Renley
Saturday came by far too slowly and when he finally pulled into Eveline’s driveway, he couldn’t have been more excited.
As he stepped up to her door, he combed through his hair one last time and made sure his camel-coloured hat sat perfectly on his head.
Slowly, the door crept open— and hungry green eyes trailed over his neatly polished leather boots, dark jeans, silver belt buckle, and seemed to linger on every black button on his shirt.
“Hi there,” he greeted, voice thick with desire, and the night had hardly even started.
“You look handsome.”
“And here I was hoping I would be the first one to throw compliments. You look stunning.” And she did. Her short, floral sundress barely touched her knees, and her matching leather boots were nicely polished.
She blushed, giving him room to step into the doorway. “Thank you. Let me grab my bag.”
He waited patiently, gazing around the gorgeous space.
It was a well-blended mixture of old and new, the ranch seeming to have been recently renovated.
The open floor plan provided a clean view into the living room and through to the modest kitchen.
His boots clicked against the hardwood floors, the baseboards decorated with a deep, mahogany wood.
“You have a gorgeous house.”
“Thank you.”
Jealousy threatened to spike in his chest, but he tamped it down.
Eveline had worked hard for this, and he wasn’t about to be a brat because of it.
He stood in the doorway while she set down some cat food—for the cats that were currently hiding—then followed her to the garage.
As he was about to get into the car, he realised she wasn’t disassembling her wheelchair.
“Do you want me to put that in the trunk for you?”
“Very attentive of you, but I already have one in there.”
He took his seat, and the garage door hummed to life with the click of a button. “You have two?”
“Yeah, I spoiled myself a bit. It makes my days easier if I don’t have to put it together every time I get home.”
“Clever.”
“My bachelor’s has to be good for something,” she laughed, backing out of her driveway.
“Have you been to the rodeo yet this year?”
“I haven’t. My sister usually comes to visit with her kids, but they got sick opening weekend.”
“They don’t live here?”
Eveline shook her head. “An hour east of Austin. She’s always wanted to have a patch of land and have her own little farm.”
“But you visit them?”
“I’m heading there in a few weeks, actually. I try to see them regularly because the monsters grow too quickly. Do you have siblings?”
“Na, it was just me and my dad—and whatever girl of the week happened to be around.” Sensing that she was too shy to ask, he added, “Mom left before I could even remember her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There is no need.”
There was a pause, and Eveline’s face turned sombre. “My mom died a year before my accident. My sister’s been trying to convince Dad to sell the house and move closer to her ever since.”
“But he doesn’t want to leave the home that holds his memories.”
“Yeah. But he does visit them a lot and we celebrate all major holidays at Laira and Tod’s.”
“Do you want kids?” Shit , did he have to ask that on a first date?
“I do, is that a dealbreaker?”
“Not at all. Me too—with the right woman.” Eveline’s cheeks blushed and he quickly steered the conversation to safer waters. “How long did it take you to get used to the hand controls?”
She glanced down at the steering wheel. “Forever actually. I tried a few but it felt easiest with this setup.”
“Did you install it yourself?”
“I had someone do it, I wanted others to still be able to use the car. You never know after all. Does me driving bother you?”
“Why would it?”
“Because you seem rather… traditional.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to be independent. It makes me happy to see you conquering the world. I’m content being your passenger prince.”
The drive was smooth for the most part, save for a little traffic near the rodeo grounds. With Eveline’s permit they truly did get premium parking, only a short walk from one of the entrances. He was up and out before she could even try to remind him to grab her wheelchair.
“Thank you.”
“If you teach me how, I’ll even put it together for you.”
“Come here then,” she demanded. He happily crouched beside her, watching her assemble the chair. “It’s really easy, the most annoying part is getting it in and out.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about that when I’m around.”
She flashed him that breathtaking smile and transferred herself. “A true gentleman.”
As he walked by her side, he picked up a strand of her hair and twirled it. “What’s your favourite attraction when you come with your family?”
“We usually end up eating too much to enjoy anything, but of course there’s the mutton busting. Will you go on the Ferris wheel with me?”
“Anything you want.” Kitten.
At security, they were met with a rather annoyed glare from one of the guards that had Renley bristling.
The guy gave Eveline a once-over that Renley didn’t take kindly. “Can you walk through the metal detector?”
“I can’t.”
Clearly, that was the wrong answer. “I’ll have to pat you down.”
Eveline was about to agree, but she was clearly uncomfortable with that. Renley was happy to step up to her defence. “The fuck you will.”
“It’s my job.”
“Is it also your job to talk down to people? Fix your attitude and get a female guard for us.”
“It will be much faster if I do it.”
“Is that what I asked for?” He didn’t care how much extra work that was or if they were holding up the line. Eveline came first, and she clearly had been hesitant.
Huffing, the annoyed guard walked away to find someone else. A small hand found his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t ever apologise, kitten.” Shit , had he said that out loud? Judging by her hot pink cheeks, he had. “No one gets to make you feel like shit when I’m around.”
With another tender squeeze to his hand, a female security guard approached them. “Let me help you real quick, ma’am.” She turned to Renley. “Skip right ahead and go through the metal detector.” He did, returning to Eveline’s side just as the guard finished checking her bag. “Have a great day.”
“Thank you,” Eveline muttered before turning to him. “Where to first?”
“Food, if the rumble in my stomach has anything to say about it—then maybe we can just stroll around for a while.”
“I like you more with every word out of your mouth.”
He chuckled. “So food is your love language?”
“And attractive men standing up for me.”
He leaned down, cupping her cheek and pressing a gentle kiss to her hair. “I’ll always have your back.”
Eveline truly was a foodie, sampling one of everything they passed.
They walked the entire carnival before going inside and seeing the livestock and other vendors.
Every second that he had his hands free, he twirled her hair or had his hand on her neck.
When he felt the ground grow uneven or they were walking slightly uphill, he moved his hand to between her shoulder blades and pushed gently.
“Does that bother you?” he asked as they made their way up a small ramp.
“You helping me? Not at all, I like how you do it without making a huge fuss.”
“Has that happened before?”
“A few times.”
“If I ever do that, please tell me.”
“I will.”
As Eveline had asked, their final stop of the evening was the Ferris wheel. She hadn’t said as much, but Renley could see that she was getting tired. Though the Ferris wheel operators were kind, Eveline seemed uncomfortable as they were asked to wait aside for an accessible carriage to open up.
When they were lifted over the fairgrounds, he took her hand and demanded her attention.
“I have a hunch of what is going on in that pretty mind of yours and I hope my next words don’t hurt you.
” Eveline tried to bite her lip but he tugged it free.
“You are not an inconvenience, Eveline. The world around you is the problem, not the other way around.”
“It usually doesn’t bother me.” She could barely hold his gaze. “I guess I just don’t want you… I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t bother me.” He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I know it’s hard, but don’t worry about it, okay?”
“I’ll try my best.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
Lacing her fingers between his, she rested on his arm and let her eyes wander over the fairgrounds.
With one last food stop they left, his stomach feeling ready to explode.
Once she sat on the driver’s seat, she gave him the instructions to take her chair apart and even though he was much slower, she didn’t seem to mind.