Chapter 22
Trap turned the key in his truck, the air conditioning cutting off.
He’d parked behind the IFA, and he slipped from the truck and turned to the back door.
The Walkers were bringing today’s lunch for the small ranch owner’s meeting, and Tate was bringing fried chicken dinners from Wilde & Organic, Conrad had ordered fruit tarts from the Three Rivers Bakery, and Trap had said he’d bring drinks.
JJ had jumped on that, and he’d texted to say he’d bring cups and the ice. All Trap had to do was load up the cases of soda and water he’d bought that morning. He didn’t have a flatbed cart here, so he picked up three cases of soda pop and started for the back door.
“Is this going in too?” Henry called.
“Yes,” Trap said. “All of it.”
He got the door open and held it for Henry, who carried in the case of water bottles. Angel had her little girl in her arms, and she gave Trap a tight smile as she approached.
“Is she sick?” he asked.
“No, but my momma is,” Angel said. “We left Wrangler with Trevor, but Starr is a little bit too much for him.”
“So he’s not coming either,” Trap said, not really asking.
“He doesn’t dare leave Janey’s side.” Angel stepped past him, and Trap followed her into the building. “Though she’s not due for another three weeks.”
“A boy, right?” Trap asked, really hoping his memory had served him well.
“Yes,” she said. “They’re going to name him Wicker.”
“Wicker White,” Trap said with a smile. “I actually really like that.”
“I think they’ll just call him Wick.” Angel turned to enter the room, and Trap heard Henry grunt and then a clunk! as he assumedly set down the case of water. The thirty-six cans of soda in Trap’s arms were definitely starting to make his muscles scream, and he hurried into the room after Angel.
Of course, Finn had already arrived, and he stood down at the coffee station that he and Alex Baxter always provided. Alex and Paul stood there with him, and Tate currently unloaded the individual chicken dinners in the typical Wilde & Organic dark blue plastic containers.
“Hey, I have a ton of pies in my truck,” Conrad said just as Trap slid his soda cases next to the water. “Can I get a few hands to help me?”
“I can,” Henry said.
“Coming,” Finn and Alex said at the same time.
Trap still needed to get the last three cases of soda, so he followed everyone down the hall and back outside. He detoured over to his truck as JJ pulled in beside him, and after three more trips back and forth, all the food had been loaded into the conference room at the IFA.
Colt had arrived, along with Jake Ahlstrom, Wilder, and Rock.
“No Smiles today?” Finn asked.
“He was up at Dawson’s place,” Wilder said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “They’re coming together.”
“Link went out to Brandon’s to help with the strawberry harvest,” Rock said. “They’re coming together too.”
“Is he coming?” Finn asked. “Brandon, I mean. I thought Lenore didn’t like being out on the homestead alone.”
“I think she’s doing better with every day,” Dawson said. He now filled the doorway, and he got jostled as Smiles joined him.
“We’re stopping in doorways now?” He grinned at Dawson, and Trap found the two of them a comedy of errors. One totally full of sunshine, and one made of nothing but grumpy cat genes.
Dawson rolled his eyes at Smiles and entered the room fully. “I need coffee.”
“What’s going on up at your place?” Alex asked. “That you need Smiles?”
“I think the man is just bored at Shiloh Ridge,” Dawson grumbled.
Trap joined him at the coffee cart. “Really? Shiloh Ridge is enormous. Surely he has enough work to keep himself busy.”
“He does,” Dawson said. “My chickens are going through a minor thing, and he diagnosed it in five seconds and put them on antibiotics.”
“Well, that’s good news then,” Trap said.
Dawson lifted his cup to his lips and took a sip. The caffeine seemed to calm him upon contact, and he nodded. “It is. What’s new with you?” He took another drink.
Trap stirred sugar into his coffee, his smile spreading across his face unbidden. “I signed a contract to renovate a school bus into a tiny house.”
Dawson’s eyes widened. “And you’re smiling about it, so this is…good news?”
Trap laughed and nodded. He took a sip of coffee and moaned. “This is so good. Where do they get this?” He looked at the urns set up on the counter and found the logo for Cowboy Coffee Roasters, and he nodded. “Yes, I love this stuff.”
He focused on Dawson as more voices joined them—Libby and Brandon and Link.
“Yeah, anything that’s new and exciting is a win for me.
I could build houses and make cabinets in my sleep.
Pulling apart an old school bus and turning it into a mobile home with all the high-end finishes?
” He grinned and shook his head. “Now that’s fun. ”
Dawson chuckled with him, and they turned to face the group when Finn said, “Everyone come get lunch and find a seat.”
