Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Lilly
The first thing I notice is when I wake up on the couch is, I’m alone, when I know I fell asleep snuggled into Cass’s side.
I frown, knowing he wouldn’t have left me out here to go to bed.
Sitting up, I wipe my eyes, looking around the living room.
There’s no one around, just me and the low noise coming from the television.
Focusing intently to see if I can hear any sound, voices, or anything else, but I don’t hear anything.
Pushing up off of the couch, I stand up and walk upstairs.
The door to Cass’s mancave is shut but the light shines from beneath the door.
That must be where he is. I approach the door and as I’m about to turn the knob, Cass’s raised voice makes me jump.
He’s speaking loudly. Not yelling, but not a normal tone either.
He’s using that voice that he uses when he’s serious about getting his point across.
That means something’s going on with the club.
I listen closely to see if I can hear what they’re saying but for fear of getting caught eavesdropping, I opt to head downstairs and crawl in bed. I’m not in the mood for an adrenaline rush tonight, no matter how exciting it can be to get under Cass’s skin sometimes.
I curl up beneath our comforter and close my eyes. It doesn’t take long for sleep to take me. At some point in the middle of the night, I wake up to Cass crawling in bed beside me. He snuggles into me and wraps his arm around my waist. I nestle into him and am out again in the comfort of his arms.
The morning sun beams right into my face, and I decide as soon as my brain is awake that today, I’m going to purchase floor to ceiling curtains for this godforsaken room.
I love it, but the lack of an entire wall makes for early wake-ups with the fucking chickens.
Cass is still in bed, surprisingly. He’s snoring softly on the other side of the bed.
I get up and head to the bathroom, turning on the shower to let it heat up while I brush my teeth.
Stepping beneath the hot stream of water, I sigh in relief as it washes away the grime of yesterday.
My mind wanders to what happened last night, and what could be going on with the club, but I know getting Cass to tell me will be like pulling teeth.
He only tells me what I need to know and sometimes not even then.
I scrub my hair with a roughness that comes off as irritation.
I don’t know why I feel the need to know.
Maybe because everything affects me in someway.
Maybe because he’s made it this huge taboo secret that now I feel like I will die if I do not learn this new information.
I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my hair first, then my body, shivering in the chilly air of the bathroom.
Drying off quickly, I walk to my closet quietly so as not to disturb my sleeping fiancé.
I slip into a pair of black sweatpants and pull on a long-sleeve Hounds support shirt from the Oklahoma charter.
They don’t make long-sleeve gear for us, considering the only winter we generally get lasts a total of twenty days, and not consecutively.
There’s something serene about the day after Christmas.
The days after Christmas, really. That time in between Christmas and New Years that gets lost in the void.
Most people are off work, stores are sporadically open or closed, you forget what day it is.
But I’ve got a feeling this week will be nothing like that in my world.
Cass is still snoring as I tiptoe through our bedroom and into the living room.
The house is quiet. Clayton is asleep on the couch, snoring just as loudly as Cass.
I presume that Aaron is no longer here, or if he is, he’s asleep in one of the spare rooms upstairs.
I walk to the kitchen and open the refrigerator doors, staring at the contents inside.
Feeling uninspired by eggs and bacon today, I walk into the pantry.
I spot the Bisquick on the shelf and decide on biscuits and gravy.
I make the easiest 411 biscuits and white sausage gravy from scratch.
The house smells divine and it doesn’t take long before the scent of delicious breakfast has drug the sleepy scavengers out of their beds and into the kitchen.
Cass is the first one out, followed shortly by Clayton and then Aaron.
“Good morning, my love,” I greet Cass, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.
His arms snake around my waist, pulling me close into him. He rests his head face down in my shoulder. I run my hand over the back of his head a few times in a comforting manner.
“I made breakfast,” I beam.
He lifts his head slowly, looking around with sleepy eyes. “Is that biscuits and gravy?”
I nod, smiling a cheesy grin.
He grabs a spoon and scoops some gravy with a piece of sausage from the pan and into his mouth. The instant moan of approval has me patting myself on the back.
