Chapter 8

Tess

I pay the Uber driver and take a second before I head up the stone paved pathway to my mom’s front door. Weekend meals are always a great time, but I know Lucas told everyone all about my rescue from a cowboy. My mom in particular is absolutely going to try to get details out of me about that.

Pretty sure Jordan is going to be here today. He may be older but he’s not more mature in the slightest. He’s going to rag on me too. I need a minute to gather myself before it begins. At least I know I’m getting a good meal out of it, and Lucas is bringing my car over. I can’t believe his friend was able to get it all fixed up last night.

Lucas said they had the part the car needed in stock, and someone was available and willing to get it done so it was a quick thing. I’m grateful. I don’t want to be without my car. I fucking love that thing. I had to get a ride home with my boss last night. She’s always so cranky at the end of a shift, and it brings me down.

I head to the door and walk in without knocking. I’ve never had to knock on my parents’ door, and they usually don’t lock it. When I enter, I’m immediately at home. The photos I grew up with are still on the wall, showing the fun moments of a childhood I enjoyed. Some people think that the kind of work I do is indicative of a rough childhood. Not the case for me at all.

“Oooooo is that my baby Tess!”

My mom comes running into the foyer from the kitchen with her apron still on. She envelops me in one of her tight hugs, always acting like it’s been years since she’s seen me when I was here for dinner last weekend.

“Hi, Mom. Whatcha makin? Smells delicious!”

“I have a roast about to come out of the oven with potatoes, carrots, and broccoli.”

For some people, this might seem like a lot. For my mom, it’s a regular Saturday dinner. My mouth is already watering at the smell. It’s about 1pm right now, but they do dinner early on Saturdays. So, I’ll have enough time to drive back out to The Castle, change, and do my makeup before my shift.

I take off my coat and follow her to the kitchen after she lets me go. Dad stands up from the kitchen table and holds his hands out for my coat.

“Hey, pumpkin, how’s life?”

“Not bad, Dad. Same old, same old.”

He crosses from the kitchen entrance to the hallway closet.

“Still at that job?”

He tries not to, but I can hear the suppressed sneer in his voice when he says “job.” He’s never been happy about what I do, set in his ways and wishing I’d wanted to be a teacher or a nurse.

“Yes, Dad, I’m still working at The Castle.”

He hides his head shake with the closet door, but I see it as he steps back and closes it. He comes back to the kitchen and hugs me.

“Sit down, sit down. What do you want to drink?”

“Coffee.”

“With dinner?”

“I’ll drink water when dinner’s ready, but if I know Mom, that’ll be about another half hour. Besides, Lucas and Jordan aren’t here yet.”

“If you say so.”

He starts filling up the coffee maker and setting the pot underneath it. I settle into the chair at the table where I always sit. There are the same cushions that my mom has used since I was in kindergarten and one of her homemade tablecloths on the table. She’s already set everything up, as she always does.

Dad hands me a steaming cup and with the pitcher of cream and the sugar caddy that was on the counter next to the coffee pot. He smiles as I make my coffee with a bit of cream and three sugars.

“At least your coffee never changes.”

I take a sip. “What do you mean by that, Dad?”

“You grow up and keep changing into an adult who does all these things I’ve never even heard of.” He throws his hands up. “But this?” He points at my cup. “This hasn’t changed since the first time you ever tried coffee. Have you never tried it differently?”

I tilt my head and think.

“One time my friend Anna made this cappuccino thing when I was at her house.”

“And?”

“It was disgusting.”

I sip again while he laughs. The door opens and I know it’s Lucas before I see him. He makes drama out of everything, including opening the door.

“The party is here!”

“Hey Lucas!” I call down the hallway as I see him walking toward us.

“Hey sis. I have your keys here.”

He holds them up and jingles them.

“Awesome! Thanks so much for getting that handled so fast.”

“No problem.” I reach out for the keys as he comes closer, but he closes his hand around them. “Wait, I need details about the cowboy rescue before I agree to hand these over.”

Here we go.

“Lucas, come on. Just gimme my keys.”

“It’s gonna cost you a story first.”

