12. Becca
TWELVE
BECCA
TYLER
Tractor part’s coming Saturday. I’ll bring it out to ya if it comes before we get to the pumpkin patch
And I dropped off the tickets at the school
BECCA
Thank you
Did she call you Big Daddy?
TYLER
That’s a you problem
BECCA
What’s the problem?
You like it too much?
Does somethin for ya?
You lookin’ for a Big Mama to round out the house?
TYLER
If I take on a Big Mama, I need her to be a sugar mama
BECCA
Sorry, the only sugar I’ve got is collateral and lots of chicken eggs
TYLER
Wait
BECCA
No we cannot egg Miss Kristen’s house. That’s a waste of my girls’ hard work
And besides, what did Miss Kristen ever do to you?
TYLER
Not that
If I’ve got better credit and you’ve got collateral
…
We could have a solution to both our problems
BECCA
Tyler Davis, did you just propose to me over text message?
TYLER
No…
“What the hell?” I blink down at my phone in my hand, then up at our waiter. “Yeah, um, a margarita. Rocks and salt, please.”
My friend Darcy gives her drink order and our waiter leaves us with a basket of chips and a bowl of salsa.
“What happened?” Darcy stares at me, hand hovering over the chip basket. “Is everything okay?”
“I think . . . my brother’s best friend just proposed to me.”
“Hang on, what?”
My hands start to shake. “We were just joking around, but look.”
I slide the phone across the table to Darcy. “Becca, get a new phone screen already! I’m going to get tetanus from this thing!” She giggles as she reads. “Becca, you’re flirting with him. And he’s flirting back.”
For some bizarre reason, my ears feel hot. “I flirt with everyone.”
She clears her throat. “‘You lookin’ for a Big Mama to round out the house?’” She drops her voice, approximating a man’s tone. “‘If I take on a Big Mama, I need her to be a sugar mama.’ And then you—”
“Yes, yes, I know what I said. This is not how I wanted to receive my first proposal.”
Darcy puffs out her lip but still looks entertained. “Technically he didn’t.” She squints at his contact. “Wait, is this that cutie pie who runs the auto shop? Dusty’s bestie?”
“Yup. And my ex best friend’s ex.”
Darcy’s lips pop open and her eyes round, gently setting my phone back on the table between us. “Oh. CJ?”
I nod and she winces. Over the years, we’ve exchanged our personal histories.
She’s only lived here since she moved back to work on her family’s peach farm a few years ago.
I was lucky she came into my life right around the time CJ was leaving.
I don’t know if we’ll ever have the same bond, but being out of the thick of it, I’m not sure how healthy my bond with CJ was in the first place.
She gives me a dazed look. “God, this place is messy. I thought I knew all the gossip.”
“Small towns,” I muse.
“Small towns,” she agrees. “So, what are you going to tell him?”
Our drinks arrive and I study her Mexican Sprite. “Wait, you’re not drinking? I wouldn’t have gotten a marg.”
She waves a hand. “You’re fine. Jake and I are just getting serious about trying to get pregnant. The casual approach doesn’t seem to be cutting it.”
I drop my jaw. “For real, boss? You’re gonna give me a little godbaby?”
She knocks on the table. “Touch wood, that’s the idea. Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched though.”
I grin and there’s a little sting behind my nose. “Y’all will be the best parents.”
Darcy bobs her head. “Thanks. Well, enough about me. Big Daddy Tyler has a kid, right? Marry Big Daddy and you’re an instant stepmom. You love kids, but is that something you want?”
I pause. I do love kids, but parenthood is tricky for me.
I was raised by women. It’s not that I don’t believe in fathers or something, but the ones in my life tend to leave.
I know Tyler’s being an excellent dad to Ellie and it wouldn’t be the same as what my mom went through at all.
I answer Darcy honestly. “I think so. But it’s complicated. ”
She nods. “What isn’t, though?” Her gaze shifts around. “Do you . . . like Tyler?”
I open my mouth to speak but hesitate because, again, she’s stumping me. “There have been these moments of almost with him, but he’s hardly acknowledged me since CJ left. Until recently, when he had to because my truck broke down.”
“It was probably hard for him,” she suggests, scooping an absurd amount of salsa onto her chip and struggling to get her mouth around it. I laugh and she points at me. “Shut up.”
I keep going. “I know it was hard for him. But it was hard for me too.” My throat goes dry as I dredge up a piece of history I usually try to stuff down. “I tried to reach out to him after I heard she left. He had Dusty tell me to leave him alone. Said I should know better, whatever that means.”
“Damn. Harsh.”
“Right? You got the last emotionally available man in the tristate, and I don’t have a ton of energy to waste on the emotionally unavailable ones. Plus, it’s not like he likes me.” I gesture at the phone. “He’s just looking for me to solve his problems. I got problems of my own.”
She grins. “You know what they say, though. Stronger together.”
I lick some salt from the rim of my margarita glass, letting that thought sink in. “Something like that.”