Chapter 2
Chapter Two
F ifteen minutes later, Chevy strode into the ranch house to where his brothers and Ford’s girlfriend, Elizabeth, sat around the old farmhouse table, and dropped a cardboard holder with four coffees from the gas station secured inside. “Real funny.”
Murphy, his English cream golden retriever, sensing his irritation, got up from his bed by the fireplace and ran over to comfort him by rubbing against his legs. Chevy absently reached down to pat the dog’s head.
Dodge made a disgusted face at the cups. “Hey, this is from The Gas and Go .” He offered Chevy an accusatory stare but couldn’t hide the glint of amusement in his eyes. “What happened to my Purple Unicorn Volcano?”
“And my Dragon’s Breath Expresso?” Ford asked.
“Funny. I figured out your stupid trick,” Chevy told them. “Not cool. And I don’t think Leni appreciated it either. So, this gas station crap is all you assholes deserve. And I’m not saying I spit in one of those coffees, but I’m not not saying it either.”
“Who’s Leni?” Elizabeth asked, pulling her hand back from the cup she’d been reaching for.
“Oh good, you’re back,” Duke Lassiter said as he walked in and then paused to hang his cowboy hat on one of the hooks inside the front door. Ford’s golden retriever, Dixie, snuck past him before the screen shut and made a beeline for Elizabeth who reached out to scratch the dog’s ears. “Did you bring the coffee?”
Chevy turned and offered his grandfather a disgusted sigh. “Come on, Gramps. Not you too? How did these two jokers con you into playing such a dirty trick on me?”
With his thick white beard, handlebar mustache, and the mischievous grin he often wore, Duke looked like a cross between Sam Elliott and Santa Claus. But he wasn’t grinning now as he used his thumb and forefinger to smooth his moustache while he gazed around the table at his grandsons. “What dirty trick?”
Chevy narrowed his eyes as he studied him then shook his head. “You had to know what was going on. You ordered a caramel crap puccino.”
His grandfather frowned. “Isn’t that what it’s called? Those slushy coffee concoctions?”
“No, Duke, they’re called Frap puccinos,” Elizabeth explained with a laugh.
Duke shrugged. “Sounds the same to me.” He pulled one of the cups from the cardboard holder, took a sip, then grimaced before setting it back down and heading into the kitchen.
Murphy followed him in, just in case he was planning to offer him a treat or drop any food on the floor. Used to having the golden retrievers around him, Duke maneuvered around the dog as he picked up the carafe from the ancient Mr. Coffee that had sat on the counter for the last twenty years and carried it to the sink. “I’ll make us some real coffee while you all tell me about this dirty trick you played on your brother.”
“It wasn’t that dirty,” Ford said, ruffling his dog’s neck. She was splitting her attention between him and Elizabeth, pushing her head against Ford’s hand for pets while jostling her rump against Elizabeth for scratches. “The time we put the frogs in his bed—now that was dirty.”
Elizabeth made a disgusted face as Ford and Dodge cracked up.
“This was all in good fun,” Dodge said. “We knew Leni was back in town and filling in for her sister at the coffee shop, and we just thought it would be a good way for Chevy to…” He used his fingers to make air quotes. “… ‘ accidentally ’ run into her.”
“Wait,” Duke said, pausing in between dumping another scoop of ground coffee into the filter. “Leni is back? Leni Gibbs?”
Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh. “Would somebody please tell me who Leni Gibbs is?”
Ford pulled one of the cups from the carton, apparently not too concerned by his brother’s threat that he’d spit in one, because he took a long gulp, grimaced worse than his grandfather had, then chugged down half the cup. “Leni Gibbs was the love of Chevy’s life,” he explained as he wiped his mouth on the side of his sleeve.
“She was the one who got away,” Dodge added.
“She didn’t get away ,” Ford corrected. “Chevy pushed her away.”
Elizabeth’s brows drew together. “Why?”
“Because he’s a dumb ass,” Ford said.
She ignored his comment. “Because he didn’t really love her?”
“No,” Duke said. “Because he loved her so much that he let her go.” He brought a set of cups out, his thumbs threaded through their handles. They clinked as he set them on the table. “Leni was a real smart girl—still is, I presume—she had several colleges lined up, most of them offering her scholarships. Big ones.”
“Big schools or big scholarships?” Elizabeth asked.
“Both,” Chevy answered softly, his gaze focused on the coffee mug he’d picked up. Murphy had given up on getting a treat and come back to lay on the floor, his body sprawled across Chevy’s boots, ready to offer emotional support when needed. “She got a big offer from MIT, a place she’d dreamed of going since we were kids.”
“That sounds amazing,” Elizabeth said.
“It was,” Dodge told her. “But she and Chevy had finally gotten together—after being friends for years, but really in love with each other forever.”
“That sounds nice,” Elizabeth said, but the miserable look on Chevy’s face showed it was anything but.
“She wanted to give up MIT and stay in Woodland Hills,” Ford said. “For Chevy.”
Chevy set the cup down, but his gaze remained on it. “And I couldn’t have her give up everything she’d ever dreamed of. Not for someone like me.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Elizabeth said. “You’re a great guy.”
“Thanks. You’re sweet,” Chevy said. This is why everyone in the family had fallen in love with Elizabeth almost as much as Ford had. She had a way of looking on the bright side and always seemed to have a kind word for everyone. “But it doesn’t matter how great I was. I couldn’t let her give up everything—her chance at an awesome college, a bright future, an amazing career.So, I tried to break it off.”
“But she didn’t believe him. Or she wouldn’t accept it,” Dodge said. “Even though he tried to break up with her like four times. So, he finally had to ‘Old Yeller’ her.”
Elizabeth looked from one brother to the other. “Old Yeller her? I don’t get it. She had rabies so he had to take her out back and shoot her?”
Dixie let out a whine and snuggled closer to Ford.
Dodge laughed. “Oh, maybe I got that wrong. But you know, whatever that movie was where the kid tries to get the dog to leave, but the dog won’t go because he loves the kid so much, so he starts yelling at it, telling the dog he doesn’t care about it anymore, and that he never did. Then he picks up a rock and throws it at him to get him to leave.”
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Chevy. “You threw a rock at this girl?”
Chevy shook his head as he let out a huff. “No, of course not. But I did do all that other stuff. Told her I didn’t love her and that I never had.”
Elizabeth’s shoulders sank, and her tone softened. “Oh, Chevy.”
“Hardest thing I ever had to do. Broke both our hearts and any kind of relationship we would ever be able to have again.” He let out a weary sigh then buried his head in his hands. “But I had to. She wouldn’t have left otherwise.”
“That’s ancient history, brother. She told me she was here for at least a few weeks while she helps her sister with the new baby,” Dodge said. “So, what are you going to do to win her back?”
Chevy lifted his head and stared at Dodge. “Who says I want to win her back?”
They all just stared at him for a few seconds then Dodge, in a soft voice, finally said, “Bro.”
Chevy let out a hard breath. “Okay. Yeah, I’m gonna try to win her back.”
Elizabeth clapped her hands. “Yay. What can we do to help?”