The people in the room mobilized, and Trap quickly reached out and picked up two containers, passing one to Dawson, as they stood on that end of the table already.
“It’s fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and brown gravy,” Tate called above the hustle and bustle. “Trap, what did you bring?”
“There’s Diet Mountain Dew, Doctor Pepper, water, and Peach Fresca,” Trap called to the group. “JJ has ice and cups at the very end.” He said the last part just as his cousin put the cups on the table and hefted up a bag of ice beside them.
“Wow, this smells amazing,” Colt said, and Trap moved so he could sit beside him. He and Sariah were going to double with Trap and Lila this weekend, and Trap needed to get their plans straight.
Finn always gave them a few minutes to eat at the beginning of the meeting. Then no one was talking with their mouth full, and Trap could admit he felt more like participating—and like he had something worthwhile to contribute—after he’d filled his belly with something delicious.
He sat beside Colt, and Tate took the chair on his other side. “I was thinking we could do a progressive dinner on Saturday.” He popped the lid on his container, the scent of salty gravy and creamy potatoes hitting him square in the nose. “Dude, Tate, this looks amazing.”
“I’ll tell Lauri,” he said with a smile. “She does all of our catering cooking.”
“I think I’m going to have to cancel,” Colt said.
Trap whipped his attention to his best friend. “What? Why?”
“Go out with Easton and Marta or something,” Colt said. He scooped up a bite of mashed potatoes and swiped it through the gravy. “Or Austin and Joelle.” He put his food in his mouth and pointed his fork across the table. “Or Smiles. I heard he has a new girl.”
Trap looked over to the tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed cowboy. “Of course. He’s back in town for a month, and he has a girlfriend.”
Smiles met his eyes, already smiling, of course. “I’ve been back in town for almost three months, I’ll have you know.”
“Oh, excuse me.” Trap grinned at him. “So who is she, and how did you meet her?”
“Her name is Deirdre Charles, and she’s a vet tech at the southern clinic. She’s come out to the ranch a few times, and I don’t know.” He shrugged one shoulder and took another bite of chicken.
“He asked her out the moment he could,” Rock said, giving his older brother a dry look. “I was there, and trust me, it wasn’t pretty.”
Smiles simply tipped his head back and laughed. “He’s not wrong, but hey, she said yes. We’ve been out a couple of times now.”
Trap’s eyebrows went up. “Wow, a couple of times, huh?”
“It’s very new,” Rock said.
“He and Clover won’t double with me,” Smiles said.
“Why do you need a double at all?” Colt asked.
“I don’t know, it’s less pressure,” Smiles said.
“She’s still going to figure out who you are and what you’re like,” Colt said. “And it doesn’t take that long, most of the time.”
“Maybe we could triple,” Trap said.
Colt shook his head, something sparkling in his eyes that made Trap’s chest tighten. “Sariah wants me to meet her sister.” He quickly filled his mouth with food again, and all Trap could do was stare anyway.
Questions did course through his mind, but this new development had left him speechless.
“Nice,” Tate said. “Though that’s a hard date.”
“Yeah, I’m going to need to be on my game,” Colt said. “We’re doubling with them.” He finally looked at Trap, the twinkle in his eyes fading slightly. “Sorry, Trappy. We can go next weekend, I’m sure.”
Trap nodded, swallowed, and looked at his fried chicken. He took a deep breath and looked over to Smiles. “Lila Mae wants to meet you anyway.”
“Oh, I met Lila Mae a while ago,” Smiles said. “She wanted to hire me for her cat sanctuary. I sent her Thad, and they’re going to come do a tour…sometime.” He looked over to Rock.
“Right after Labor Day,” Rock said without looking away from his food. He cracked the top of a Peach Fresca and poured it over a glass of ice. “We’re going to walk her through what we do at the ranch, though I’m not quite sure why.”
“She’s mainly interested in your facilities,” Trap said. “And the administrative side of things.”
“Sure,” Smiles said. “I get it. I’ve spent countless days and weeks in my uncle’s office, learning how he did things at the ranch.”
Trap had learned at his father’s side too, for-seemingly-ever, so he understood that. He glanced over to Colt. “So what do you think of a progressive dinner?”
Colt grinned at him. “It sounds amazing,” he said. “What are you thinking?”
Trap thought of his father’s question from Sunday lunch a few days ago. What’s going to happen if you and Trap end up married? Is that place big enough for both of you?
He wasn’t sure why those questions had come into his mind right then. He enjoyed spending time with Lila Mae, and she’d handled his father’s ludicrous questions with grace and ease, though she’d later told him her heart had been pounding so hard.
“I was thinking First Plates for the appetizer,” Trap said. “But they have those tiny tables.”