Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Lauren
I think every man in the bar has asked me to dance tonight, and I’ve said yes because I can. Callie has been incredibly supportive, dancing with the guy’s friend or happily standing off to the side, giving me a cheesy two-thumbs-up whenever I glance over at her.
Jax has not been so supportive. He’s been watching me closely, his brows pinched and arms crossed.
“Maybe we misjudged Jax earlier,” I say to Callie as we walk back toward the bar to close out our tab after last call.
“He’s been glaring at me all night like a protective older brother.
He probably saw what I was wearing and had an internal crisis, thinking he was going to have to watch me all night.
He’s already punched a guy for me once.”
“A protective older brother wouldn’t look at you like he was. Trust me.”
Jax sees us coming and grabs my card, printing the receipt. When we meet him at the bar, he slides them over to me, gritting out, “Did you ladies have a nice time?”
“The best. I like single Lauren. She’s fun.” Callie beams.
“Where’s Olivia tonight?”
I sign the bottom of the receipt, sliding it back to Jax. “She’s out of town with Rhett.”
“Who’s going to keep you two out of trouble?”
“Nobody.” Callie bites back a devilish smile. “You ready to go, Lo?”
I glance between Callie and Jax, who still looks angry. I give him my best innocent shrug and follow behind her, but Jax grabs hold of me.
“How long is Rhett gone? Does that mean you’re short a cowboy?”
“Yeah, but it’s only for a couple days.”
“I’ll come over tomorrow to help out.”
“You don’t need to do that. You’ve helped a lot lately.”
“I want to. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I’m fighting between being thankful to have someone there for me and upset he’s going out of his way to help me when Jax swivels on his foot and calls over his shoulder, “And for the love of god, please stay out of trouble.”
I laugh. “I’m a perfect angel! Are you kidding me?”
“But you’re hanging out with the devil tonight.” He shifts his gaze to Callie.
“I heard that!” Callie scrunches her nose at him.
“I’m kidding…mostly.”
Callie sticks her tongue out at him before linking her arm in mine and spinning us toward the exit.
When we step out into the cool November air, a memory of Austin and me sneaking out to see each other pops into my mind. I physically shake my head, as if that will get rid of it.
Callie furrows her brow, holding back laughter as she watches me. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I was just thinking about when Austin and I used to sneak out to meet each other in high school. It was starting to get colder in the evenings, but I always pretended it didn’t bother me because I wanted to be with him.
It took him a while to catch on that I was faking it.
” I tip my head. “Well, he didn’t exactly figure it out on his own. I had to ask for his sweatshirt.”
“Did he give it to you?”
“Of course. Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. He just didn’t strike me as the most attentive boyfriend in the world.” Silence washes over us for a moment as we step onto the sidewalk. It’s only a ten-minute trek to Callie’s, and, in a town like Roots, it’s plenty safe for two young women to walk alone in the dark.
She glances up at me again. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Were you two actually happy?”
On instinct, I answer, “Yeah! Of course. We wouldn’t have been together so long if we weren’t.”
A breeze whips Callie’s auburn locks into her face, but I don’t miss the knowing look she’s giving me.
Sighing, I relent. “I think we were both really happy for a while, at the start. Things slowed down after about a year and a half, but I figured that was normal for a couple. You know, you get used to being around each other and the excitement of every little touch feels a little more normal. You fall into a routine.” I glance both ways before we cross the street.
“When we finally moved in together after college, things were exciting again for a couple weeks, but then the stress started to eat away at us. We didn’t have as much time to spend on our relationship, and I tried to latch on while he pulled away.
That’s probably when I really lost myself. ”
“Or maybe you were just starting to find yourself.” Callie leans into me, looking me in the eyes. “I always thought you deserved better than Austin. You have no idea what you’re worth.”
How I ever got so lucky to have a friend like Callie is beyond me.
She squeezes my arm as we trudge down Roots Road. “No more being sad. Tonight was about making you feel empowered and excited about your new life! Tell me something you didn’t like about Austin.” When I give her a surprised look, she adds, “Don’t hold back.”
“I guess it sort of bothered me that he never put his laundry away.” I shrug. “It’d just sit in the laundry room all week until I finally did it to make space for the next load. He never once said thank-you either. It made me feel a little used.”
