Chapter 13 #2
I grab my drink to avoid blurting out that she should shut up and just take our order. Before Jase says something hurtful about his dad or, worse, I tell her she’s wrong because what we did that weekend was far from precious.
“I’m gonna have the grilled shrimp with a side salad,” I say so we can get this over with as fast as humanly possible. I’ll inhale my food without chewing if it means we can leave sooner.
When she moves to Jase and steals his attention, I glance at Fisher. He smirks, then shifts in his chair and squeezes my leg underneath the table. My heart gallops at the goose bumps his touch leaves on my skin.
Just as swiftly as he leaned over, he settles back when the server directs her attention to him next. I take small sips of my Screwdriver as we wait for her to leave.
“How was your first week workin’ on the ranch?” Jase asks once she does.
“It was good. Every day is eventful.” Fisher grins at me.
“What’s that mean?” Jase asks in a harsh tone.
“There’s a lot to do,” I hurriedly answer before Fisher can. “Lots of people comin’ and goin’.”
“And the issue with Ranger,” Fisher adds.
“What happened?” Jase asks me instead of his dad.
“Found a couple nails in his hoof,” Fisher replies anyway.
“We actually found tons of nails scattered in the trainin’ center arena. Tripp and Landen had to use the sweeper and level it out with more dirt. We caught the person who most likely did it on camera.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Fisher says at the same time Jase asks, “Who?”
Jase narrows his eyes at his dad, but Fisher ignores his scowl and stares at me.
“We dunno. They were wearin’ a black hoodie and kept their head down the whole time they walked in and out.”
I only saw the footage last night, or I would’ve told Fisher sooner.
“Whoever it was knew where the cameras were,” Fisher says.
“Probably that Craig Sanders douche.”
Shit, he could be right.
“Maybe. But why, after all this time, would he harass me now?”
“Who’s Craig Sanders?” Fisher asks.
“A prick who needs his face rearranged. He’s a jealous asshole.”
“Language, Jase. We’re in a restaurant,” Fisher warns.
If I had a knife, I’d use it to cut the tension between them because they’re only one whose dick is bigger argument away from getting into a fistfight.
“He’s a rival trainer who’s mad Ellie picked me instead of him. She’s killin’ it in the barrel racing scene right now, which makes sense as to why he’d cover the arena in nails. He knew she’d be trainin’ with me.”
Fisher’s nostrils flare. “How much of a threat is this guy? Should you contact the authorities?”
“She just said they couldn’t get a face on the camera. What’re the cops gonna do?” Jase’s cocky tone has me kicking him underneath the table with a glare.
“Creatin’ a paper trail for trespassin’ will help if there’s another incident,” Fisher explains. His clipped voice edges on annoyance at Jase’s dumbass comment. Can’t say I blame him.
“We shoulda reported it,” I agree. “But my first gut reaction was to get it cleaned up right away and take care of Ranger. But since there’s footage, I can show them what we have.”
“I’ll text Sheriff Wagner and tell him to swing by the ranch tomorrow,” Jase says, pulling out his cell.
“I can call him myself,” I say, harsher than I intended to, but his demeanor is frustrating. He never gave a shit about the ranch when we were dating, and now he’s acting like he gives a damn.
With a shrug, he pockets his phone. “Alright, just thought I’d take somethin’ off your plate.”
He hasn’t a goddamn clue what’s on my plate.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. But we’ll get it sorted.” I give him a tight-lipped smile and nod toward Fisher so he gets the hint to make nice conversation with him.
“Did you get unpacked?” Jase asks him before grabbing his beer.
“About halfway. Still need to buy some furniture, but the necessities are put away.”
“Where did you buy a house?” I ask because I actually don’t know where he lives.
“Five minutes outside of town on 107.”
So about ten to fifteen minutes from the ranch.
“Nice, so not too far from Jase.” I smile. After Jase moved out of his mom’s house, he rented an apartment in town so he was closer to the office.
“I actually found a house I wanna buy.” Jase grins.
I raise a brow. “Really?”
Jase was never interested in settling down or making any big plans because all he cared about was himself and doing the bare minimum.
While we were dating, it wasn’t that big of a deal since I still lived in my parents’ house and wasn’t planning on leaving for college.
Now, it’s nice to see him taking his life and career more seriously.
“That’s why I was late. I was talkin’ with my banker. Plannin’ on makin’ an offer tomorrow.”
I reach over and squeeze his hand. “Jase, that’s amazin’! Congrats!”
That’s a big step for him, especially at his age. I’m genuinely proud of him and how far he’s come.
“Proud of you, son,” Fisher says, holding up his Budweiser and waiting for Jase to clink his back.
Jase gives him a curt nod and finally lifts his glass. “Thanks.”
Taking a sip of my drink, I’m relieved the uneasiness has dwindled.
“Do you have any pictures?” I ask.
Jase whips out his phone and scrolls to the listing. “Three bedrooms and bathrooms, large backyard, dining and living rooms. Newly remodeled kitchen.”