Mom places the roast on the stovetop and takes her oven mitts off, then turns to me with one hand on her hip.

“What’s this about a cowboy rescue, Tess? Were you in trouble?”

“Why’d you need to be rescued?” Dad chimes in.

“Because she’s our little troublemaker!” Jordan says from behind me.

I hadn’t heard the door open. I stretch my neck around and see him coming into the kitchen.

“Ugh.” I sip my coffee, wishing I could crawl into the cup and die.

“Come on, Tess, tell us what happened.” Lucas is eager for a story.

I’m not getting out of this. I look around the table and see Lucas has settled in and Jordan is pulling out his chair. All of them, including Mom and Dad, are staring at me.

“Okay fine.”

Lucas actually claps. I keep going. Better get it over with.

“I was driving to work last night when my car broke down. It just started smoking on the highway.”

Mom sits down and puts a hand to her mouth.

“It’s fine, Mom. I was okay, I promise.”

“Go on,” Lucas waves his hand for me to continue.

“Okay, so, I’m on the shoulder talking to Lucas on my Bluetooth. He says he can get me a tow, but I’m still in the middle of nowhere.”

“You couldn’t call someone?” Dad asks.

“Not really. Most of the Uber drivers aren’t working in that area on Friday night. Plus, they’re not willing to come out when they’re about to get busy in downtown Heartsville. Everyone else I know was at work too.”

“Of course they were.” Jordan says and shakes his head.

“Then my phone cut out. I couldn’t get the service back.”

“You didn’t walk all the way down to work, did you?” Mom is still worried.

“No, she was saved by a cowboy!” Lucas can’t help himself.

“You were?” Mom’s eyes are wide.

“Yeah, okay, I was rescued by a cowboy. I started walking, and he saw me while he was on his horse. He offered me a ride back to the ranch where he works so I could use their land line.”

“No fucking way. You got onto a horse?” Jordan is downright scandalized.

“I did,” I continue the story. “He gave me a ride back, tipped his hat to me, and then I went and used the land line, ate a sandwich, and Allie picked me up.”

“So, you just went to work after that and…. did what you do?” Jordan asked.

“Yep. That’s it. That’s the story. Now gimme my keys, Lucas.”

“Fine, fine. Here you go. Take them.”

I put the keys in my pocket, and Mom goes on serving the roast. For them, this is like early dinner, and they’ll probably have something light later. For me, it’s lunch, and I probably won’t get a chance to eat again until like 4am.

Mom sits down and looks over at me, “So are you seeing this man again?”

“Mom!”

“What? You never go out on dates, only those bookings ,” she prods.

“You mean my job?”

“Yes, if you want to call it that.”

“Well, they’re the ones who pay me,” I shoot back.

She takes a bit of the roast, and we all take that as a cue to dig in as well. Mom’s roast is totally worth the interrogation. After a moment, Lucas starts in again where Mom left off.

“You never answered Mom.”

“Fine, yes, he’s taking me out to dinner tomorrow night,” I admit.

“Oh really now?”

“Yes, really.” I look down, hoping she will drop this.

“Where’s he taking you?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Is he picking you up?”

“I think so. I didn’t ask,” I answer with as short and to the point answers as I can.

“So do you even have a date?”

“Shut up, Lucas.”

“Hey, don’t talk to your brother like that,” Dad speaks up.

“You always take his side,” Jordan backs me.

“And you always take hers,” Lucas counters.

“Someone has to,” Jordan says into his cup of water.

I realize I still have coffee in front of me as well as the water Mom had poured. I take that moment to down the rest of it. No, it does not go with the roast, but right now I don’t care. I’m pretty much done eating anyway and it’s going on 2:30pm. Maybe I can stop by home to change if I go now, and then I won’t have to change in the dressing room at The Castle.

I suddenly remember that I also have to text Parker and find out all these details, because it was kind of dumb not to when he was right in front of me. That hat tip got me, and all the questions I should’ve asked flew out of my head when he did that.

That’s it, snap decision, I’m going. I stand up and take my keys from my pocket in one smooth motion. Mom looks up at me, her eyes following as I stand.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yes. The roast was amazing, as usual. However, I could’ve done without the interrogation. I need to run home and change before I go to work.”

