21. Josh
TWENTY-ONE
JOSH
W e walked back to the house and Zoe looked as if she was levitating, she was so excited.
She was talking so fast, I couldn’t keep track of what she was saying but her enthusiasm was contagious.
I was damn proud of her. Realistically, I knew that she wasn’t fully over her fear of horses—phobias didn’t work that way—but she was a whole lot closer than she’d been when she’d first arrived.
“I’m going to upload the photos to my laptop and get started,” she said heading for the kitchen.
I followed her, an idea forming. “Sounds great, but plan on taking a break around dinnertime.”
She was already pulling the memory card from her camera and sliding it into the laptop. “I’m too excited to eat, Josh. I’ll just grab a sandwich later.”
“I thought we might go to town to celebrate.”
“What are we celebrating?” Shannon said as she walked into the kitchen .
“I took some fantastic photos of Indigo, which means I’ve taken the last of the ones I need for the website,” Zoe told her.
“That’s fantastic! Can I see them?” Shannon asked shifting to look over Zoe’s shoulder.
“And?” I said.
“And what?” Shannon looked between the two of us.
“And I got up close and personal with Indigo and only slightly freaked out,” she said. Shannon whooped in response.
“That’s fantastic. Of course we need to celebrate.
” Shannon turned to look at me. What are you thinking?
Magiano’s is spoiled for me now that I’ve had Zoe’s pizza.
What about the chicken and ribs place near Beaumont?
It’s not that far and I’ve been dying to try their barbeque.
Oh, and maybe we could see who else is available and turn it into a party. ”
Admittedly, my idea of a celebration hadn’t involved anyone other than me and Zoe, but Shannon was on a roll and it would be good to get out.
Every time I’ve driven past Charlie’s Pride, the smells coming from their smokehouse made my mouth water and the one time I’d managed to eat there, I’d vowed to come back.
“I don’t know, Shan,” Zoe said. “I was really hoping to work on these photos.”
“Come on, Josh is right. This is definitely cause for celebration. Two celebrations. Please?” Shannon held her hands together and whatever look she gave her friend, Zoe relented and agreed.
“Okay, that does sound good. Give me a couple of hours to work on this and we can head out. Sound good?”
We all agreed, and Zoe settled at the kitchen table, tuning us out while she got to work. I grabbed a soda and headed to my office. Shannon caught up to me before I got there.
“Josh?” I turned to see her biting her lip as if she was wrestling with something. I twisted the cap off the bottle and took a sip waiting for her to talk. She frowned at me. “Okay, fine. You’re not going to make this easy.” She paused again and I took another sip.
She growled and it was all I could do to keep a blank face. She crossed her arms and looked down toward my feet. “It occurs to me that you might have had other plans for a celebration with Zoe.”
“I did.”
“Plans that didn’t involve me.”
I wanted to grin, but instead huffed out a sigh. “I did.”
“I’m sorry that I jumped in when you were trying to make plans.
If you’d rather I didn’t go, I can make up an excuse that’ll keep me here,” she said.
But when she looked up at me, I realized that she really did feel bad.
And they were best friends. Of course she wanted to celebrate with Zoe.
I decided not to torment her by dragging it out.
“Well, I had been considering Magiano’s but you’re right. Charlie’s Pride is a better option, and that place is no fun unless you come with a crowd. Good choice, Sis.”
I left my sister standing in the hallway with her mouth hanging open before I heard her mumble, “Who are you and where is Josh?”
I chuckled as she stomped away. Agreeing to go to a noisy restaurant outside of town was out of character for me but given everything that Zoe had managed to accomplish today, it was only fair that I step out of my comfort zone, too.
The pungent, flavorful scent of smoked pork and tri-tip hit us before we exited the highway and I drew in a deep breath.
“Oh wow, how can anyone work around here smelling that all the time? My stomach would constantly be grumbling,” Zoe said as I took the off ramp and headed for the giant sign with a pig wearing a chef’s apron.
“Right? I can’t believe they’ve been open for more than a year now and I haven’t made the time to stop,” Shannon said. “The smell makes my mouth water every time I drive past.”
I turned into the parking lot and was surprised to see two SUVs belonging to the Poplar Springs sheriff’s department. Our town sheriff was leaning against his car talking to one of his deputies. “Huh, I wonder if something happened?” I gestured to the vehicles.
“Oh, um, well, you know how you said that this place is more fun with a crowd?” Shannon started.
“Yes?” I said.
“Shan, what did you do?” Zoe said at the same time.
We both turned to look at her and she grinned. “I might have sent out a group text to see if anyone wanted to join us. Nothing big. It was so last minute, I didn’t know if anyone would actually come.”
I rolled my eyes and Zoe made some sort of strangled noise before glaring at her friend. Shannon shrugged and grinned.
