Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Olivia
You could say I’ve been distracted since my talk with my mom two days ago. My shift at the café today has been unproductive because I’ve been busy creating a checklist on my phone of things I need to accomplish in order for me to quit my job in San Francisco and stay in Roots.
I know Callie can tell something is wrong, but she’s been a great friend and given me lots of space today to process my thoughts. I’m thankful for that because I don’t want to tell anyone I’m thinking about staying here until I know I can make it happen.
The bell over the door jingles cheerily, but the atmosphere in the café immediately feels somber, drawing me from my thoughts and my duty of drying mugs. The second I see her face, it makes sense. I should’ve known it was her.
Lauren Rhodes waltzes across the room, exuding sadness. It emanates off of her like a pungent perfume. Her eyes are glossy and the bags underneath them carry their own frown. She looks like someone who is beaten down and shattered.
I give her the kindest smile I can muster and can’t help the soft pity in my voice as I greet her.
To her credit, she smiles back. It almost seems genuine when she tells me she’s doing well, but what gives her away is the smallest wince, as if smiling is painful.
I set the dry mug on a shelf behind the counter and move toward the register, asking what I can get for her.
“Oh, just a blueberry muffin. I don’t drink coffee.”
“I’m not sure I can trust you if you don’t like coffee.”
“I enjoy the smell, but the taste is a bit too strong for me, if that helps at all.” She laughs shyly.
“How do you function without caffeine?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know life any other way.”
“Whoa, you must be superhuman.”
She blushes as she absentmindedly plays with the zipper on her purse while I punch a few buttons into the register. I give her the total and while she taps her credit card, I swivel toward the kitchen to grab a fresh muffin for her, instead of one of the ones under the counter. She looks like she could use a pick-me-up.
“Are you hiding back here?” I ask Callie as she hands me a plate.
“No, I’m not hiding. You’ve got this one handled, so I figured I’d finish cleaning up. I want to leave right at close today, so I have some time to do my hair before Ladies’ Night.”
“You’re doing your hair? Who are you trying to impress?” I tease.
She whacks me with the rag she’s holding in her hand. “No one! Now get back out there. A paying customer is waiting.”
I go to hand the muffin to Lauren, but something stops me halfway across the counter. She gives me a questioning look, probably wondering why I’m gatekeeping this muffin from a hungry girl. Even so, I pull the muffin back a bit, not ready to let this interaction with her be over yet.
“What are you up to today?”
Not taking her eyes off the muffin, she says, “I just have a few errands to run this afternoon. Austin has been visiting another ranch near Amarillo for a couple of days, so I need to get things ready before he gets back home tomorrow afternoon.”
“Will you still be running those errands at about eight o’clock tonight?”
“No, I’ll probably be curled up on the couch binge-watching Netflix by then.”
“A girl after my own heart. If it wouldn’t be ruining your plans, you should come to Ladies’ Night at the Long Neck with us instead. Callie, my mom, Carol Greer, her sister, and I are all going to go together. I think it’d be great if you came. I’d love to get to know you a little better.”
Plus, I get the sense she could use a little fun.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t had a drink in a long time .”
“That’s okay. You don’t have to drink at all if you don’t want to. Just come dance with us and have a good time.”
“Okay, yeah, I’ll think about it.”
“Great!” I instantly feel a wave of satisfaction wash over me, and I swear I can see the sadness start to slowly slip out of her like a ghost. “Here, give me your number so I can text you all the details after my shift.”
After she punches her number into my phone, she slips back out the door, but this time, she has a smile on her face as she crosses the threshold.
The second the bell above the door jangles, Callie comes out of the kitchen. “Are you ready for Ladies’ Night? Only one more hour till we can blow this popsicle stand!”
“Popsicle stand?”
“It’s an expression. I’m just excited.”
I laugh. “I’m excited too. I hope you don’t mind we are going to have some additional members.”
“Who?”
“I invited Carol and her sister, Aimee?—”
“Please don’t tell me this is your way of trying to set your mom up with friends for when you leave. You’re not leaving Roots. I won’t let you. You can keep working at the café. I’ll give you more hours if you’re worried about money. We will get it sorted out. You just can’t leave.”
My heart warms as I hear the desperation in her voice. “Aww, I love you too, Cal.” I wrap her up in a bear hug. I want to tell her my plan, but I can’t until everything is perfectly in place, so instead I test the waters a little. “We’ve been through this already. I can’t stay here, especially because I know every single one of you would do everything you could to help me make this work, and I’m not about to become someone’s burden.”
“You’re not a burden. We love you, and we want to take care of you. That’s what family does for one another. You’re like family to me.”
I bite down on my lip hard, trying not to feel the sappy emotions rising in my chest. She definitely passed the test.
“Whether I stay or not, it’d be good for my mom to have a friend. Our relationship got a little rocky when I felt like the center of her universe. It doesn’t feel that way now, but I want to make sure it never does again.”
“I admire that. The Greer sisters are fun. What’s Carol going to do with the dogs?”
“She said Rhett was going to hang out on the property for a few hours, but she’s not going to stay out very late.”
Callie shakes her head. “That woman is incredible. The sacrifices she makes for those little furballs…”
“Yeah, she amazes me. Not everyone is built for that, but she does an outstanding job of handling it all. I think a night off will be good for her.”
“We all need a night off once in a while.”
“Which brings me to my next point. I invited Lauren too. I think she could use a night off as well.”
“You invited Lauren? The Lauren that was just in here? Lauren Rhodes?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that? She seems nice, and I just thought she could use a night of fun. She carries this sadness around with her, and I know what that’s like, so I just thought—” Seeing the flames lit in Callie’s eyes, I stop. “Should I not have invited her? What did I do wrong?”
She presses her thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose. “It’s fine. Lauren seems nice enough. It’s just that… everything about the Rhodes family feels off. It’s a cute story and all that they’ve been passing down that ranch for generation after generation, but that’s so much pressure, and Lauren is just Little Miss Perfect, already engaged to her high school sweetheart and ready to take over the ranch for her brother who failed to fulfill the family legacy. I just don’t feel the need to get wrapped up in that dysfunctional world and whatever game she’s playing trying to be the perfect child.”
“That seems a little harsh. Do you even know Lauren?”
“We went to school together, and I knew Charlie.”
“That’s her brother who left?”
Callie winces and I immediately get the sense there’s something she’s not telling me, some history with the Rhodes family that she’s keeping hidden. Why does everyone in this town seem to be keeping secrets?
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“Maybe you have a good reason for not liking her, but she looked so sad when she walked in the door today, and I just thought she could use a friend. I was trying to be like you, making sure she didn’t feel alone.”
Callie instantly looks guilty. That wasn’t my intent.
“I guess I can give her a chance, but this is one hundred percent for you, not for her.”
“Really? I’m so excited. We’re all going to have a great time.”
“Famous last words,” she mumbles.