Mom stands up, comes around the table, and hugs me. She smells like my childhood, and for a second, I almost don’t go. She pulls away and smiles at me.

“We don’t mean anything by it, you know?”

“I know, Mom. Love you. Thanks again for everything.”

I head out without looking back at that point. I love my family. I love my mom’s cooking. Yet, this isn’t really my world anymore, and I have a date to plan for.

Sunday night comes around faster than it should. I texted Parker last night about the plans, and he’d apparently already been thinking about it. He has a reservation made and asks to pick me up at 7pm. That’s a little early for me for dinner, but it’s my day off and he’s making an effort, so I let it slide.

I find myself actually worrying about what I’m going to wear. I always know what I want to wear, and as I look at my closet, I’m at a loss. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never had any issues picking out an outfit for a date.

My black Lycra leggings and a loose off the shoulder sparkly sweater with my favorite push up bra works for me. The girls are prominent but not too obvious. I add a delicate necklace with a small rose pendant and my black lace up stiletto boots. The combo of soft and sexy makes me feel good.

Now for the hair. I amp up my pixie style with a little bit of product and push some of the front pieces forward as short mock bangs. A jeweled rose quartz headband and some cute rose quartz studs complete the look. I’m a pretty flower… but like a sexy pretty flower.

The makeup stays toned down to keep the soft part of the look, but I do a super shiny lip gloss to play up my mouth. I want him to be watching these lips the entire time I’m talking. By now, it’s 7:05, and I didn’t realize I’d taken so long to get ready. I’ll admit, I probably took longer in the shower than I should have earlier. I know I’m wearing leggings, but I still wanted to be sure I shaved everything smooth.

I throw my wallet, the lip gloss, and my phone into a black studded clutch purse. The perfect amount of edge to the finished look. I head out the door and am met with Parker leaning on my front railing. He scrambles to stand up straight and smiles at me when he sees me. I chuckle, lock the door, and turn to him.

“Well? You gonna stand there, or are we gonna go eat dinner?” I ask and prop a hand on my hip.

He looks dumbstruck, and I have to strain not to smirk. Outfit effect achieved. It seems I’ve captivated the cowboy successfully. This starts the night off exactly how I’d hoped to. Parker collects himself and offers me his arm.

“Wouldn’t want you to fall on these stairs.”

I wave him off. “Oh, honey, you have no idea what I can do in these boots.”

His eyes go wide as I take his arm for us to head to his truck. He opens the passenger side door for me, and I step up and swing myself into the seat with ease. I can practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he watches me. He goes to the other side of the truck around the back, and I see him pop into the driver’s seat a moment later.

He starts the truck and turns to me. “You ready?”

I smile back at him. “Let’s roll.”

He takes me to an Italian restaurant in town. We have a booth in the corner where we sit right next to each other, enjoying appetizers with conversation. He orders the oysters while I order calamari. We share and laugh and tell each other all about our lives and families.

We share a piece of chocolate cake for dessert, and by then I’m four glasses of wine deep and feeling all kinds of fluttery in my chest. This isn’t normal for me. I don’t fall for guys like this. Is that what’s happening? Am I falling for him? I can’t be.

I definitely want him to come home with me though.

He settles up while I down my last glass of wine, and he walks me to the door when we get back to my house. I’m looking down at my keys, pretending to find the one I need and prolonging the moment. I’m never this shy about a guy coming in after a date. I look up at him, key poised at the door.

“I had a great time, Rowdy.”

He sighs, “I suppose I’ll just have to get used to that name.”

“If you want a second date you do.”

“Huh, call me ‘Rowdy,’ then.” He tips his hat.

There’s a pause when I’m looking at him and he’s straightening his hat. I can’t stop myself from flinging my free arm around his neck and kissing him. He kisses me back without missing a beat, his tongue parting my lips and his arms around my waist.

I put the key in the door lock and turn it, hoping he’ll step forward as I step back. He moves with me seamlessly, his mouth never leaving mine. Once we’re inside, and he shuts the door with his foot, I turn on the light, and I know that this is the beginning of the best part of this date.