4. Callan

4

Callan

I grabbed the green bean casserole out of Lennon’s oven and set the dish on a hot pad next to the chicken breasts and brown sugar roasted carrots on the counter. Lennon and Oakley had made the sides while I worked on the chicken, but I’d offered to finish off the dinner when the timer had gone off mid-conversation in the living room.

The two of them moved to the dining room table after Oakley refilled her glass of wine and Lennon grabbed the bowl of roasted carrots. I balanced the other two dishes as I followed behind.

“Want another beer?” Lennon asked after setting the bowl down.

“Sure, thanks.” I double checked the table, making sure each setting had the proper utensils and a napkin.

Taking a seat on the opposite side of Oakley, I situated my napkin on my lap as Lennon came back in with our beverages.

“It looks delicious,” Oakley observed, eyeing the green bean casserole.

“A favorite of yours, too?” I asked.

She nodded. “I could eat it at every meal. I hate how some people wait until Thanksgiving to indulge.”

I let out a small chuckle as she reached for the serving spoon. “I feel the same way.”

“I hate green beans,” Lennon stated.

“So you’ve reminded us four times now,” Oakley remarked as she piled a heaping portion onto her plate.

“They’re just so bland—” he started.

“That’s why you add the crispy onions,” Oakley and I said in unison, since we’d had to tell him every time he brought it up.

We all served ourselves, then dug in.

“So, I’ll just get it out, then. Oakley is co-owner of the store now,” Lennon announced, breaking the silence at the table.

My eyebrows practically shot six inches in the air. “Really?”

Lennon nodded as Oakley’s cheeks flushed. “Having her as just my employee was a bit…difficult.”

I cleared my throat, grabbing for my beer. I didn’t want to know what they did in that office of theirs. “Congrats, you guys.”

“Thanks, Cal. We work really well together,” she said.

A smirk bloomed on Lennon’s mouth after he finished chewing. “At work and at home. ”

“I love you guys, but I really don’t think I can keep my food down hearing about your sex life.” Especially because I didn’t have one of my own.

“Well, I got you another client,” Lennon told me, blissfully changing the subject.

“Do I know them?” I asked.

“Since you don’t go anywhere but your usual spots, no, you don’t. At least, she doesn’t know you. You need to get out more, Cal,” he said.

“I do get out.”

His eyes pinned me in my seat as his brows lowered. “Our parents' ranch and the bar don’t count.”

“Those aren’t the only places I go,” I defended as Oakley took a sip of wine, watching us.

Lennon set his napkin on the table, leaning back in his chair. “The grocery store doesn’t count, either.”

I shoved the remaining carrots around on my plate with a sigh. “I know.” It was no secret that I was a homebody. I loved my job and my family, so I kept my focus on those two things. Was that such a problem? I was content.

“Maybe you’ll think she’s cute,” Lennon said, jumping back to the new client he roped in for me.

“She is pretty cute. Her daughter is adorable, too,” Oakley agreed.

I looked at the two of them. “Another lovestruck mom?”

Lennon’s eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms, somewhat defensively. Interesting . “No. ”

Oakley looked between the two of us, sensing Lennon was getting umbrageous. “She’s really sweet. I think you’ll like her.”

“Look, guys, I’m not really looking to date, but thanks for thinking of me.” I hadn’t dated since my ex, and I wasn’t planning on changing that. Being given an ultimatum to choose between your girlfriend or your family will make you lay off dating for a while, that’s for sure.

We finished our dinner and chatted for a bit before I stood, gathering the dishes from the table and bringing them to the kitchen. I turned the faucet to hot and began scrubbing.

“You don’t have to clean up,” Lennon said, coming into the kitchen with the empty beer bottles to toss them in the recycling.

“It’s alright.” I liked cleaning. It helped keep my mind occupied when all it wanted to do was wander.

Lennon leaned back against the counter beside the sink, crossing his arms. After I scrubbed the remaining dishes clean, I turned off the water and faced him while I dried my hands on a rag.

“What?” I could tell he had something on his mind.

“Go easy on her,” he said.

“Oakley?”

He frowned. We both knew he wasn’t talking about Oakley. “The client I set you up with. She’ll be by sometime this week. She’s nice, so I expect you to treat her the same.”

“I’m always nice.” It was true—I was. I got it from our mom. Where my other brothers had their reasons for being the way they were, I was always the nice one, offering to help the moment I saw someone needed it. We all would. That’s how we were raised. But my brothers thought of me as soft for how I went about it.

“I’m going to head home,” I told him. I had an early lesson tomorrow and was already tired from the shit show of the day I’d had.

“Text me when you get home.”

“I will.” Grabbing my cowboy hat off the counter, I slipped it on, heading for the front door. I peeked in the living room on my way, seeing Oakley on the couch with her wine. “Goodnight, Oakley.”

She twisted on the cushion, looking over the back at me. “Goodnight, Cal. Drive safe.”

“Will do.” I headed out the door, the summer air warming my arms from the AC inside their house. Sliding behind the wheel of my 2018 Ram 3500, I headed home. The backroads were dark, as usual, the moon and stars lighting up the fields that stretched for miles in every direction.

I would always take more clients, even if my schedule was already packed, but the way Lennon got almost protective over this woman made me think he was recruiting her for all the wrong reasons. I didn’t need to be set up with anyone, let alone a mother. There were enough single, and married, moms that flirted with me while I instructed their children how to ride. Sure, she could be different, but I knew what came with the territory, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready.

Not after what happened all those years ago.

But maybe this woman would be different.

I doubted it.