Chapter 11
“Aha! Lottie is finally having the walk of shame?” Micah called out from a lawn chair at the corner of Thomas’s trailer the next morning.
Lottie slowed her stride. “No shame, just a walk.”
“Is this thing with Knox serious or just a passing fling?” Micah asked.
“Could be either.” She passed by him. “This morning it was omelets, hash browns, biscuits, and sausage gravy.”
“Must’ve been a great night for you to make breakfast for him,” Micah said.
She kept walking and glanced over her shoulder. “It was, and he cooked. I didn’t.”
“Are you going to be my partner at the building site?”
She stopped and turned around. “Nope. I’m paired up with Knox. You can work with Eddie, Thomas, or Gabe until the rest of your crew gets here.”
“Don’t you know that working with someone every single day sours a relationship?” Micah asked.
“We’re the exception.”
“I’ll be waiting in the wings to dry your tears when it all falls apart.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” she shot back and waved over her shoulder as she went on to her trailer.
Prissy jumped off the bed and slowly made her way across the floor. Lottie picked her up and buried her face in the cat’s long hair. “I know you can smell Knox’s new kitty on my hands, but you have nothing to worry about. You’ll always be number one in my books.”
Prissy wiggled free of her arms and went back to the bed, where she washed herself thoroughly and curled up on Lottie’s pillow.
“Some friend you are,” Lottie said as she fixed her lunch—a sandwich, bag of chips, an apple, and two oversized chocolate chip cookies. “What if I wanted to tell you all about the breakfast Knox made for me or, even more, how we are friends now?”
The cat raised her head and moved to the end of the bed.
“Oh, now I have your attention when it’s time for me to leave for work,” Lottie said.
“Now you’ll have to wait until this evening to hear the rest of the story, but I will tell you this.
Micah is relentless, and he’s already trying to work an angle that will cause a breakup between me and Knox. See you later.”
Prissy let out one of those long, pitiful meows when Lottie closed the door and left her alone. Lottie almost went back inside to console her, but Knox came around the side of her trailer and smiled at her.
“You ready to start building the inside walls of Jack’s retirement home?”
“I am,” she answered and slipped her hand in his free one. “We’ve got three days to finish our part of this cabin, and then we move on to number two.”
“I got the feeling you aren’t wild about working with Micah. Will you be glad to get back to our original five team members on Thursday?” he asked.
“More than words can say.” She sighed.
* * *
By the end of the day on Monday, Knox wished that Micah would hush for a few minutes. That man could talk the devil out of his pitchfork or a dead man into buying a new coffin.
“What are you thinking about?” Lottie asked when she caught up to him at quitting time.
“Peace and quiet,” Knox whispered. “Does Micah always talk so much?”
“Yep,” Lottie answered. “He’s a hard worker, but when I have to work with him, my ears hurt by the time the day ends. And tonight we have pizza in the rec hall since the next crew has arrived.”
“That’s every Wednesday night?” Knox groaned.
“Yep, right up until we finish the last house, and then you have to provide supper for everyone,” she reminded him.
“Do we have to stay very long? Can we slip away and take a walk to the lake?” Knox asked.
“As long as we just watch the sunset, and you don’t say a word,” Lottie whispered. “My brain has listened to so many stories the past three days that it is as tired as my body. I’m glad that I’m not going anywhere this weekend.”
“Me too,” Knox said.
“Oh, really? You aren’t going home?”
“Nope. I need a weekend to do nothing, and besides, who’s going to take care of my new livestock if I’m gone from Friday to Monday morning?”
“Anytime you want or… Whoa!” She slapped her forehead with her hand. “We promised that we’d help Bo at the bar.”
“That’s not this weekend, but the next one. I figure we can drive up there a couple of hours before time for Aunt Bernie’s event and come home when it’s over,” Knox suggested. “The animals can survive a few hours without us.”
Lottie stopped at her trailer. “That will give Uncle Jack two weekends away. I’m sure Aunt Mandy would love to have him at home to help her with the packing.”
“What are you going to do now?” Knox asked but didn’t wait for her answer. “I’m going to get my things and take a quick shower. Want to join me to prove to the next group that we really are a couple?”
“I’ll be there in five minutes,” she agreed with a nod.
Four new guys were in the rec hall when Knox arrived with his small duffel bag in his hand. Eddie made introductions, and Knox shook hands with each of them before he went on to the bathroom. He had soaped up his whole body and was in the process of shampooing his hair when he heard the door open.
