Page 55 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Not really.”

“Do you want her to be?”

Lucas shrugged and pocketed his phone.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“I didn’t say that,” he griped.

Sounded like Doc struck a nerve. “Well, I haven’t been your age in a long time, but I remember knowing when I wanted someone to be my girl. A shrug means you’re not sure, and that’s okay.”

“That’s not what it means.”

“No?”

“No. It means I don’t want to tell you.”

“Fair enough.” Doc grinned. “But you just did.”

Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Hey, I’m not going to lecture you or ask a million questions. But I will say this. How you’re seen in the eyes of girls starts now, and you’ve got two choices. You can treat girls with respect, think of their well-being before your own, and be the guy who sets the standard for how they should be treated. If you do that, every girl will want to go out with you. Or you can be the guy whose reputation for being a dick supersedes him when he enters a room. That’s a tough rep to shake in a small town like this.”

“Which were you?”

“At your age? I was a cocky-ass bull rider with a long line of girls after me. I was the guy who set the standard.” Doc took off his hat and wiped his brow. As he set it back on his head, he said, “But I know you don’t want to have anything in common with me, and hopefully you won’t follow in my footsteps, because after all that shit went down with your grandfather, when I gave up bull riding and went to college, I became the other guy for a while. Ghosting women, not caring if their feelings were hurt.” He picked up a board and set it in place. “That was a long time ago, but I still regret it.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“Because I’d had my heart broken once, and I wasn’t about to go through that nightmare again.”

They worked in silence for a few minutes, before Lucas said, “Are you still a dick?”

“No, and I haven’t been for many years.”

“What changed?”

He met his son’s gaze, mulling over his answer, and remembered something his father had once said when a kid who had been emotionally abused by his parents and put into the foster care system had come through one of the ranch’s programs. That kid’s confidence had been driven into the ground, and Tiny had said, Parents don’t realize how much power they have. If you ever have a family of your own, you’ll have moments when your kid does stupid shit, and you’ll want to tell them as much. Especially when they’re in those belligerent teenage years. But you bite your tongue and choose your words carefully, because kids learn from every word you say, and every word you don’t. They’re going to make hundreds of mistakes, and it’s up to you to help them learn from them. Never forget that a single sentence can change a kid for better or worse, and if you repeatedly tell them they’re less than anything, they’ll believe you.

Doc chose his words carefully and honestly. “My old man sat me down and said he’d heard I was going down a slippery slope that wasn’t going to end well, and he reminded me that I had two choices.”

“So you decided to set the standard?”

“Yes, but on my own terms. I didn’t want to be a dick, but I also didn’t want to get tangled up in a relationship. So instead of ghosting them, I was honest up front about not looking for anything long term. As I got older and realized what setting the standard really meant, I started putting more energy into making sure the women I was with had a good time and felt good about themselves. More importantly, I made sure they knew my lack of commitment wasn’t a reflection on them.”

“And they bought that?” He looked skeptical.

“It was the truth, so yeah. It’s always best to lead with honesty.”

A while later, as they finished installing the last board they had, they were still two boards short. “We made good time. Nice work.”

“Thanks.” Lucas squinted up at the remaining gaps in the siding. “But we’re two boards short.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t suppose you have a lumber pile hiding somewhere.”

He shook his head. “Mom’s afraid of snakes getting into them.”

Doc remembered the time they’d seen a snake in the woods, and she’d jumped onto his back without warning. He laughed. “That she is. We’ve got plenty of this type of lumber at the ranch. I’ll call my brother and have him bring us a couple of boards. We need some gutter, too. What about the fence? Think we need any additional supplies?”