Chapter 12 #2
He’d seen a maternal, nurturing side of her last night as she’d taken care of him, and the fact that she’d called her brother for advice—all of those spoke of Lila Mae’s strength, determination, and caring personality.
He finished his lunch. “It’s okay to be strong in some things, Lila Mae.”
“I didn’t mean to boss you around when I asked you to meet me here.” She hadn’t asked, but Trap didn’t argue the point.
“I know you come from an environment and a family that’s used to saying what they want, and people jump to it.”
“I’m not like that now,” Lila Mae said.
“Yeah, you’ve changed a little bit.” Trap could see it even in just the few months that he’d been speaking with and working with Lila Mae.
“So tell me,” he said. “If a cowboy wanted to impress you on your first date, what kind of flowers would he bring you? Or would it be candy, or potato chips, or something else entirely?”
Lila Mae smiled at him and tilted her head in an appraising way. Trap wasn’t sure he liked that, but a flirty vibe floated from her, and he sure did enjoy that. He felt like he’d been chasing the women in Three Rivers and getting rejected left and right, and now Lila Mae sat right in front of him.
She’d been the one to initiate that kiss, though he had met her halfway. She’d said right out loud that she liked him, and Trap wanted to know why.
They’d argued a little bit as they’d gone through the process of building her tiny house and getting the farmhouse ready for the Intake Center, and he’d had to apologize to her several times in the last three days alone.
But just as Daddy had told him this morning, if Trap liked this woman and wanted to see if this relationship could last longer than any other he’d had, he’d have to figure out what was important to Lila Mae and what she needed from a partner.
“And if she’s going to be your girlfriend, and something serious,” Daddy had said. “This won’t be the last time you’ll apologize to her. It’s never a bad thing to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and it’s something you’ve always been really good at.”
His parents had taught him to apologize even if he didn’t think the problem had come from him. He’d learned from a young age to say he was sorry and mean it, as he’d grown up in a big family with a lot of uncles and aunts and cousins, and feelings could get hurt easily.
He’d realized at breakfast that his father had worked very hard to maintain the relationships with his brothers and their wives, and that the reason Trap could work with Jason and Sawyer was because his parents had maintained those relationships by apologizing when necessary.
Trap had had their example his whole life, and while Lila Mae had seemed surprised that he’d hugged her before the apology, she hadn’t complained about it, or shied away from the contact.
He watched her until she finally said, “You really don’t have to bring me anything, Trap, but—I love a good hard candy to suck on while I’m working. I like a Bit o’ Honey, and those caramel Werthers.”
“Yeah,” Trap said. “Those are good.”
“I like the caramel apple ones too,” she said. “As I’m sure by now you know I’m an apple fan.”
He chuckled. “So you’re saying I should be glad that I got to meet you before Colt.”
She laughed, a playful, warm sound that Trap sure liked.
“Colt’s a little bit prickly,” she said.
“He is?” Trap asked.
“He was acting weird at the linger longer,” she said. “Elaine and I talked about it.”
Trap frowned, because that wasn’t good news. When he’d gone after his friend on Sunday, Colt had told him that ever since Tyson’s birthday party, when he’d suggested that Colt go out with Elaine, he’d been thinking about asking her out.
He’d said, “She’s just so pretty, and I get tongue-tied around her.”
He’d sworn Trap to secrecy and made him promise that he wouldn’t try to set him up with Elaine. Trap hadn’t had a spare second to think about how he might get Colt and Elaine together anyway, and he didn’t quite know what to say to Lila Mae without throwing Colt under the bus.
“He was just stressed about his son,” he finally said. “And his ex-girlfriend trying to get back with him.”
Lila Mae nodded. “He didn’t seem like he was in a good mood.”
“Colt’s great,” Trap said, feeling very defensive of his friend.
“I can’t wait to get to know him better,” Lila Mae said. “And hey, my favorite flowers are daisies. They’re just so happy.”
Trap smiled with her. “I figured you might like wildflowers more than roses,” he said. “Because you wanted so many planted around the ranch.”
“I still do,” she said. “So don’t think you’re getting out of that.”
He chuckled. “It’s on our list, ma’am.”
He sobered with the talk of work. “Listen, I just wanted to say that I talked to my daddy about dating a client, and he said we just have to be really open about things, and it’s okay for me to say, ‘This is business talk, Lila,’ and other times, be like, ‘I don’t want to talk about work.’”
She scooped up another bite of roast. “All right.” She put the food in her mouth.
“And if it gets to the point where I can’t separate the two,” he said. “Then I’m gonna have to give the project to Jason or Sawyer.” He watched her for her reaction and noted the tiny frown that appeared between her eyebrows.
“I don’t want to give your project to one of them,” he said. “I think I’ve been pretty clear about how I enjoy coming out here to work, and because you’re my first big project that I got myself, I want to see it through to the end.”
“Yes,” Lila Mae said. “You’ve been very clear about that.”
He swallowed and told himself that she had said she liked him, and while Trap had said it back, it certainly didn’t carry the same weight or require the same courage to be the first to say something.
“Just so you know, Lila Mae, if it comes down to keeping your project or keeping you, I’m going to choose you.” He swallowed, his stomach rioting against him for eating so fast. “I’ll pass the project off before I let it ruin whatever we might be able to have.”
Everything about Lila Mae softened, and Trap once again thanked the Lord for good parents and a father he could go to for advice.
She nodded and snapped the plastic lid back on her black container. Trap reached for it and put both of them in the plastic bag.
“All right, well, I’ll get out of your hair,” he said. “I’ve got a bunch of work to catch up on today.”
“I’ll follow you out,” she said. “I just need to find my paperwork.”
Trap stood while Lila Mae simply surveyed the papers on her desk. He took her hand in his because he could, and she looked at him instead. “Seven o’clock still okay?”
“Yes.”
“Great.” Trap leaned down and pressed his lips to hers gently, kissing her chastely for only a moment before he pulled away. “I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah,” she said, a bit of a dreamy expression on her face. Trap picked up the plastic bag with their now-empty lunch containers, smiled at her, and headed for the door. He opened it to find Cleopatra lying in the doorway, almost like a guard tiger-cat.
“Oh, hello, you.” He bent down to give the Bengal a pat. She meowed loudly at him, and he twisted to say over his shoulder, “Lila Mae, Cleo’s here.”
“Come on in, Cleo,” Lila Mae said, and the tiny tiger got up and stretched, gave Trap a disdainful look, and stalked past him into Lila Mae’s office. He chuckled, as the pair of them went so well together.
Then he left the Intake Center, tipping his hat to both Scarlett and Hailey, and blasted the AC in his truck all the way back to his house, where he’d work for the rest of the day. After all, he’d promised his momma and daddy he would, and Trap worked hard not to disappoint his parents.
Now if he could figure out how to keep Lila Mae happy too, he really might be on his way to having everything he wanted.