Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Owen
“Did I see you and Daisy out for a sunset ride?”
Why are little sisters so annoying?
“You wait for me to get back just to bust my balls?”
“You left everything on, so I knew you were comin’ back. So, is that what I saw?”
Yes! Yes, it was! I wish I could shout for everyone to hear.
“Well, I don’t know, Livvy. Is it?”
“Why can’t you ever answer a question?”
“Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?”
“Whatever. You two go riding alone often?”
“Don’t you have a party to host?”
She doesn’t budge. Arms crossed, feet planted firmly where she is. My little sister has been a force since the day she was born. To most, she seems unmotivated and lazy because she still lives at home. However, she’s motivated by chaos, fun, and getting into everybody else's business.
“I made her a saddle for her birthday. We took it for a test ride.”
“Shut up! You made her a saddle?”
“Again, you’re asking a question you already know the answer to.”
“Where’s my saddle?”
“I made you a pair of chaps for your birthday last year. Per your request.”
“Well, if you’re taking orders...”
“Be nice and I’ll think about it.”
“So, Daisy, huh?”
I don’t reply because I’m not a liar. Instead, I take a turn around the barn, ensuring the horses are good and everything’s closed up.
“Everyone else in this town may be blind, but I’m not.”
“And what is it you think you see?” I flick off the light in the tack room and close the door behind me as I head to my truck.
“Listen, I get she’s Cal’s sister, but you two deserve to be happy, you know?”
I agree, little sister.
“You don’t need to worry about me or Daisy,” I say, over my shoulder, Livvy hot on my trail.
“I’m not worried; I just want my brother to be happy. Is that against the law, Officer Swift?”
I wrap my arm around her neck, pulling her to my side. “Thanks for looking out for me, kiddo.”
“So, you gonna fill me in?”
“Nope.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“Olivia Swift, where the hell did you go?” A shrill female voice penetrates the evening air, saving me from having to answer my sister.
“Your fan club is calling.”
“I’ll be right there,” Livvy shouts back toward the other barn. She flicks my hat and walks backward toward her party. “Cal will understand. Besides, his brothers are both with Daisy’s friends. He can’t say much.”
My phone rings, and poetically, Cal’s name appears.
“Cal, what’s up, man?”
Livvy’s mouth pops open when she hears it’s her boss on the phone. “Just tell him! He won’t stay mad forever,” she whispers, waving goodbye.
“Dude, I hate to bother you, but my wife kicked me out and insists I go down to the bar for a beer. You free, or am I gonna drink alone?”
“Be there in ten.”
“Thanks, brother.”
“Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing wrong? I get up with them in the middle of the night. I change diapers. I clean the house. All while trying to run the business and the ranch. Yet, somehow, she still wants to strangle me.”
“Cal, she just gave birth. Do you know what that does to a woman? Her hormones are all over the place, and you may get up with her in the middle of the night, but it’s her body producing the milk.
She’s an exhausted first-time mom who likely feels like she isn’t doing everything right, and you’re Mr. Perfect. ”
“What he said,” Laurie, tonight’s bartender and shift manager at The House, says from behind the bar as she walks away to help another customer.
Cal runs his hands through his hair, leaving it almost as much of a mess as his feelings. “I hear you. I do. But I can’t not help.”
“Of course not. But you need to back off when she tells you to.”
“I know, but it’s hard, man. You have no idea. All I want to do is take care of them. To protect them. Being a dad is crazy. It changes you to your very core.”
“I can only imagine,” I say, trying not to wallow in my envy.
Most in this town wouldn’t believe me, but I want a family more than anything. And I want it with my best friend's little sister. The first woman he was ever protective of.
“Dude, I hope you eventually find the one you want to settle down with. You aren’t getting any younger.”
“Thanks for that factoid, dickhead. As if I wasn’t aware my life was flying by at warp speed, and I haven’t even started it yet.
” My voice has an unexpected edge to it.
