Chapter 19 #3
“Sure thing,” Lottie said.
“I’m going to make the rounds and visit with the folks. I saw that you met Emma and her crowd. She’s my age and still feisty as hell. But I got to admit, I’m glad I’ve got family and don’t ever have to live in a care facility.”
“With your big clan, I don’t think you ever have to worry about going anywhere, but those are some spicy ladies, no matter where they live,” Lottie said.
Bernie reached up and laid a hand on Lottie’s shoulder. “Yep, but not a one of them can hold a candle to me.”
* * *
Knox opened the truck door for Lottie and helped her inside, then rounded the front end of the vehicle and slid in behind the steering wheel. “How about dinner at the Dairy Queen before we go home?”
“Yes, please,” she answered. “I’m a hamburger junkie, and I’m starving.”
He drove away from the bar’s parking lot, made a right, and in only a few minutes, he parked near the front door of the Dairy Queen in Nocona.
“That was fast. I didn’t even notice this place was here when we drove to the bar,” Lottie said.
Knox unfastened his seat belt and turned to face her. “We were talking.”
“We don’t have to worry about your family knowing about our relationship. I told Bernie and Bo that we are really dating,” Lottie blurted out and felt so much better after she said it. “And that table with those six ladies who drank enough beer tonight to take a bath in—they know too.”
“How?”
“They said by the way you looked at me,” she answered. “I want to grow up and be just like them and Bernie. I know my body will get old, but I want to stay young in my mind.”
And sassy like I am with you instead of being the wallflower at every function, she thought.
“We’ll still be building houses together when we are their age,” Knox said.
“Oh, really, and will you still be able to pick me up and carry me to bed? Will you still look at me like you do right now?”
“I want your gorgeous face to be the last thing I see before I close my eyes and step into eternity,” he said and started a song on his playlist. “Listen to the words of the song that’s about to play.”
Lottie knew what the song was when the first guitar licks of “Forever and Ever, Amen,” filled the bar. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
“I can see it happening in the future, so keep that in mind,” Knox said.
“You really are the most romantic man I’ve ever known.”
“Well, it’s all because you bring it out in me,” Knox said as he got out of the truck and whistled as he walked around the front end to help her out just as the song ended.
She had been down the euphoria path before, the one lined with pretty unicorns and lots of glitter dust. Granted, not one of her previous relationships had been anything like what she had with Knox, but still, she had known those first few days or even weeks of happiness before everything went south.
She was deep in thought about the words that Randy Thomas sang about in his song. But all that disappeared in a flash when she heard someone yell Knox’s name. She turned to see Knox’s older brother, Brodie, and his wife, Audrey, walking toward them.
“Hey, is the mixer over?” Brodie asked.
“Yep, it is, and you should help with one sometime. Those old folks can put us younger ones to shame when it comes to having a good time. Y’all out for a date night?” Knox asked.
“Yep, want to make it a double?” Audrey asked.
“Sure,” Lottie answered, glad for two reasons: One was so that she could get to know Audrey better, and the second was that having others around might help erase the doubts that kept popping up in her mind.
The other shoe would eventually drop. It was just a matter of time, just like it always had been.
After they had ordered and found a booth in a back corner, Brodie asked, “Is this for real? Bernie has been fussing about you living up to your promise to find a fake girlfriend to keep her from setting you up on dates.”
“I didn’t find her.” Knox chuckled.
“I found him,” Lottie answered, and went on to tell them the story, ending with, “But it turned into something real.”
“Did she figure it out?” Audrey asked.
“Yep, she did,” Lottie replied. “I’m dying to know how you and Brodie met. I’ve heard there’s a story involving a pig.”
“I wanted to buy his land to reunite my family farms, and when all else failed, I married him and got a potbellied pig in the deal. Now, she’s got piglets. Want one?” Audrey asked.
“Maybe. Knox, can you keep one out on your new property for me?” Lottie batted her eyes at him in fake flirting.
“Of course,” Knox said.
“Believe me, Pansy the pig was only one little piece of the war between us before we finally admitted that we were in love,” Tripp said.
The waitress brought their food, and for the next hour, Audrey and Brodie entertained Lottie with the stories of how they had started off as enemies and finally realized they were falling in love.
“And honey,” Audrey looked across the table at Knox, “if we can survive all that, y’all don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“We work together eight to ten hours a day, then spend our evenings in the same trailer,” Lottie said and wished she could put the words back in her mouth.
Knox slipped an arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “So far, so good, but I have no idea how we’ll survive with a potbellied pig in the mix.”
The doubts were back in her mind—with or without a pig.
She told herself to shake it off and enjoy what time they had together, but that wasn’t easy to do.
Lottie locked eyes with Knox and saw something that looked a lot like love, respect, and happiness there. She reached up and gave his hand on her shoulder a squeeze and decided to quit second-guessing every move as well as the future.