“I would too. Give me another one,” she instructs as we enter the residential side of town.
“I didn’t like how obsessive he was about work.
I understand work is important. I love the ranch, and we obviously need it to do well in order to afford our lifestyle, but it became everything to him.
We didn’t go to bed or wake up together.
He went on trips alone and used it as an excuse to miss out on family dinners or birthdays.
It scared me a little that I was going to start my forever with someone who cared more about work than family or the rest of the people who cared about him. ”
“That’s a really good one. Give me another.”
Suddenly fired up, every little thing that’s bothered me about Austin boils to the surface as we pass Mrs. Liens’s perfect home with its freshly painted white picket fence.
“He was a bad dog owner.” I glance toward her. “Did you ever meet Poker?”
She shakes her head.
Callie and I didn’t become close until right before Austin and I broke up. Before Olivia came to town, I swear she was making an effort to avoid me altogether.
“He got Poker our senior year of high school. When we moved in together after college, I was the one who fed him and bathed him. I loved that dog. Meanwhile, Austin basically forgot he even existed. It killed me.”
She lets go of my arm to do a little hop off the curb and lead the way across the street. “Why didn’t you keep Poker when you two broke up?”
“He was Austin’s dog. I cared for him, but Austin picked him out and gave him a home for his first five years of life.
It seemed like the right decision, but I really miss him.
” I hop off the curb like she did. It makes me feel free, just like my hair, my outfit, and the night we had.
“I might even miss him more than Austin.”
“Hell yeah! Say that again but leave out the might.”
“I miss Poker more than I miss Austin.”
We keep walking, but then it hits me where we are. I turn to Callie, excitement filling me. “You know, Austin’s parents live on the next street up. Maybe we could swing by, just to check on Poker. I worry about him sometimes.”
“I don’t know…” She makes a sour face. “Maybe it’s not the best idea to get so close to the enemy.”
“But Poker isn’t the enemy.”
“Okay, we’ll just swing by.”
Callie hooks a left, and I trail behind. We pick up the pace until we’re jogging in the direction of Austin’s parents’ house, a soft yellow rancher.
When we approach the driveway, all the lights in the house are off. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course we won’t be able to see him. It’s almost two in the morning. They’re all asleep.”
“Looks like Austin’s parents aren’t home either.” Callie points to the empty driveway. “Any chance they took Poker with them?”
“I guess.”
I hang my head and start to spin away when I hear a gentle whimper.
“Poker?” The whimpering grows louder. “Oh my gosh! He left him outside. See!” I point toward the crack in the fence where a shiny blackberry nose is peeking through. “Austin’s the worst. He doesn’t deserve to have a dog.”
Callie peers through the slots in the fence and immediately starts cooing at the dog. “You’re right. Let’s take him home.”
“What?”
“Let’s take him. Then you can have your dog back, and Poker can have an owner who lets him sleep inside. Win-win.”
“We can’t do that.”
Callie is already reaching over the fence, her tongue out as she focuses on unlatching the gate.
“Callie!”
She doesn’t pause what she’s doing. “Don’t just stand there. You gotta help me. I can’t get this open.”
“It’s a sign we should just go.”
“No, wait. I have an idea.” She gets down on one knee, patting the other. “Come on. I’ll help you get over the fence.”
“Then what?”
“You grab Poker and open up the fence from the inside.”
Normally I would say no, but I have three beers coursing through my veins, and when Poker whimpers again, something about it all makes me think maybe even he needs someone to look out for him because life is overwhelming and can be torn from us expectedly.
In those puppy-dog eyes, I see another lost soul, so I rush over to Callie, stepping on her knee as she hoists me over the fence.
“Stand back, Poker,” I whisper just before I hitch my leg over the fence and fall onto the other side.
“Are you okay?” Callie whisper-shouts.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
As I unlatch the fence, a light in the backyard flickers on. Austin swings open the back door, wearing nothing but his boxers and a scowl.
When I look to Callie for guidance, she’s focused on her phone, blasting “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under” by Shania Twain at full volume. She holds it high above her head before shouting, “Run!”
So I do what any sane person would do: I grab on to Poker, and I bolt.