“I thought you’d be finished by now,” Lottie said.
“It takes a while to wash away all of Micah’s words.” He chuckled. “I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”
She giggled loud enough that he heard it over the hard water spraying down on him. “That should convince the new guys that we are having fun in here,” he mumbled.
As usual, when he stepped outside with a towel wrapped around his waist, she had undressed and had her towel tucked around her body. And like always, he wished he could unwrap the package and see what was hidden underneath. But just friends didn’t do that.
“Your turn,” he said as he went to the sink to brush his teeth.
“You don’t have to wait on me,” she said. “Jack was bringing in the pizza when I got here. If you go on out, you can save me a couple of slices of our favorite kind.”
Knox waited until she was behind the shower curtain to whip off the towel and put on underwear and a pair of sweatpants. “See you on the other side, then.”
No one was interested in black olive and mushroom pizza, but to be on the safe side, Knox put four pieces on a paper plate and carried it to a nearby table.
Micah sat down across the table from him with a plate piled high with slices of meat lover’s pizza. “I still can’t believe you and Lottie are a couple.”
“Why not?” Knox asked.
“You aren’t her type. She goes for tall, dark, and handsome. You look like you belong on a beach waiting for the surf,” Micah answered.
“I’m tall, and some folks say I’m handsome. Apparently, she thinks two out of three ain’t bad.” Knox grinned.
Lottie crossed the room and sat down beside Knox. “Thank you, darlin’, for saving my favorite pizza for me.”
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “That’s the least I can do after that…”
She put her forefinger over his lips. “Shhh… What happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom.”
“Sorry,” he said and kissed her fingertips.
Micah frowned, pushed back his chair, picked up his plate, and left their table. “I still don’t believe it.”
“Do you care if he believes?” Knox whispered in a seductive gesture.
She stared up into his eyes and said, “Not one bit, but he better shape up by Christmas. If he don’t believe, Santa won’t bring him a present.”
Knox chuckled and brushed a quick kiss across her lips. “That should convince Micah and the newcomers.”
Thomas loaded his plate with slices of meat lover’s pizza and carried it over to the table where Lottie and Knox were sitting.
“One down. Five to go. Before y’all came out of the bathroom, Jack told the new guys that he would be retiring after this project.
I’m not sure that all of them want to work for Walter.
Steve even said that he had been thinking of forming his own company.
I like Walter, but Steve is going to keep his jobs closer to western Oklahoma, so I could be home more.
Lottie, what would you do if he asked you to forsake Walter? ”
“I’m going to El Paso,” she answered. “I’m not jumping ship.”
Thomas turned his face toward Knox. “If we all stick together for at least one more project, do you think we might convince you to stay on with the team?”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Knox answered. “I’m going back to Spanish Fort when we finish here. Jack only asked me for this six-week stretch because Walter broke his arm, and El Paso is too far from home to suit me.”
“Walter would take on a good framer like you in a heartbeat,” Thomas assured him. “And I’m sure Lottie wouldn’t fuss about having someone to take showers with.”
“Not one bit, but he’s bought a home, and he’s got livestock,” Lottie told him.
“Cattle?” Thomas asked.
“No, a rooster and a kitten. Someone must have thrown them out. We found them at my trailer when we got home on Sunday,” Knox answered.
Thomas wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. “I thought I heard a rooster crowing this morning, but thought I was losing my mind. Thank God they landed on your trailer and not mine.”
“Oh. My. God!” Lottie gasped under her breath and shivered.
Knox slipped an arm around her shoulders. “What? Are you okay?”
The chair that Thomas had been sitting on hit the floor with a deafening thud when he jumped up and headed across the room. “Where did y’all come from? What a surprise!”
* * *
Lottie took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. She closed her eyes as she stood up, but when she opened them, her parents, Darlene and Zeke, had not disappeared. Thomas was shaking her father’s hand. Jack had wrapped Darlene up in a hug.
Knox got to his feet and slipped his hand into hers. She started to shake it off but then remembered that he was her boyfriend. She took a couple of steps toward the center of the room. “I guess tonight is when you meet my parents,” she whispered.
“Seems only fair since you’ve met mine,” Knox told her.
“Mama! Daddy!” She faked a squeal. “This is a big surprise! What are you doing here?”
Darlene crossed the room to hug Lottie. “Ryan has been transferred to Dallas, and we’re helping him move. We drove on up here a day early to see you. Surprise!”