Chapter 8
Seth knew he shouldn’t have asked that question when Shylo stiffened beside him. Clearly, it was a sore subject for her. Her tone was flat when she responded. “No, he wasn’t. I never knew him.”
He had a feeling there was more to the story, but it wasn't his place to push for details. If she wanted to tell him, she would. If not, he’d let it go.
“Sorry about that. My father and I butted heads a lot, especially after he got remarried to a woman who hated me because I was a constant reminder that she wasn’t his first wife.
I don’t even have any pictures of my mom because Stacy threw them all away when I was at school one day. ”
“That’s awful!”
He shrugged. “It is what it is. I haven’t been back to Oregon since I left.
I only talk to my dad on our birthdays and Christmas, and maybe one or two other days out of the year.
The conversations never last long. I still have some good memories of my mom, though, even with her mental illness.
When it first happened, I was pissed that she committed suicide, but as I grew older, I came to understand she didn’t really have control of it—the depression, I mean.
Maybe if she had the right doctor and medication, things would’ve been better, but my father filing for divorce pushed her over the edge.
” He stood again. “Okay, off the morose subjects again. We talked about that stuff the other night. Let’s move on.
What can I get you to drink? We’ve got a keg of Coors, wine, flavored seltzers, soda, and water. ”
After giving Sassy one last belly rub, she straightened. “You know what? A beer sounds good. I haven’t had one in a while, and it’s a hot day.”
At the portable bar that was brought out for every barbecue, she held two red Solo cups as he used the keg nozzle to fill them.
Once they both took a refreshing drink, he led her over to the grill area to introduce her to his bosses.
“Hey, guys. This is Shylo Kellerman—new to Hazard and still trying to figure out if she’s just passing through.
Shylo, this is Shane Wilson and his husband, Tucker. They own the Triple-R.”
“Welcome to our home, Shylo,” Tuck said.
Shane put down the grill fork he used to flip the steaks and pieces of chicken and wiped his hand on a kitchen towel draped over his shoulder. “Pleasure to meet you, Shylo.”
Both men held out their hands, and after a moment’s hesitation, she shook them. “Um, hi. It’s nice to meet you too. Thank you for... um... letting me come today.”
Shane gave her a nonchalant wave. “Everyone’s welcome here.” He smirked. “Well, almost everyone’s welcome here. A few people in town would rather meet Satan himself than step foot on our land.”
“Because of your ménage marriage?” Her eyes widened with a flicker of panic, suggesting a fear that she’d offended them.
Seth knew her remark didn’t bother them.
They all knew what bigoted insults sounded like, having heard them often enough from a few people in town.
“I’m so sorry. That was extremely rude. Seth explained your unconventional marriage to me the other night, and I don’t have a problem with it—I swear.
I’ve never met anyone in this kind of relationship before, but I read a lot of romance books, and that includes some with ménages. ”
“Really?” Tuck said. “You should talk to our wife, Paige, and one of our employees, Nicole Mathers. They’re part of a romance book club that meets once a month. If you’re interested.”
“Oh, uh... I’ve never been to one before.”
“From what I understand, it’s a low-key reason to have a girls’ night out. They drink some wine, gossip a little, and talk about the latest book they’ve all read.”
“The smutty books that we benefit from.” Shane winked at Tuck.
“I won’t deny it. I love it when she gets home from those meetings.”
Seth noticed the blush that heated Shylo’s cheeks. “Uh, guys. I don’t think the lady wants to hear about your sex life, no matter how interesting you think it is.”
Both men chuckled, but at least they had the good sense to look suitably contrite and apologize. “Sorry,” they said in unison.
“Sometimes, we forget not to act like cavemen in public,” Tuck added.
Shane pointed to a table under the tent, occupied by several women. “Why don’t you take Shylo over and let her meet Paige and the others? The food will be ready in about ten minutes.”
As they made their way toward the table, they stopped several times for Seth to introduce her to some of his coworkers and their families. Sensing that Shylo was a bit overwhelmed, he made a point of not lingering too long with each group.
Shane and Tuck’s wife noticed them approaching, got to her feet, and held out a hand to Shylo. “Hi, I’m Paige. Seth said he had a guest coming today. Welcome.”
