Lottie crossed the room and sat down beside Knox. “Thank you, darlin’, for saving my favorite pizza for me.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “That’s the least I can do after that…”
She put her forefinger over his lips. “Shhh… What happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom.”
“Sorry,” he said and kissed her fingertips.
Micah frowned, pushed back his chair, picked up his plate, and left their table. “I still don’t believe it.”
“Do you care if he believes?” Knox whispered in a seductive gesture.
She stared up into his eyes and said, “Not one bit, but he better shape up by Christmas. If he don’t believe, Santa won’t bring him a present.”
Knox chuckled and brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “That should convince Micah and the newcomers.”
Thomas loaded his plate with slices of meat lover’s pizza and carried it over to the table where Lottie and Knox were sitting. “One down. Five to go. Before y’all came out of the bathroom, Jack told the new guys that he would be retiring after this project. I’m not sure that all of them want to work for Walter. Steve even said that he had been thinking of forming his own company. I like Walter, but Steve is going to keep his jobs closer to western Oklahoma, so I could be home more. Lottie, what would you do if he asked you to forsake Walter?”
“I’m going to El Paso,” she answered. “I’m not jumping ship.”
Thomas turned his face toward Knox. “If we all stick together for at least one more project, do you think we might convince you to stay on with the team?”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Knox answered. “I’m going back to Spanish Fort when we finish here. Jack only asked me for this six-week stretch because Walter broke his arm, and El Paso is too far from home to suit me.”
“Walter would take on a good framer like you in a heartbeat,” Thomas assured him. “And I’m sure Lottie wouldn’t fuss about having someone to take showers with.”
“Not one bit, but he’s bought a home, and he’s got livestock,” Lottie told him.
“Cattle?” Thomas asked.
“No, a rooster and a kitten. Someone must have thrown them out. We found them at my trailer when we got home on Sunday,” Knox answered.
Thomas wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. “I thought I heard a rooster crowing this morning, but thought I was losing my mind. Thank God they landed on your trailer and not mine.”
“Oh. My. God!” Lottie gasped under her breath and shivered.
Knox slipped an arm around her shoulders. “What? Are you okay?”
The chair that Thomas had been sitting on hit the floorwith a deafening thud when he jumped up and headed across the room. “Where did y’all come from? What a surprise!”
* * *
Lottie took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. She closed her eyes as she stood up, but when she opened them, her parents, Darlene and Zeke, had not disappeared. Thomas was shaking her father’s hand. Jack had wrapped Darlene up in a hug.
Knox got to his feet and slipped his hand into hers. She started to shake it off but then remembered that he was her boyfriend. She took a couple of steps toward the center of the room. “I guess tonight is when you meet my parents,” she whispered.
“Seems only fair since you’ve met mine,” Knox told her.
“Mama! Daddy!” She faked a squeal. “This is a big surprise! What are you doing here?”
Darlene crossed the room to hug Lottie. “Ryan has been transferred to Dallas, and we’re helping him move. We drove on up here a day early to see you. Surprise!”
“Did you tell Daddy?” Lottie asked out the side of her mouth.
“No, I did not,” Darlene assured her. “But you are going to before we move into our house up here. And I mean all of it, not just that you broke up with this fellow.”
“And…” Her father made it a three-way hug, “Paul is moving from El Paso to Abilene. We’ll be somewhat centrallylocated to all the kids this way, and that will make it easier for y’all all to come home at the same time.”
“Besides, I wanted to meet your new boyfriend and take a look at the cabin that has the walls up, so I can get a general idea of what to bring with me,” Darlene told her as she took a step back. “Now, don’t just stand there, introduce us.”
