Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
SIENNA
“Gram,” I protested and she cackled.
“What? I have a TV, young lady. It’s about time you brought around your beau.”
“He’s not my—”
“Delighted to meet you,” August said, smirking at me as he took Lisette’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.
He looked too good here, his large form at ease on the cream sofa with one arm slung over the back as he let Lisette reclaim her hand. Perfectly comfortable, like he belonged.
I looked away from the brown eyes that lit sparks in my chest and instead took in Lisette. It had been less than six months since I’d seen her last, my tour took up more time than I’d wanted and this had been the first opportunity I’d had to get back here.
There was little resemblance between us, but I’d seen photos of my mother and had found myself in her face. It was comforting, tangible proof that this wild woman in front of me was part of my DNA.
Where my eyes were a hazel-brown, Lisette’s were a pale blue shade she shared with her daughter.
Gram’s hair was greying now, but her hair had been a rich brown in the older photographs I’d seen whereas her daughter had been blonde, like me.
It was the mannerisms, my smile, that made me look so similar to my mother — everything else was all Kenneth Slade.
It was a wonder Lisette had recognized me.
“It’s good to have you back, baby girl.”
My lips curved instantly at the nickname. Lisette was the only person who’d ever called me that. “I missed you.”
It was the truth. There was an ease around Lisette that I didn’t find with many people.
She seemed to know when to push and when to let me come to her, and she didn’t hesitate to call me on my shit if needed.
I knew she had likely seen the story break about my dad’s overdose, especially considering she’d known about August before they met, but she hadn’t asked me any questions. Just held me.
In some ways, it made me ache, wondering what it might have been like to grow up with Lisette as my Grams when I was a kid. But that wasn’t the hand I’d been dealt.
“Well, luckily you’ve had this fine young man keeping you company.
” Gram’s smile was full of mischief, her signature hot pink lipstick adding an extra flare of cheek to the look.
“Speaking of which,” she said, standing and slinging her purse over her shoulder.
“I didn’t know you had company, so I’ll let you two get back to whatever you were doing when I interrupted. ”
Heat pulsed in my cheeks as I studiously avoided August’s eyes.
“But I’ll see you both for family dinner tonight? I think Joe’s cooking over at Lilac.”
I opened my mouth but August beat me to the punch, raising an eyebrow tauntingly at me when I frowned. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Grams clapped her hands together, a twinkle in her eye that usually spelled trouble. “Excellent. See you at six — don’t be late.”
I rolled my eyes, but only when I knew she wasn’t looking. The door closed softly behind her, at complete odds with the hurricane that was Lisette Fortune.
“She’s great,” August said quietly and I shivered at the sound of his voice in my ear, not having realized he’d moved closer.
“Thanks,” I murmured, pulling away and striding back towards the kitchen. “It’s a good thing she invited us for dinner, because I doubt the cupboards are stocked.”
“As long as we have coffee for the morning.”
I glanced back at him as I tugged open the cupboard above the sink to show the instant coffee and various boxes of tea lined up inside. “Duh.”
“Good. Well, I owe you a family dinner anyway, seeing as you met my parents. Seems only fair.” His chuckle made me smile and I hid it with my back to him.
If I wasn’t careful, this could get messy fast. Lavender Creek was my haven, and maybe I couldn’t hide my presence here forever but the more people who knew about it…
And yet, I trusted August. Maybe it was his steadfast, easy-going attitude, or the way he hadn’t even considered not coming with me, as if being without me wasn’t even a question.
He just wants to make sure you’re okay. As a friend. Then he’ll leave.
I swallowed hard and made sure my hands were steady when I finally met his eyes.
They all leave in the end.
Maybe for some, family dinner at the ranch might have seemed intimidating. If August was nervous to be meeting so many new people, he didn’t show it. His smile was big, his laugh warm, and his eyes frequently sought me out as if to make sure I was having as good a time as him.
We didn’t get the opportunity to have these get-togethers much, especially with my schedule being as packed as it had been lately with my tour. But I’d missed this sun-kissed rowdy group more than I’d realized.
Lisette had ushered us inside at six on the dot — it was actually the only moment of nervousness I’d seen from August. He’d been waiting by the door a full half-hour earlier than we’d needed to leave, considering we were only walking back to the Lilac house we’d parked at.
