Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Olivia
Veering off the highway, I’m welcomed by a swarm of red and yellow wildflowers and field after field of tall grass. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how green the area surrounding Roots is as I’ve driven in. I always pictured Texas to be desert-like, with cacti and tumbleweeds, but instead, it’s luscious green fields and lots of leafy trees.
I turn right, following my GPS, and find a large white sign with italic font reading, “Welcome to Roots, Texas, where everyone wants to put down roots.” Cheesy. More dainty wildflowers make their home at the base of the sign. They truly are beautiful.
I still can’t believe my parents have been so supportive of me taking time off from work. They’ve always been so proud of me for doing so well in school and for getting a job at the Big Four. They bragged to all their friends about how smart their daughter is and how hard I work. My dad has walked a little straighter over the last two years knowing his daughter is going to fulfill the career aspirations he never could, but now that I’m so close to promotion, so close to the dream my dad and I have shared since I was a freshman in college, they decide some time off would do me some good. I don’t know what to make of that.
My GPS tells me to take a left at the light, but the little gas station on the corner is calling my name. I’m not ready to get to the cabin and start my life for the next three months. Three months! It’ll probably feel like three years out here.
I step out of the car and tap my card on the pump. The gas begins glugging slowly, and it promptly stops after only a minute. To be fair, I did just fill up half an hour ago.
I purse my lips. So much for stalling. A flashing sign in the window of the gas station shop catches my eye, and I suddenly have a strong urge to use the restroom. There’s no way I’ll make it to the cabin without going now. I whip out my phone to check how long the drive is. Four minutes. Yeah, I definitely can’t wait that long.
I step through the door with my nose still in my phone and bump into a human brick wall. Disoriented, I slip my phone into my back pocket and look up to find a towering man in Wrangler jeans, a backwards hat, and cowboy boots standing in front of me. My cheeks flood with heat as I take him in. He looks to be about my age, with shaggy, chestnut brown hair curling out the sides of his hat. Stubble covers his jaw, and as I meet his striking emerald green eyes, I swear he can see into my soul.
“You’re Jack and Mandi’s daughter, aren’t you?”
I smile sheepishly. I did not expect the whole Texas cowboy look to work for me, but apparently, it is. Even with the questionable stains on his jeans and a smattering of dirt crusted on his cheek, I still feel a pull to this man.
Pinching myself with the hopes of urging my mind back to working capacity, I stammer, “Yeah, I—I am.”
“Welcome to Roots. It’s so good you were finally able to come visit. Your parents have created quite the life for themselves here. Everyone loves them, and they seem to be really happy.”
My insides warm the slightest at that knowledge. My parents had talked about getting out of the rat race while I was in high school, but they didn’t leave California until after I graduated college because of me. We don’t want to pull Olivia from school now. We can’t leave Olivia in the state alone when her anxiety is this bad. Now, they have the slower lifestyle they wanted, and apparently, they’re thriving. It’s nice to hear. I just wish I wasn’t threatening to get in the way of that again, but I guess I was stuck between a rock and a hard place because I could either come here or let them uproot their lives to come to me.
“I’m glad to hear they’re happy. It sounds like you already know, but I’m Olivia.” I offer my hand to him.
He wraps my palm in his, and his warm touch releases a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. When I gently pull away, I look to him to see if he felt it too. There’s no reading his stoic face.
“I’m Rhett Lawson, the one that’s renting out my cabin to you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” His charming smile is back.
“Cool. Yeah. You too.” Oh my god! I’m so lame. Then it hits me. “Wait, you’re my parents’ friend that I’m renting the cabin from?”
“Yeah.” He shrugs as if I should’ve expected my parents’ friend to be this masterpiece of a human instead of some middle-aged man my dad plays poker with. He continues, clearly not as in shock by our situation as I am right now. “I know I said I would leave the key under the mat, but since everything lined up for us, I can lead you to the house and let you in myself.”
“Oh, that really won’t be necessary.”
“I insist I help you settle in. It’s not out of my way, and your parents would kill me if I willingly let you take care of everything yourself.” His laughter that follows is soothing, and it silences all the noise around us.
“You’re right. They probably would. Well, let me run to the restroom real quick, and then we can go.”
“Not a problem, I promised your dad I’d bring him some scotch for dinner tonight.”
“Dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, your parents invited both of us over for dinner.” He flashes his pearly whites at me, and I swear they sparkle like we’re in a cartoon.
Everything about this interaction has been overwhelming. I don’t feel in control of anything that’s happening in my life. Leaving work wasn’t my choice, and I only came to Roots to keep my parents from abandoning their lives. Now, I’m getting caught off guard by some handsome cowboy who is apparently super close with my parents. Plus, on my first night here, I’m expected to be at dinner with my parents and this man who makes me so nervous that I can feel my own tongue in my mouth.
I turn to the clerk at the counter. “Where are your bathrooms?”
He thrusts his thumb in the direction behind him, hardly looking up from what appears to be a game of Sudoku. I suppose it’s refreshing to be ignored for a piece of paper instead of a screen for once.
I head for the ladies’ room, and as soon as the door is closed, I let out a deep breath.
Roots was never part of my plan, but about a week after the dust settled from spring busy season, I set my ego aside long enough to realize this break could be good for me. Not only am I completely alone in San Francisco, but I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I’ve been working so hard that I haven’t had a moment to breathe and actually take care of myself. My panic attacks are completely out of control. I don’t know what makes me happy anymore. I don’t have hobbies. I haven’t spoken to Anna in months, and I apparently don’t know what’s going on in my parents’ lives either. As much as this break terrifies me, I think it can be what I need to reset and launch back into my career stronger than before, a moment of weakness for a lifetime of strength. I will make sure that I can turn this around and still make my parents proud.
Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I realize how much of a mess I must’ve looked like to Rhett. This is the first time he’s meeting me, and there’s a crease in my otherwise stick-straight brown hair that makes it more than clear I spent the last couple of nights sleeping in my car. My face has an oily sheen, and there are dark circles under my eyes that haven’t left, even after busy season ended.
I pat a paper towel on my shiny face and rustle around in my purse to find cover up, quickly using it to hide the circles beneath my eyes. I pull a tin of lip balm from my purse to add a shiny coat to my dry lips and quickly run my fingers through my hair. Better.
As I make my way back down the hallway, Rhett’s gaze falls on me, and I have to try incredibly hard not to let his attention turn me beet red. I’m pretty sure that only makes me blush more.
“What’re you up to tonight?” the clerk asks Rhett as he approaches the counter. He pronounces the word ‘to’ more like ‘ter.’
“I have dinner tonight with the Parkers. Naturally, I had to pick up a bottle of Jack’s favorite scotch beforehand.”
Rhett crouches down to grab a bottle of way-too-expensive-looking-to-be-sold-at-a-gas-station scotch, and I take a moment to enjoy the view. His Wrangler jeans hug his butt in just the right way, and I’m suddenly understanding what everyone’s obsession is with Yellowstone and all things cowboys.
Rhett pays the clerk at the counter and brings his attention back to me. “Are you ready?”
“Just give me one more minute. You can go ahead. I’ll meet you.”
The second the door closes behind him, I pounce on the poor clerk. “What do you know about Rhett?”
“Everyone loves Rhett. He’s always helping people out around town. He moved here a few years ago, maybe a year or two before your parents, and now he works as a cowboy over at Copper Hill.”
“What’s Copper Hill?”
“It’s only the biggest ranch in the entire county. We’re talking a couple thousand acres. It’s no Four Sixes, but it’s pretty sizeable for around here.”
“Four Sixes?”
“The biggest ranch in Texas. You seriously don’t know about the Four Sixes?”
“I’m from San Francisco,” I deadpan.
“Well, anyway, he’s a really nice guy. I’m sure you’ll figure that out soon considering he’s practically a son to your parents. You’ll probably be spending a lot of time with him.”
“Practically a son to them?”
“Oh yeah! I heard Rhett and your dad like to watch football and baseball games together, and he’s helped them with their animals. Your dad has that Texas blood in him, but your mom was no country girl when she got here.” He laughs fondly.
What the hell? I can’t believe I haven’t heard about any of this. I don’t even know who my parents are anymore. I would’ve expected them to tell me about someone so close to them.
This nagging little voice in my head chimes in. Why would they tell you? When was the last time you asked your parents anything about their lives? Touché.
“Are you coming?” Rhett calls from where he’s leaning against his truck.
Ignoring the churning feeling in my gut, I nod and push through the doors of the gas station shop.