That will happen when you’ve just spent the evening watching the sunset on horseback with the one he’s talking about.
Especially when you’ve been holding her in your arms and dancing in the dark.
Tonight was nearly perfect, because I was with the person I want a family with. But I’m stuck. Waiting for her to figure shit out.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just worry about you. You play a lot. I worry you’ve let the one pass you by because you weren’t ready to settle down.”
I’m so fucking sick of this. I don’t want to play with anyone but Daisy. And I refuse to let her pass me by. But she’s taking a lifetime to get her damn head and heart in alignment. I’m tired of keeping something so important to myself. So, I tell my secret without breaking her trust.
“If you must know, I met her years ago. I know who I’m meant to be with, but the timing hasn’t been right. I refuse to settle because I know what it’s supposed to feel like. How can I get serious with anyone else if I know the one for me is out there?”
“Well, shit. You never said anything. Who the hell is it?”
“Cal, nothing personal, but I prefer to keep her to myself. I don’t want to jinx things by putting it out into the ether.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me. You’re gonna drop a bomb like that and not tell me?”
“Listen, when it becomes a real thing, you’ll be the first to know.”
Cal stares at me like I’m a two-headed alien who’s come down from space. “How long have you been keeping this to yourself?”
“A decade, give or take.”
“What the actual fuck?” I’ve never seen Cal so confused. “You’ve been in love for a decade and didn’t tell me?”
“Not exactly. For a while, it was just a random hookup here or there. But from the first time we got together, there was more to it than that. I felt something with her I’ve never felt with a woman.
Every time I wanted more, she had a reason it couldn’t work.
Then, months or a fucking year would go by before we were together again. ”
“Sounds like Charlotte when we first met. I feel your pain.”
“A couple of years ago I realized I could never get serious with anyone because they weren’t her, and I was going to put my life on hold until she was ready.
She’s the one. For the last year, she’s known how I feel.
She knows I’m ready as soon as she is. Now, I’m waiting for her to get her shit together. ”
“Does she feel the same?”
“She may not want to admit it to herself, but she does.”
“Owen, man, I hate for you to wait around for someone who can’t admit not only to you, but to themselves that they love you. You deserve better than that.”
“She’s worth the wait and whatever pain comes along with loving her.”
Like losing you as my best friend.
“So, you’re just banging chicks every weekend while you wait for her?”
“I go out. I may suck face and get a little frisky, but I’ve only been with her for over a year now.”
“No shit?”
“Everyone else is filler. I’ve let no one else get too close. Never wanted the hassle that would come when she decided she was ready.” I turn to look him in the eye. “Because I will always choose her, and that’s not fair to anyone else I may be in a relationship with.”
He runs his hand over his face. “Well, fuck. Owen Swift is in love. I never thought I would see the day.”
What the hell has gotten into me? It’s like I’m in a damn confessional and Cal is my priest. I don't know what confession feels like, but a shameful weight feels lifted off my shoulders. I haven’t told him the whole truth of the situation, but I can only hope that the day he learns the rest of my truth, he’ll remember this conversation.
I lift my pint to his, and he taps his against it.
“To love,” he says, looking shell-shocked. He takes a drink and looks straight ahead in silence. I’m sure the wheels in his head are turning, trying to piece together what he’s missed all these years.
“But we aren’t here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about you and why you make your wife so damn crazy.”
“Dude, I couldn’t be more over that. Your secret love life is much more interesting.”
“It’s pathetic, is what it is. But if it’s made you feel better about your situation at home, I’m glad to be of service.”
Loud country music and the merriment of the bar's patrons fill the lack of conversation as we finish our beers.
“I’m an asshole,” he finally says.
“Why’s that?”
“You’re my best friend, and I didn’t notice.”
“I didn’t want you to.”
“You should be able to tell me anything.”
“I can.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I wanted to keep her to myself. If I’m being honest, she scares the ever-loving shit out of me.”
“The best ones always do.”