I can see the light bulb go off in Aster's eyes. "Yes. That's a good idea." Then she reaches into her bag and pulls out a book with a cowboy hat-wearing model on the front cover. She places it on the table in front of me. "Read this. When you do, I think you’ll understand why we're telling you to talk to your man. Communication is always important, whether you're reuniting after years apart or building something brand new with a stranger.
Looking down at the book, I nod, wondering why she expects me to find the answers I need inside of a fictional romance book but at this point, I’m intrigued about whatever it is that they’renotsaying–orwon’tsay.
Thankfully, our food arrives and we all tuck in. As usual, it’s delicious.
"One last thing," Ma says, glancing my way. "If Austin is tryin' too hard, it makes me think he’s still tryin’ to make up for lost time. You went away and lived this full, vibrant, interestin’ life for years, doin’ and seein’ things that he might think he never would’ve been able to give you.”
“But I don’t need those things. I just want him. He’s the reason I came back home.”
Mom’s eyes soften. “Might be time to tell him that, my girl. Show him that your livestogether, your journey goin’ forward, that starts now. You’ve got a ton of new memories to make, and–”
“And I want to make them together with him,” I say, finishing her sentence.
She reaches over and squeezes my arm. "Knew you were smart, Charlie Bear. Austin is too. But you've gotta understand. Sometimes when you want somethin’ so much, you can’t see the forest for the trees. You just see what you want and who you want it with, and you’ll do anythin’ to make sure you not only get it but can keep it too.”
I stare into her eyes, sensing that her words aren’t only for me. That’s something for me to delve into another time though. Ma is open about a lot of things, but in my thirty-five years of knowing her, I've realized there are times when she locks things up in a padlocked box. One day soon, I'm going to take a crowbarto it. Because my mom may think she's happy with her life, but I know there's something–or someone–missing. I want to fix that for her.
First things first, I need to read this book from Aster, then find a time to talk to Austin when I'm not working, we're both not painting, and he's not running himself ragged trying to prove to me that he's a catch.
Because newsflash–I’ve known that since I was sixteen. Now I just needhimto know it too.
20
AUSTIN
“Hey, stranger. Haven’t seen you around for a while?” Cora announces with her posh British accent as I walk into the ranch house kitchen. She’s sitting on a stool with Rhett standing close behind her.
Rhett told me her and Aster were meeting Mags and Char for lunch at the diner today. As much as I'd love to know what they talked about, I'm going to be a gentleman and not ask. Doesn’t mean I’m not curious as hell, though. Instead, I grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
Rhett scans me from head to toe. “You home tonight?”
“Yep. Char’s workin’ the night shift,” I murmur, moving to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. “I’ll see her on Saturday when we’re hoping to start on the bathroom.”
“We get the pleasure of your company tonight? I feel honored,” he muses.
“Hmm. Figured we can’t have you and Red thinkin’ you’re runnin’ the ranch by yourself these days. Besides, I know I’vebeen spendin’ a lot of time in town lately with Charlie and had those two days off when we went to Timber Falls. I want to make sure I’m still pullin’ my weight.”
Rhett groans. “You do more than most here on a bad day, let alone a good one. Ain’t nobody talkin’ about you shirkin’ on your chores or anythin’.” I nod, taking a long drink before moving to stand opposite the two of them.
I bite the inside of my cheek as I contemplate what to say. “Cora, how did Rhett tell you about the Call?”
My sister-in-law’s gaze goes soft before she glances up at Rhett with a small smile. “This one took me up the mountain and pulled out the old ‘I have somethin’ to tell you’line which had me thinkin’ he was goin’ to say he had a secret family or a third nipple or somethin’.”
Rhett chuckles and I soon join him. “Can’t tell you about the latter, but I definitely know there ain’t no secret family,” I reply.
“Thankfully it was none of those,” she replies. “But I’d just told him about a story Dad shared with me when I was younger about a fairy livin’ on the mountain. I figured we were sharin’ secrets.”
“A fairy?” I say, my brows jumping up. “That’s a bit close to home, isn’t it?”
“That’s what I thought. Which is why I told her about the Call and the mountain spirit,” Rhett adds.
"Yep. He gave me the full history about Moose Mountain and the Cooper family and how the prophecy came to be here at Bull." She tilts her head. "Does this mean you're goin’ to tell Charlie about the Call?”
I rub the back of my neck, my forgotten itch making an unexpected return. “I need to tell her sooner rather than later. I’m just not sure if she’ll–”
“Go runnin’ for the hills?” Rhett adds.
“I’m pretty sure she won’t do that. I think I’m more worried about her questionin’ what we’re buildin’. You know?”
