Chapter 65
CHAPTER 65
SIMON
A bi, London, and Liv raced toward each other, squealing and hugging before they linked arms, turned, and started walking toward the exit. Liam chuckled and bumped his elbow against mine. “Come on, bro. I’ll introduce you to Charlie. They’ve probably forgotten we’re even here.”
He pushed one of our luggage carts to the guy Olivia had been waiting with. I assumed this was her husband, Charlie Anderson. He looked slightly older than us, late thirties maybe, with scuffed cowboy boots on his feet, jeans the bottoms of which were covered in dirt, and a navy button-down that was rolled up to his elbows.
The guy smirked at Liam as we walked up to him, jerking his chin in the direction of the girls. “You make it happen yet?”
Liam groaned. “Dude, we left less than forty-eight hours ago. Besides, why is everyone so convinced that either of us even wants to make something happen with the other?”
“Because it’s been obvious since you were twelve,” I told him, chuckling. I extended my hand toward Charlie. “Simon. It’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for hosting us.”
His light blue eyes cut to mine, narrowing as he dragged them slowly across the length of my body, clearly taking my measure before his eyes rose back to mine. “You’re him, huh? Funny, you seem uninjured. I could’ve sworn London said something about a shiv.”
I laughed. “You might want to hide your toothbrushes over the next few days if you don’t want to be cleaning up a pool of my blood. I have a feeling she might be making that shiv yet when she’s had some time to talk to Abi.”
“After everything I’ve heard about you, I thought you’d have horns growing out of your forehead.” Charlie finally smacked his palm into mine and shook my hand. “If you hurt her again though, London won’t need a shiv. I got a lot of shotguns in my house.”
I groaned and raked my free hand through my hair. “So everyone around here thinks I’m the devil too? That’s great. Awesome. Shivs and shotguns.”
“That could be the title of your autobiography, bro,” Liam joked. “Or at least the title of the Walker chapter in it.”
Charlie laughed and nodded at me. “Let’s just say that ever since I met them, you’ve been enemy number one of the Walkers. I can’t wait to hear your side of the story, but breaking up with her in a letter after so many years together? That’s low, man.”
He swung his gaze back to Liam, looking at him sternly but with a certain fondness in his eyes that kind of made it seem like he saw Liam as a little brother. “And you. We’re all convinced that both of you want something to happen with the other. Love might be blind, but we’re not. Grow a damn pair and tell the woman how you feel about her. A gentleman doesn’t keep a lady waiting.”
“Do I look like a gentleman to you?” Liam scoffed, smirking as he shook his head. “My ama might think that she raised a southern gentleman like you, but I’m afraid some of those lessons got lost in translation between your generation and mine.”
“Fuck off,” Charlie grumbled, chuckling under his breath. “We’d better get going, boys. Liv has the keys to my truck and she’s not always patient or kind. If we keep them waiting too long, they might not be there by the time we get outside.”
He spun and started striding toward the exit, waiting for Liam and me to catch up with the carts. Charlie glanced at him as we headed for the doors. “Are we dropping you off at home or you staying on the ranch with us?”
“I’m on the ranch,” he said. “We’re all helping with your thing at the rodeo, right? It’s easier that way.”
“Sure. Easier because London is staying there with her sisters and you’re like a damn rottweiler, the way you protect that woman.” Charlie sounded amused, but he was looking straight ahead, hands in his pockets and not a trace of a smile on his lips. “Alrighty, then. Good thing we’ve got so many guest rooms at the house.” He glanced at me next. “Unless you want me to pretend one is being renovated so you can share with Abigail?”
“I’ll let her make that decision. Won’t Olivia know whether a room in her house is being renovated, anyway?”
“Of course, she would.” He pumped his eyebrows at me. “That doesn’t mean I can’t give it a shot.”
We all piled into a huge pickup truck, the kind I imagined was only manufactured and sold in Texas, and then we were off. The girls were talking a mile a minute, with Liam chiming in occasionally and Charlie acting like the typical big brother just trying to get everyone home in one piece.
It sent a pang through me that made me miss my brother something awful, but it was nice to feel included with this bunch. Liam and Charlie both made an effort to draw me into their conversations, and thankfully, I found myself falling into their banter as easily as if I really was part of their would-be family.
“That’s our property line.” Charlie pointed at a fence we’d passed a while after we’d left the city behind us and I expected him to turn off the main road soon after.
Instead, we drove over thirty more minutes before he finally veered off the blacktop and under a carved metal arch emblazoned with the words, Anderson Ranch . I leaned forward, completely floored at the size of their property.
As far as the eye could see, it was just fields and pastures dotted with cows. Paddocks, patches of trees, hills, a few outbuildings, and nature. I glanced at our host. “How many acres is this?”
He chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“What’s worse is that this is only the original Anderson Ranch,” Liam piped up. “They’ve got more like it scattered all across the state. Welcome to Texas, Simon.”
I turned to the window and tried to take it all in, but it was impossible. “I’d love a tour of this place sometime.”
“As soon as you’re settled in, I’ll take you around,” Charlie said in that twang of his. “I doubt the girls will want to come, though.”
“We’ll stay at the house,” Olivia volunteered immediately. Giggling, she glanced at her sisters. “I should get started on dinner anyhow and it’ll give us time to talk without all of you listening in.”
“Shit.” Liam covered his face in one of his palms. “Check your beds for snakes when you get back, boys. This isn’t going to end well.”
I laughed, but I’d take his advice. A few minutes later, we pulled up to a massive lodge that turned out to be Charlie and Olivia’s house, and as much as I was used to luxury and grandeur, everything here was on a scale that impressed even me.
They showed us inside and everyone went their separate ways, already knowing where they were going. Charlie sighed. “City kids. Come with me, Simon. I’ll show you where you’re sleeping. You’re right across the hall from Abi. That won’t be a problem, will it?”
“Not for me.” I followed him up a staircase and heard the girls laughing in a bedroom down the hall, but we stopped before we reached it and he waved at the door beside me.
“That’s you. Why don’t you grab your hat and let’s go. I’ll take you on that tour unless you need some time to freshen up.”
“I’m good, thanks. I don’t have a hat, though.”
“You don’t…” He groaned and shook his head. “So many city kids.” After letting out a breathy sigh, he nodded back at the stairs. “Okay. Meet me down there after you’ve dropped off your stuff. I’ve got a hat you can borrow.”
I chuckled and pushed open my bedroom door as he headed downstairs. On the other side, I was surprised to find a very spacious guest room, complete with half a wall of windows offering a sprawling view of the ranch and an en-suite bathroom.
Whistling softly between my teeth, I left my stuff in my room and took the stairs down two at a time to meet the guys, eager to get a look around the rest of this place. Liam and Charlie were both already waiting at the door. Abi was still nowhere to be seen, so I took the felt cowboy hat Charlie held out toward me and took off with them, kind of wishing she was coming too but happy for the opportunity to get to know these guys better.
Sliding the hat onto my head, I headed out into the sunshine after them. Charlie walked on my left and Liam on my right, and Charlie turned to look at me as he led us to the nearest barn. “How was your flight?”
“It was great,” I said. “Aside from the fact that Liam and London weren’t talking to each other all the way here.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that happens more often than you might think.”
“It’s always been that way.” I winked at him. “Even when we were kids.”
“I heard that you’ve known them for that long too. Mind if I ask what happened to make you go AWOL?”
“You know, man, it’s complicated.”
Charlie laughed. “Yeah, I’ve heard that, but I’d still like to hear your side of things. Maybe over a beer later?”
“Sounds good.” I didn’t know why I’d essentially just agreed to tell these guys something I’d only just told Abi a couple months ago, but I connected with them easily and being with them reminded me of what it’d felt like to have a brother. I missed Brooks right now more than I had in a long time, but these guys were here and they were interested, so I’d be honest with them.
Charlie showed us around their truly impressive setup, and by the time we got back to his house, the girls had made more sides than our group could ever possibly eat. Charlie fired up the grill. “My brothers will be here soon. Fair warning, there are four of them and I’m the only sane one in the bunch.”
I laughed. “This might not make a lot of sense to you given what you just said, but I look forward to it.”
“You’re right.” Charlie grinned at me over the top of the beer he was holding. “That doesn’t make much sense to me, but maybe when we talk later, you can tell me about that, too.”
“Maybe,” I agreed, wondering if I was ready to rip that band-aid off just yet but willing to think about it.
Liam leaned forward where he was sitting on a bench beside a firepit. “Are you and Abi back together, Si? I haven’t seen her this happy for years and even London has talked to me about it.”
“We’re… well, we’re not not together.” I took a sip of my beer and looked out at the cows meandering through the fields around us. “Look, I’ll be honest with you both. After everything that’s happened between us, I know I don’t deserve a life with her, but that’s exactly what I want.”
“We’ve all messed up, man.” Charlie shot me a surprisingly understanding look. “The Walker girls are tough.”
“Yeah,” Liam said. “Sometimes, a little too tough. London can be mean as hell. I mean, we’re not together, but we’re with each other a lot. I don’t know how anyone will survive a romantic relationship with her. She eats my lunch daily and I’m not even her boyfriend.”
Charlie and I both laughed, and as new as this dynamic was between the three of us, I liked what we’d started today and I was definitely looking forward to getting to know them both better while we were here.