, rising to his feet, wiping his wet hand on his jeans. Cole gave him a slightly stunned look as he stopped in his tracks.
“Your parents are on a vacation?” he asked incredulously.
“I know, right? I was shocked. I’ll be here a couple of weeks. Maybe next week I could crash here when they get home,” Connor said, stepping around the diving board, coming to a stop right in front of Cole.
“That’s cool. I have standing dinner reservations tonight. Wanna go? Or I can cancel if you’d rather hang out here,” he asked.
“You have dinner reservations?” He talked to Cole almost every single day. In what world did he have standing reservations? Where? “The Sizzler in Sweetwater can’t be that busy.”
Cole barked out a laugh and turned to go back inside his bedroom. “Yeah, I’ll cancel.”
“No, I can go. Am I dressed all right?” he asked, following behind while glancing down at his casual clothes.
“I can cancel,” Cole said cheekily this time after looking him over, then he disappeared inside his closet.
“Quit throwing shade. I brought clothes. We can stop by the house. What do I need to wear?” he asked, shutting the outside door behind him.
“I have a shirt you left last time you were here.” Cole came out of the closet, holding a hanger. He walked toward his bed and that was when Connor spotted the full suit spread out across the mattress. Cole tossed the shirt to the side and grabbed the tie he’d laid out. “You need a collar.”
“You have a standing reservation at a place where you need to wear a suit? I’m so confused. Where’s my buddy Cole, and why haven’t I heard this before?” Connor asked, trailing to the open door of Cole’s massive closet. Nice clothing filled the organized space. Connor took it all in, stunned. “What the hell, man?”
Mission Happy (A Texas Desires Novel Book 3) Page 15