I’d played with him a little, changing my top twice and checking my lipstick just to see him sweat as he checked the time.
Lisette wasn’t that scary, his nerves were cute.
In the end I’d stopped torturing him and we’d been the first to arrive, quickly followed by Joe, Wyn, Haven and Ryder.
Lilac house was decorated similarly to Pink on the inside, warm dark wood off-set with cream and soft pinks and oranges, like a sunrise.
Bronwyn and Joe, our ranch manager and our senior ranch hand, typically both stayed in Lilac.
It was easier to have people on-site for emergencies and Wyn was a trained veterinarian, which had come in handy more than once.
The other ranch hands, Haven and Ryder, shared Indigo house which had been converted into a maisonette.
We had seasonal staff who stayed in town and travelled in, but lodgings were included in the contract for the full-time ranchers, so most opted to stay.
It made for a close-knit team. In the city, I’d have scoffed at any company who referred to their employees as being ‘just like family’, but out here it was true.
Bronwyn had put the boys to work chopping vegetables and potatoes while we sat on the other side of the big island, supervising.
Lisette had made iced tea and I’d watched August out of the corner of my eye when he took his first gulp and then coughed, trying not to laugh as Haven and Ryder thumped him on the back.
I’d nearly choked the first time I’d had Lisette’s famous sweet tea too.
Sweet it was not, boozy it very much was.
Joe had opted to steer clear of the tea and sat beside us, sipping a large glass of white wine that was probably less potent than Lisette’s infamous recipe.
It was peaceful, despite the amount of noise the guys were making.
“So,” Joe said quietly, turning to me with a sly look on her face that was at odds with her innocent blue eyes and cloud of white-blonde hair. “You guys fucking?”
“Of course they’re fucking,” Wyn said while I spluttered. She flicked her long braid over her shoulder and Lisette chuckled into her drink. “Don’t you read the gossip rags?”
Joe shrugged. “No.”
“She doesn’t even know I’m a popstar,” I said dryly and Joe grinned.
“Way to change the subject, babe.” Joe patted me on the shoulder as she stood to refill her glass. “If you’re not sleeping with all of that, you should be.”
I followed the direction of her gaze and flushed.
August had been roped into washing up the chopping boards and utensils and, in the process, had got most of the water in the deep sink splashed up the front of his shirt.
The material had darkened, clinging to the body beneath and outlining the ridges of his abs.
He looked up and color painted his cheeks pink as noticed our stares.
Haven caught my eye and winked, and I instantly knew who was responsible for August’s soaking wet shirt. I snorted, shaking my head slightly. Haven was probably the biggest flirt I knew and there wasn’t anyone he didn’t like to flirt with.
Ryder shot Haven a look, looking like he was moments away from slapping his friend upside the head.
Where Haven was a horny golden retriever, Ryder was something like his older, broodier, brother bailing him out of trouble and reining him in before things could get too out of control.
It was an odd dynamic, but the two of them were close enough they might as well have been brothers for real, so clearly it worked for them.
“Why don’t you run on home and change, dear?” Lisette stood and patted August’s cheek before waggling her eyebrows at me over her shoulder when August looked away and nodded.
“No need!” Haven whipped off his own tee, gripping it by the back of his neck as he shucked it off and handed it to August. “He can wear mine.”
“Oh my god,” I muttered and Joe broke down giggling. “Is this the kind of shit that happens all the time when I’m not here?”
“Nope,” Ryder said, rolling his eyes. “We save all this mess up, just for you.” His smirk might once have sparked my interest, the streaks of red in his dark hair giving him a punk edge that only added to the tattoos that ran up his arms and over his throat, but I felt barely a flicker.
Sure, he was objectively hot. But I couldn’t help wishing his hair was a little more auburn, his shoulders broader…
I shook my head, pulling my eyes away from August and pushing all thoughts of his biceps out of my mind. It was harder than it should have been.
August, now wearing Haven’s too-small tee, backed away from the sink and joined us at the island with his back to the boys. “This is nice. It reminds me of the family dinners my mom hosts.”
“They do great pie,” I confirmed and Lisette gasped.
“So August’s folks have already met you while I was left waiting?”
I grimaced. “Sorry, Grams.”
“If it helps, she was very reluctant to meet my family.”
My mouth dropped open and I glared at August. “I was not.”