“Mine, too,” I said, then really thought about the number of ways in which he had made a difference.
The obvious one was how he and Woody had saved Stevie’s life after she’d had a severe reaction to bee stings. Woody had gotten Stevie out of there, but it was Rowdy who had called in the help and administered the epinephrine that saved Stevie’s life.
There were other, not-so-obvious ways in which he’d made a difference, too.
Emery and I didn’t talk about this much, but I’d forced him to take a leave of absence because he was beyond burnt out anddrowning in work. One of the smartest things Emery ever did after moving out here was hire Rowdy to manage the property. Rowdy refused to let him overwork himself to death, giving him space to actually recover.
Selfishly, though, our saucy text exchanges were sometimes the only thing that’d prevented me from feeling overwhelmed when I’d taken over Emery’s duties. I’d get out of a meeting, feeling like I’d been beat up by our investors, and there’d be a text from Rowdy—something awful and inappropriate to reconfigure my day.
Rowdy: Willie Nelson was wrong.
Me: Oh? How so?
Rowdy: It’s fine to let your babies grow up to be cowboys, just please for the love of God teach them to wash their asses.
Me:
Me: Skid marks are NOT sexy.
Rowdy: Not even a little.
“I wonder what’s changed?”Emery asked, going for the mugs.
I went to the coffeemaker to start a pot. “You know how you’re surprised that he and I haven’t slept together?”
“Yes...”
“I kissed him at the housewarming.”
Emery’s eyes widened comically. “Really?”
“Yeah. And when I made a play for more, he froze up.”
Emery drew his chin back. “Hewhat? How is that possible?” Emery grabbed the cream and sugar and set them next to the mugs. “He has an even bigger crush on you than you have on him.”
I dumped the coffee grounds into the basket, making a mess of things. Emery handed me a paper towel, concern in his eyes. Thankfully, I managed to fill the reservoir without incident.
“Do you really think that he has a...athing? For me?” I asked, then focused on wiping the counter, not sure if I wanted his answer.
Emery huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, he totally passed a note to me about it in homeroom.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I groused, punching the button to start the brew cycle. “And by the way, you basically said the same thing as your daughter.”
Emery’s answering chuckle was warm. “She sees everything. Even the things you’d rather she didn’t.”
“Tell me why I want children again?”
“Because you’ve got a lot of love to give.” Emery drummed his fingertips on the counter. “Look. It’s not like he and Woody are big sharers.”
I snorted.
“But...” Emery paused, seeming to consider his words. “Even though Rowdy hasn’t said much about it to Woody, Woody thinks he likes you more than he wants to let on.”
“So what you’re saying is that our usual banter—me acting like he’s the one-night-stand king, for instance—is probably hurting his feelings? Because he’s crushing on me?”
“That’d be my guess.” Emery tapped the counter. “Even though you’re just acting like y’all have always acted, maybe things have changed for him, and now the banter reads like rejection.”
I stared outside, biting my lower lip. “If he thinks I’m not taking him seriously, he’ll never tell me how he feels.”
