Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jax
My heart soars when I lift my ringing phone to see Lauren’s name on my screen.
I slide the button to answer. “There’s my girl! Are you ready for tonight? I’ve been practicing in my room. I’m a pro now.”
“Shoot! I forgot all about our lessons.”
The panic in her voice makes my stomach turn. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“We’re getting prepped for the cold front that’s supposed to sweep in tomorrow night, but there was an accident when we were installing one of the heaters.
It’s useless now, and there’s a hole in the water tank too.
I don’t know how we’ll be able to get it all sorted out in time.
I’ve called every place I can think of, and everyone is sold out. ”
“I’ll be right there.” I grab my keys from my pocket.
“What? No, you don’t need to do anything.” I picture her tensing up and holding her hands out in protest. “I’m sorry. I’m just overwhelmed, and you were the first person I thought to call.”
“I’m honored. Now hang on, I’ll be there in five. I just gotta ask someone to cover for me at the bar.”
“You don’t need to—”
“I’ll be right there, Freckles.” I hang up, heading out the back door to my truck as I make another call.
In just under five minutes, I’m pulling into the Copper Hill driveway with reinforcements.
Callie bounds up to Lauren, wrapping her in a hug.
“What can we do to help? I’m pretty good with the winterization stuff.
I helped with your barn back in high school because—” She stops in her tracks.
“I just know the process. I’m happy to help finish whatever needs to be done while the heater situation gets figured out. ”
A hint of relief crosses Lauren’s face. “That’d be great.”
Without waiting for further instructions, Callie surges off toward the barn.
Olivia steps forward. “What can I do?”
“Can you help me make more calls?”
Olivia nods, pulling out her phone and stepping aside for some privacy, leaving just Lauren and me.
“See?” I smile. “No need to be overwhelmed. You have a whole swarm of people who love you and are here to support you.” I glance around before wrapping her in my arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“You didn’t need to do this.” Her voice is weak. “I would’ve figured it out.”
“I know, but I didn’t want you to think you have to do it all alone.”
“Thank you.”
I hear a loud cough, and glance up to find Olivia, phone to her ear, eyes wide as Mr. Rhodes walks toward us. Lauren leaps from my arms, and I don’t have time to linger on the way that stings. Her dad looks paler than normal, and he doesn’t carry himself with the same pride I’ve come to know.
Lauren rushes toward him, grabbing on to his arm and asking, “What are you doing out here?”
Mr. Rhodes straightens. “I came to see what all this commotion is about. What are y’all doing here?”
“We came to help.” Olivia beams as she joins us.
“With?”
“Nothing,” Lauren rushes out at the same time Olivia says, “With the water heater situation. Callie’s working on the insulation, and I’m on call duty.”
Lauren looks like she’s about to pass out from stress or embarrassment, but Mr. Rhodes doesn’t even look fazed. “And what about you, Mr. Greer?”
“I’ll go wherever I’m needed.”
“With the weather coming in, we’ll need to move the cattle closer to the barn.” Mr. Rhodes crosses his arms. “Are you still handy on a horse or have you gone soft working as a bartender?”
“Hey, I’ve been helping out around here a lot. Besides, I’d never forget what you taught me, sir.”
“Good man.” He claps his hand on my shoulder with a grin.
I head toward the barn to grab a horse as Mr. Rhodes turns to Lauren. “It’s awfully nice of Jax to help out so much, huh?”
There’s amusement in his tone that makes me think he’s suspicious. Already? Apparently we suck at keeping this a secret.
“Yeah, I think Charlie’s been asking him to keep an eye on me,” she explains.
“Oh, I’m sure. I know how he just hates being around you.” Mr. Rhodes chuckles.
“Should we say a toast or something?” Olivia smiles, looking sentimental. “It’s kind of cool to have a group of us together like this.”
I can only imagine how much gatherings like this mean to her considering she had no support system in San Francisco when she left.
“Can we do the toast after dinner, Wildflower?” Rhett hunches forward in exhaustion. “I’m starving, and based on the faces of everyone else here, I’m going to say they are too.”
Olivia looks from Lauren to Callie to me. We’re all grimacing.
“How long do you think my toast is going to be? I could’ve been done by now if you hadn’t complained.”
She holds up her glass of water. “I just wanted to say cheers to good friends who support one another. Y’all have been there for me as I’ve gone through one of the toughest times in my life, and I’m happy we were able to be here this evening to help Lauren in her time of need.”
“Cheers!” Everyone clinks their glasses before digging into the tacos Olivia cooked for us once she found a water heater that was only forty-five minutes away.
“I still can’t believe I missed that store.” Lauren picks at her food.
