"Mags," he says, stepping out and kissing her cheek. "You well?"
"Sure am. Busy day at the diner though. There's a bike tour comin' through town and they're all wantin' to try the hash, so we've been run off our feet all day so far." Mom turns to me. "Are they the colors you've picked? They're gorgeous."
Something is tickling my spider senses about the way she's acting but now is not the time to question her about it.
I smile and nod at my mom's enthusiasm. "Yep, they’re the ones. Austin came to my rescue."
He gives me a small nod, his eyes lingering on mine for a moment longer than necessary. "You did look a little lost,” he replies, his lips tipping up.
I snort and shake my head. "Overwhelmed with all the choices, you mean. It's not somethin' you want to get wrong and have to do it all over again."
"Oh, well I'm glad you were here, Austin." She falls quiet for a moment before I catch something flashing in her gaze. "Actually, I might’ve heard you were quite good at redecoratin'?" she asks and since he's standing right there, I can't exactly tell her to quit it, so I glare at her instead.
"Ma, I'm sure Austin's very busy on the ranch. Isn't it comin' up to calvin' season? I can handle a little paintin'."
"Definitely know my way around a paintbrush and no doubt I'll be chippin' in when we start construction on Toby and Dee's place soon. So maybe this could be good practice before we start buildin' the ranch's new cabins,” Austin replies, non-plussed even if Mom’s intentions are devious.What's with Mom's sudden interest in recruiting help when Dad had already offered...?
"I'll befine," I reply.
"It's no trouble, Char," Austin says at the same time.
Mom sends a wide smile Austin's way. "That's settled then." She shoots me a sneaky wink and claps her hands together. "Now that’s all settled, how about I buy the paint and all the stuff we'll need and then you and Charlie-Bear can arrange a time to start. It'll be a good chance for you two to catch up. I'll even pay you with beer and lunches from the diner. What do you say?"
Before I can interject or even process what she's saying, Austin is accepting, and of course because he’s a nice guy–thebestguy–he tells her he’d have done it without the food bribery. Then she’s hugging me and walking way, leaving me standing there with my mouth open as she disappears from sight.
Austin clears his throat, grabbing my attention from Mom's departure. "I can tell her I'm busy if you're going to be uncomfortable, Char."
My head jerks up to him so fast I almost give myself whiplash. Ofcoursehe’d read my shock as reluctance. "Why would I not want to catch up with you? I bet there's a ton of stuff you've done that I don't know about. Ma always used to tell me about your family and what they were up to but it's always good to hear it from the horse's mouth--so to speak."
Spending hours alone with Austin? That's not something I thought would happen this soon, but I’m definitely no complaining. It’s a foot in the door, a chance, and I’m not about to turn my nose up at it. I really do want to hear about what he's been up to and what his life has been like since I left.
Since I also believe that things happen for a reason, if this is how we're going to reconnect and rediscover our friendship–or maybe more–who am I to say no? That's not to say that I don't see straight through my Mom's plan, something I'll definitely be discussing with her later.
Starchild’s words suddenly come back to me.
"Everythin' happens for a reason and sometimes there's more at play than any of us know"
"OK. So it looks like we're paintin' your apartment. When do you want to start?" Austin asks.
“Tomorrow?" I squeak before clearing my voice and spotting Austin's twitching lips. "How about tomorrow?"
"Sounds good, Char. See you then." With a dazzling grin and a gentle shoulder squeeze that makes me feel like I've hookedmyself up to a defibrillator and shocked myself, he walks away, leaving me standing there in the middle of the paint aisle wondering what just happened.
Although, despite Ma's meddling, I can't say I'm disappointed. Now I can’twaitto start painting.Who’d have thought?
8
AUSTIN
With my share of the morning chores done, as well as helping Toby and Landry finish theirs, I step inside the ranch house kitchen to find Red standing at the stove stirring a pot of what I'm hoping is some strong cowboy brew coffee.
He’s the head of the ranch and a widowed dad of seventeen-year-old Wyatt. His wife passed years ago and since then, he’s poured everything he has into the rodeo and now the ranch and bull stud. He’s also best friends with Mags, who was his wife’s best friend as well.
"Mornin'," I take my boots off and hang my hat by the door. "Hope you made enough coffee to wake up the dead. Goin’ to need it today."
His answering chuckle makes his whole body shake. "Well, can't have y’all sleepin' on the job. Can we?"
Grabbing a mug from the overhead cabinet, I sidle up next to him and sigh in relief when he ladles a generous amount of the steaming black liquid out for me. As soon as the first sip hits my tongue I let out a satisfied sigh. "Just what I needed."