I parked next to Brian and got out to shake his hand. A few years younger than me, Brian Thorne had recently taken over as the town’s sheriff. Next to him was Sofia, his most senior deputy, and her brother Rafael, one of the teachers at Poplar Springs High.
“Wasn’t expecting to see you here. How are you? ”
“Good. Amy mentioned the invite, and we were planning on meeting up for dinner anyway and thought this would be fun. You don’t mind, do you?
” Brian said as Zoe and Shannon joined us.
“Hi, I’m Brian Thorne. Not sure if you remember me, but you were a few years ahead of me in school. ” Introductions were made all around.
“This is great—the more the merrier,” Zoe said and she almost looked like she meant it. “Is Amy here? She’s your sister-in-law, right?”
“She is—and yes, she’s here. She brought her son, too. Henry wanted his picture taken in front of the giant pig.” Brian looked toward where he was pointing. “There they are.”
Amy joined us and introduced Henry to Zoe. I crouched down to say hi to him. As we were talking, a large van pulled up and a bunch of people got out and began unloading musical instruments.
“I didn’t realize they had live music here,” Rafael said. “I’d have come here much sooner. Anything has to be better than the Squeaky Wheel.”
“Hey, I happen to like that place,” Shannon shot back.
“Only because you were underage when you first started drinking there,” Zoe chimed in.
“What?” both Brian and I said at the same time.
Shannon immediately put her hands up in the air.
“Oh no, we are not going there. Not tonight. Besides, it was a long time ago and I’m sure it hasn’t happened with anyone else since.
” With a huff, Shannon grabbed Zoe and Amy’s hands and tugged them toward the entrance.
“Let’s go find a table before Brian finds someone to arrest and Josh decides to help him. ”
I shook my head as we walked in and found a large table.
As soon as we sat down, a server whose nametag read “Tina” appeared and dumped what looked like a half a package of napkins on our table before asking if we’d been here before.
I was the only one to say yes. She took our drink order.
Since Brian and Sofia were still in uniform, they opted for a soda and a sweet tea, Henry had recently learned about a Roy Rogers, while the rest of us ordered beer from a local brewery.
We looked at the menu posted on the wall while the band got set up. Located in what looked like a remodeled barn, the place was huge and it was filling fast.
“So what’s everyone thinking sounds good?
” I asked. It all sounded delicious, which was another reason why it was always important that I eat three meals per day.
Even just running a little later than usual for dinner meant that I was hungry enough to eat half a cow.
Before we could make any decisions, Tina was back dropping off the drinks and she also set a bunch of small bowls on the table, each one labeled.
“Thought y’all might like a taste of some of our specials tonight to help with the dinner choices,” Tina said as another server dropped of a basket with fresh baked bread and what smelled like honey butter. “Before I go, anyone interested in some appetizers?”
We settled on an order of fried pickles, smoked potato skins, and stuffed jalapenos, and then started tasting the different options tonight.
“Oh my God, everything tastes so good,” Zoe said. She turned to me. “Have you tasted the brisket?” Before I could reply, she’d forked up a piece and held it to my lips.
My thoughts instantly went dirty and I watched her eyes get big as I slowly opened my mouth and tasted her offering.
“If there was ever a food that could be considered better than sex, then barbeque is it,” Rafael said making everyone chuckle .
“Speak for yourself, bro. I’d much rather have sex,” Sofia said, which had both Rafael and Brian frowning.
“TMI, deputy,” Brian said as he snatched another piece of the tri-tip.
“What? He started it. And it’s not like I’m a virgin,” she said and both men groaned.
“Really, Sis?” Sofia leaned across the table, forked the piece of shredded chicken Rafael had been reaching for, and popped it in her mouth with a grin.
We thought we’d settled on everything we wanted to order until Tina informed us that we had options for half and halfs, which started another round of discussions. By the time we placed our order, we’d managed to order one of each of the different meat options.
Once the appetizers were dropped off and another round of drinks placed on order to arrive with our meal, Shannon tapped the side of her glass with her fork and everyone quieted down.
“I want to make a toast to the bestest friend I’ve ever had,” Shannon started. “She managed to work through her fear of horses today in order to take some amazing photos that you all will be able to see on our website soon.”
I raised my glass with everyone else and said, “To overcoming obstacles and to new beginnings.”
As we clinked glasses all around, Zoe leaned against my shoulder and looked up at me. “Thank you,” she mouthed, and I nodded in response, opting not to say anything more. She looked overwhelmed and I didn’t want to make it worse.
As our food was served, the band struck up the first tune—a ballad of lost, then found, then lost again love.
I watched as Zoe dug into her food and made small talk with everyone at the table.
We were at the “found” stage of our relationship and I tried to squash down my thoughts about what would happen when she left to go to school.
Once she got her degree, I was sure she’d get a job with some corporate giant.
And then, much like my youngest sister Fiona, she would be off to work in some big city having forgotten everyone in Poplar Springs. Having forgotten me.