“Don’t beat yourself up.” I reach out to her, then pause, my gaze flickering to Rhett.
I know Olivia and Callie are aware of our situation, but I’m not sure if he is.
As much as I want our secret out in the open, I’d like it to be because Lauren wants people to know.
I’d hate to make things weird for her considering she has to work with Rhett every day.
Lauren’s eyes widen, and she scoots away from my touch. I guess that means Rhett does not know. She quickly changes the subject, turning to Olivia and remarking, “Dinner is incredible! Thank you.”
Rhett takes a monstrous bite of his taco, making me think maybe he didn’t see, but Lauren keeps glancing in his direction, clearly looking for any indication he knows what’s going on. I wonder if it’s because she doesn’t want Rhett to know or if it’s because she doesn’t want anyone to know.
I try not to let that get to me. I like Rhett, but he’s kind of impossible to read. I’m not sure how to feel about him, so maybe that’s how Lauren feels too. I’d much prefer that over the idea that my efforts to prove myself are failing.
“I’m happy to help.” Olivia’s response reminds me of the outside world again.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice you did stuff around the house too. I saw you emptied the dishwasher and pulled my towels from the dryer.” Lauren lowers her taco. “Did you throw in a load of laundry for me too?”
Olivia smiles sheepishly. “I wanted to help however I could. I know sometimes it’s the buildup of the little things that gets to you.”
“You’re hired.”
“We should do this more often. It feels like we’re a little family.” Callie smacks her hands down on the table. “Oh my gosh! It’s just like Friends.”
“I like it.” Olivia bounces up and down in her chair. “Who would be who?”
“I’m probably Phoebe, not going to lie.” Callie shrugs as she takes another bite of her taco.
“That seems about right. You are the wackiest one of the bunch.”
“Lauren could be a good Monica.” Olivia points her taco in Lauren’s direction. “She’s got those type A genes.”
“Hey! It’s not like I’m busting out a little vacuum to vacuum my big vacuum,” Lauren argues.
“Actually, I’ve seen her do that,” I stage-whisper to Olivia, who bursts out laughing.
Lauren glares at me. “If I’m Monica, I’d end up with whoever our Chandler is, Jax or Rhett.” Lauren scrunches her nose.
“It’s perfect! Jax can be Chandler,” Callie announces, smiling with pride until she sees almost everyone at the table giving her a look. “I mean, yeah, we might have to scratch this whole Friends idea. It just got weird.”
“What about How I Met Your Mother?” Lauren offers. “There are five of them. That fits our group better.”
We go on like this for a while, and Olivia was right, it is cool to have a group of friends together, enjoying food and good conversation, even if we didn’t sit down to eat until almost eleven in the evening.
It’s been a while since I’ve had something like this.
Charlie left a few years ago, and I haven’t had a good friend since then.
By the end of the night, I even feel like Rhett isn’t quite as scary as he once seemed.
He gives me a handshake and a smile as he leaves, whispering, “I like you a lot better when you’re hitting on Lauren instead of my girl.
” His reference to last July when I kind of flirted with Olivia at the Long Neck takes me a while to pick up on.
I step back with wide eyes, trying to figure out how to deny his accusation.
“It’s so obvious.” He smirks. “And Olivia thinks she’s better at keeping secrets than she is.”
Finally, I admit, “I’m sorry. I never meant to step on toes.”
He shakes his head. “It’s okay. I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“You were afraid to let yourself love her. I’ve been there before.” He nudges me in the side with his elbow, leaning in. “It gets so much better when you’re both all in.”
“We are.”
He gives me a knowing look. “Keeping your relationship a secret is not going all in.”
I hardly slept last night after Rhett made his stupid little comment. It was impossible to ignore the image of Lauren leaping from my arms when her dad was coming and then the feeling of her moving from my grasp when she thought Rhett might be watching us.
But what does he know? He’s not the one in the relationship. Only Lauren and I know what we mean to each other, and we both adore one another. Right?
When her alarm goes off and she stirs awake, she presses gentle kisses along my collarbone and neck until she reaches my lips, whispering, “Good morning. Are you ready?”
“Of course.”
“Good, because this time I have a surprise for you.” She pauses, frowning as she takes me in. “What’s wrong? Are you not excited about my surprise?”
“Of course I am.” I force a smile on my face, which isn’t too difficult to do when I’m in her presence. I press a kiss to her forehead to further reassure her.
“We gotta hurry if we’re going to catch the sunrise.” She’s glowing as she bounds out of bed, and it continues to melt away any concern I had about Rhett’s words. He’s not us. He doesn’t know us.