Shylo shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Shylo. Thanks for having me.”
“No thanks necessary.” Paige tilted her head as she stared at the other woman for a moment. “Have we met before? You look so familiar.”
“Uh... no. Well, we sort of met the other night, but we weren’t introduced.”
“Lou hired her,” Seth supplied. “She served up the chili at Shane’s party.”
Paige nodded. “Aaah. That must be it. It was so crazy that night, I could’ve met the pope and not remembered it.”
“It was crazy but fun,” Shylo said. “Everyone was so nice. You all looked like you had a great time. Oh, and congratulations on your pregnancy. Your daughter seemed thrilled to be getting a baby brother.”
Cradling her small belly bump, Paige smiled.
“Thank you. And yes, Arianna is more than thrilled. My husbands are too. They were worried they’d be waaay outnumbered if this was another girl.
They’re already cringing at the thought of Ari hitting puberty in a few years.
I’m not looking forward to the mood swings either, but I keep trying to tell them boys are worse at that age, and they don’t believe me. ”
Seth and Shylo laughed, and he had every reason to believe Paige was right. Some men forgot what assholes they were between the ages of eleven and fifteen.
“Mom! Mya needs you in the kitchen for a second.” Arianna ran up and skidded to a stop next to Seth. She glanced up at Shylo and waved. “Hi, I’m Arianna, but you can call me Ari!”
As Paige excused herself, Shylo held out her hand for the girl to shake. “Hi, Ari, I’m Shylo. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too. I like your hair. It’s pretty. It’s the same color as my sister’s and my dad’s.”
She brushed her hand over her head, back toward the ponytail. “Oh, really?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Um... popular color, I guess.”
Seth smiled and tweaked Ari’s nose. “Hey, kiddo. Why don’t you go find Joey and play until dinner’s ready?”
Her eye-roll had the flair of someone ten years older and so over him. “That means you want to talk adult stuff, and my ears are too young and innocent to hear it. At least that’s what Papa always says.”
Shylo burst out laughing. “Oh, you sound like I did at your age. My mom used to say something similar to me.”
“When did she finally let you stay and listen?”
Her glance at Seth for help earned nothing but a not-my-problem smirk and a lazy shrug. She mouthed, “Thanks,” to him before turning her attention back to Ari. “Uh... If I remember right, I was about eighteen.”
Ari let out a heavy sigh. “That’s what my parents say too.” She flopped her head back and stomped off like a kid auditioning for the role of Most Dramatic Exit Ever. “That feels like forever!”
Seth belly-laughed at both Ari and Shylo. The latter glared at him as she smacked his arm. “Thanks a lot. I’m not used to kids her age. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.”
Putting a hand over his aching abdomen, he grinned. “I’m sorry, but you did fine. Drama’s kinda her thing lately. I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Well, as her mother said, wait until she hits puberty. Your ears will probably bleed.”
“I’m sure they will.”
The clanging of a loud cowbell interrupted their conversation, announcing that dinner was ready.
It didn’t take long for everyone to line up at a buffet table.
In addition to burgers, hot dogs, steak, and chicken, plenty of side dishes were provided.
A half-vat of Bar None’s chili was also standard fare for the Triple-R’s barbecues.
Seth let Shylo go ahead of him in the line and then pointed to an empty table nearby to sit at after they filled their plates.
The other chairs quickly filled with some of the other ranch hands and two of their girlfriends.
In between stuffing their faces, the conversation flowed, and Shylo seemed to grow more comfortable with the crowd as the afternoon wore on.
When Seth picked up their empty plates to toss them in the garbage, Shylo stood, grabbing her purse and hanging it from her shoulder. “Is there a bathroom I could use?”
“Yeah, of course.” He pointed to the back door of the main house since it had the closest, cleanest bathroom—he wasn't about to send any woman to the ones in the bunkhouse. “Go straight through the kitchen and make a right. It’s halfway down the hallway on your right.”
“Thanks.”
He paused a moment to watch her walk away, admiring her ass. Beside him, Jamie nudged his hip. “She’s nice, man. I like her. She’s not your usual one-night stand or two-week fling, though.”
“Yeah, I know.” For the first time in his life, that knowledge didn’t bother him.