“That sounds like a dream!” I smile wide when he scrolls through the photos. “Looks beautiful.”
“That’s big,” Fisher says. “Alotta house for one person.”
“Well, sure now, but I don’t wanna be single forever.
Someday, there’ll be a wife and kids livin’ there, too.
” Jase gives me a look that makes my skin crawl.
I’m not sure if he’s gauging my reaction to him dating other women or to the idea of him settling down, but either way, he better get any thoughts of us getting back together out of his mind.
“I can’t wait to see it in person,” I say, keeping my voice level.
Before Fisher’s return, it wouldn’t even be a question that he’d show me.
As friends, we kept each other updated on everything.
It was fun and easy. Now it’s as if he’s trying to show off as if to imply how well he’s done without him.
“How about Sunday? I’m doing another walk-through,” Jase offers.
“Depends. I’ll be workin’ in the afternoon before family supper.”
“I can come,” Fisher says. “Before then, anyway.”
Jase snaps his head toward his dad.
Oh shit.
“Wait, you’re goin’ to the Hollises on Sunday?”
“Dena invited me.”
I keep my eyes on my drink, swirling my straw around as if it’s the most interesting thing in this room.
“You’re lucky. Dena’s a great cook,” Jase’s bitter tone spits out. “Make sure to bail after dessert, or you’ll get stuck scrapbookin’ with them.”
“Hey.” I bump my foot into his shin.
He laughs, but it actually hurts my feelings. He knows how special Sunday nights are to me.
Though I shouldn’t be surprised. He complained each time I stayed late, and he’d eventually leave without me.
“What’s that?” Fisher asks with a sweetness in his voice.
“It’s a tradition to add a page to our scrapbook each week. But we usually end up chattin’ too long and doing three or four pages before we call it a night. It’s old-school, but my momma loves it. Gramma Grace tells stories, and the rest of us write them down next to the photos.”
“Snooze city,” Jase murmurs.
“Maybe to you,” I snap.
Fisher clears his throat, grabbing Jase’s attention, and gives him a murderous look.
It’s not like he can tell him I didn’t raise you to be a little asshole because Jase would just throw it in his face that he didn’t raise him at all.
But he doesn’t need to say anything. One piercing look and Jase keeps his mouth shut.
The server approaches with a wide, toothy smile, oblivious to how I’m ready to pull out my hair, and delivers my salad.
“Can I get drink refills for anyone?”
“Just water for me,” Fisher says.
“I’ll take another Guinness. How about you?” Jase asks me.
“I’ll take a water.” And before she walks away, I quickly add, “Can I also get a shot of your strongest tequila?”
“Of course! Be right back with those.”
I feel Fisher’s heated stare, so I avoid looking at him and dig into my food instead.
“You still goin’ to the Twisted Bull tonight?” Jase asks.
“I am,” Fisher says before I can respond.
“Yeah, meetin’ Magnolia and my brothers there.”
“You’ll have to record my old man fallin’ on his ass when he tries to ride the bull.” Jase snickers. If he’s not careful, his little digs will piss off Fisher more than he already looks. Jase asked me to come as a buffer, not to help troll him.
“Why don’t ya come and show me what you can do?” Fisher asks. “It’s not as easy as it looks.”
“Not a chance. People respect me as a real estate agent ’round here. They don’t wanna see the person sellin’ them a house actin’ like a drunk fool on a mechanical bull.”
“No one said you had to be drunk.” I shrug.
“Trust me, I’d need to be to do somethin’ that stupid.”
“I did it,” I remind him.
“Yeah, and you were plastered off your ass. Not your proudest moment, Noah.”
I blink, taken aback by how he’s treating me when I’m here as a favor in the first place.
Fisher’s shoulder lifts slightly. “She showed me the video, and I thought she did great.”
No. No, no, no. Why would Fisher tell him that?
Bracing myself, I wait for Jase to freak out, but he just scoffs.
“My brothers think he can’t do it, so I showed him if I could do it drunk, he most definitely could,” I explain.
“Except you face-planted.”
“But I lasted the full eight seconds, didn’t I?” I say smugly, and Fisher chokes on his beer.
Oh God. Eight seconds.
I resist the urge to laugh at him for choking once again at my words.
“You okay?” I ask, trying to hide my blush with my glass as I take the final sip.
He pats his chest, clearing his throat. “Just went down wrong.”
Mm-hmm.
Finally, the server returns with our beverages, and I immediately shoot down the tequila. I’m tempted to tell her to bring me another, but that’d be irresponsible, so I stick with my water.
“I’ll be right back with your food.”
Thank God.
After the server delivers our food, we thank her, and dive in. I’m about to scarf down my shrimp like I’m aiming for the Guinness World Record and then get the hell out of here. If we weren’t in a fancy restaurant, I’d chuck a piece at Jase and pray it gets caught in his throat so he’d shut up.
Just as I form my plan, someone says my name and steals my attention to the man standing next to me.
And just like that, this horrible dinner manages to get worse.