Clayton and Aaron waste no time fixing their own plates and sitting at the table to scarf them down. Neither say anything, and the tension in this room is so thick I fear I may choke. I’ve somehow lost my appetite and only manage to eat half of my biscuit.
Cass doesn’t seem bothered by any of it and has no problem devouring his entire plate and going back for seconds. While he’s eating his second plate, he opens his cellphone and the other phones at the table chime. Group text.
He looks over at me from the table to where I stand at the island. “I won’t be home this afternoon. We’re having church.”
“Okay,” I say, not questioning him in front of the other two.
There isn’t much for me to do around here today, so I decide that I’ll head to Creeks to do inventory and get back in the habit of being there.
We live a little further away now than I used to, so it’s a little bit of a drive, but I don’t mind.
I like the time I’ll have to think and disassociate behind the wheel.
After we’re finished with breakfast, I clean the kitchen and find Cass in our bedroom, fresh out of the shower.
“I’m going to head to Creeks and do some work there,” I tell him, leaning up to kiss his freshly shaved cheek.
“I think that’s a great idea, baby. It’ll give you something to keep you busy. I’ll come find you when we’re done at church. I love you,” he says, kissing me gently on the lips. His lips are so soft, meshing perfectly with mine. I lose myself in him, his kiss dizzying.
“I love you, too,” I say softly.
“Drive safe, baby.”
I nod. “You too, love.”
I grab my purse from the kitchen and head to the bar.
I have the radio in Betty cranked up and I jam out the entire ride there.
I didn’t check the schedule, so I don’t know who’s working today.
When I park in front of the bar, I smile.
Mindy’s car is parked front and center. I should’ve known she’d be here.
There are only two other cars in the parking lot, but it’s still early in the day. It’s only noon. Mindy is behind the bar when I walk in, and her surprised smile makes my heart swell.
“What are you doing here?” she squeals, walking out from behind the bar to hug me.
“I figured I’d get some work done and work on reclaiming my role as manager before you bail on us.”
“It won’t be for too long, you know I can never stay away from this ol’ place,” she elbows me, walking back behind the bar.
There’s one old guy in here playing pool on the other side of the bar near the stage.
He doesn’t get around too well, and the white hair gives away that he’s been around the sun a few times.
His glasses sit high on his nose, and he’s squinted with his mouth half-open as he takes his time to sink one ball at a time.
I stare from across the bar and watch him in awe.
It takes him a bit longer than most, but he’s deadly accurate.
“That’s Mr. Mike. He just moved here after he lost his wife a few months ago. You haven’t met him yet, have you?” Mindy asks, putting away the clean shot glasses from the dish drainer beside the sink.
“No, I haven’t. He’s good at pool, though,” I note, still watching him shoot.
Mindy laughs and sets her hands on the bar in front of me. “Yeah, he’s great. He’s one of my favorites. He doesn’t fuss or complain, he’s simple and easy to please, and he just comes out to socialize a little during the day before going home to his two labs that wait for him by the door.”
“He sounds like a gem,” I say genuinely.
Mindy nods. “Absolutely.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask, looking down at her stomach. She isn’t showing much yet. She kind of looks like she had a carb-heavy meal but that’s about it. Just a little swelling in her lower stomach.
“Honestly? Amazing. I’m so full of joy and happiness and I’m so excited about this baby. I feel like it’s almost too good to be true. Like I’m finally getting what I’ve waited my whole life for, even if I didn’t know this was exactly what I needed.”
“You’re going to rock this mom thing.”
A wide grin spreads across her face as she nods enthusiastically. “I totally am. I’ve been mothering you for long enough I think I’ve got all the practice I need.”
“Hey!”
“Okay, okay. You weren’t that bad, but close enough.”
I roll my eyes and walk behind the bar to fix myself a Dr. Pepper. The soda is so refreshing I have to take a breath after gulping down nearly half the glass.
My phone rings loudly from my back pocket, making me and Mindy both almost jump out of our skin. Cass’s name lights up on the screen. I slide the bar to answer the phone.
“Hi, handsome,” I greet, smiling.
“Hi there.”
“How’s your day?” I ask.
“Well, how do you feel about going on another adventure?” he asks, as if he even needs to. I’m always down for an adventure.
“You already know I live for the adventure, baby.”