Chapter 1 #3
“I didn’t… I don’t…” Lottie stammered.
“Yes, you do, but go on,” Darlene argued.
Lottie sucked in a lungful of air and let it out so fast she snorted. “Okay, then, on the sixth day God made dirt and…”
Darlene butted in before she could say another word. “You should have listened better in Sunday school, girl. It was the second day that He separated the water from land, so officially, that was when He made dirt.”
“Do you want to hear this or not?” Lottie snapped.
“Don’t you talk to your mother in that tone. You might be a grown woman, but I can still make you stand in the corner,” Darlene told her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Lottie said in a softer tone. “To get back to what I was saying, Bernie’s place is only about fifteen miles out of the way.”
“And you found a boyfriend at Bernie’s? Did she rebuild her bar, and what have I told you about men you meet in bars?” Darlene asked.
“The bar burned, and she moved to Texas to be near her kinfolks. While I was visiting Bernie, she took me to a wedding, and I met this guy. She is kind of an aunt to the groom, and she introduced me to his twin brother, Knox. Imagine my surprise when I learned that he is working with me on this project. So, anyway, I just asked him to be my fake boyfriend a few minutes ago, and he agreed. So, I took your advice and am now in a relationship that’s not real, but no one knows but me, Knox, and now you. ”
“Charlotte Diane, you could go to hell for a stunt like that. That is right next door to a lie, and you know how God feels about liars.” Darlene gasped.
“Mama, it’s not a lie,” Lottie protested.
“I’m not going to tell your dad about this new thing you’ve done. He would put you in a convent. You don’t know a thing about this man. He could be a good-for-nothing bum.”
Lottie inhaled deeply and butted in before her mother could catch a breath and go on another rant. “Bernie says all three of the Callahans are good people. His brothers, Tripp and Brodie, are married and living in Spanish Fort.”
“I don’t need to know their histories since the day they were born,” Darlene said. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I will…” Lottie said.
“Whoa! Wait a minute!” Darlene said. “Callahan rings a bell. Your brother, Ryan, was all up in the air over near Austin a year or so ago about his company merging with another one called Callahan Oil Company—or maybe they were outright buying it. When it comes to business stuff, I listen with one ear. It can’t be those Callahan brothers that were selling out, could it?
Is this Knox fellow one of those guys? No, that’s not possible.
One of those rich guys wouldn’t be framing houses. ”
“I have no idea,” Lottie said, “but I have to go. Someone is knocking on my door. Uncle Jack may be bringing in more blueprints for me to go over before we show up for work tomorrow. See y’all soon.”
“Are you coming home for Easter? We’re having a potluck at the church, and the new preacher is single. I’ve been telling him all about you.” Darlene kept talking.
Lottie shivered as she took a step toward the door. She hadn’t planned on making the long drive from one end of Texas to the other, but if she had, she would’ve changed her mind. She definitely did not want her mother’s Sunday school class to try to play matchmaker between her and the new preacher.
“Mama, I have to go. Love you,” she said.
“Brother Wyatt might not be as tall as you, but he’s a sweet man,” Darlene said.
“I’m not coming home for the holiday. I really have to go.” She ended the call before her mother could get started again. She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling as she slung the door open.
“Sweet Jesus!” she gasped.
“I’m Knox Callahan, not Jesus, by any stretch of the word, but I can be sweet every now and then unless my fake girlfriend argues with me,” he said with a wide grin.
A soft breeze blew his blond hair to one side.
His beard had been trimmed, and he smelled like expensive cologne—something woodsy with a hint of leather.
“Are you going to invite me in, or are we fighting tonight? I’m new at this game, but I figured if we were really in a relationship, we wouldn’t be holed up in our separate trailers every night.
I brought leftover pizza from the party this evening and…
” He handed the box to her and pulled two root beers from the pockets of his cargo pants.
“And these. It always tastes better out of a bottle than a can.”
“Come on in,” she said. “I suppose we do need to figure out our story.”
“Yep,” he said. “That’s why I’m here, and why I got all cleaned up. Can’t have the guys think I’m not serious about dating the boss’s niece.”
She motioned across the space to the booth-type table. “Have a seat.”
He slid into the back and set the bottles on the table. Like the one in his trailer, the table could be lowered and cushions arranged to make a second bed. It would be nearly as hard as sleeping on the floor for softness, but it was an option.
She opened the box, put it in the middle of the table, and sat down across from him. She twisted the cap off the bottle and took a sip. “This has ice crystals in it.”
He opened the box and snagged one of the two pieces of black olive and mushroom. “I just took it out of the freezer in my fridge. I had a beer with the guys, but one or a shot is usually my limit.”
She picked up the remaining slice with black olives and mushrooms buried down in the cheese. “Uncle Jack knows this is my favorite, so he always gets at least one when we have our meet and greet. Now, to get on to our story. Let’s keep it as simple as possible. We met at a wedding, which we did.”
“It would be smart to keep it as close to the truth as possible,” Knox agreed with a nod.
“It wasn’t love at first sight, but there was an attraction, especially when they took a picture of us after you caught the bouquet, and the garter flew into my hands.
We were surprised to find that we would be working on the same project for Jack, right? ”
She got a jittery feeling every time she thought about the effect he’d had on her when he draped an arm around her shoulders for the photograph. Did Bernie have some kind of magical power that threw attraction dust over a couple?
“And we decided to see if the chemistry was true or just a case of wedding fever,” she said after a moment. “This is pretty new, so we’re still finding our way, but we could be headed down the serious trail.”
“Why?”
“Because if it was a casual fling, then the guys who are showing up next week wouldn’t blink twice about being jackasses,” she said. “So, does that about do it…darlin’?”
“Yes, sweetheart, it does.” He grinned. “Now we just have to spend a while in your trailer to seal the deal.”
A big, fluffy calico cat came out from under the bed at the far end of the trailer and jumped up in his lap. Knox finished off his slice of pizza except for one bite and offered it to him. The cat gobbled it down.
“Hey, feller, you don’t have to inhale it.” Knox chuckled. “There’s four more leftover pieces in the box.”
“She is not a ‘feller,’ and her name is Prissy,” Lottie said. “She loves pizza, but one bite is all she gets. Human food isn’t good for her.”