Two Years Later
‘‘Yeah, baby!” I shout, jumping up and down on the spot and whistling with my fingers in my mouth. Whoops, just spilled my popcorn. Easton winks up at me from the middle of the arena as he waits for his score. Eighty-seven. “Woo!” That should be good enough for the win. Chuck and BJ might not be thrilled, but hopefully they’re also going to place. Just like old times.
“Hey.” Chuck plops down next to me on the bleachers and wraps his arm around my neck for an embrace that is half hug, half headlock. I nearly didn’t recognize him when I first spotted him. He has a completely normal haircut now. He’s actually kind of handsome. “How’s our Little Miss Oh My Gosh?”
“I’m great. Thanks for flying in for our roomie reunion.” BJ and Easton also climb up the bleachers to join us to watch the bulls. Easton sits on the bench in front of me, so I lean over his shoulder to give him a congratulatory kiss on the cheek before I stand to hug BJ. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since he moved back to Texas two years ago. “It’s nice to see you, Bailey Congratulations on finishing your MBA.”
He nods and sits next to me. “Thanks. I also landed a job in Houston, close to my mom and sisters.”
“And close to your lady lawyer friend, too?” I needle him in the ribs to tease him. “Easton said you’ve being seeing her for almost a year. Sounds pretty serious?”
His eyebrows flick. “Yeah. She’s great. Y’all will have to come down and meet her sometime.”
“Definitely.” I slide one arm over BJ’s shoulder and one over Chuck’s. “How’s it going working for your dad in Portland, Taylor?”
He shrugs less than enthusiastically. “It’s fertilizer. Not exactly exciting.”
“Lucrative, though,” BJ says as he watches a rider get thrown from a bull.
“True.” Chuck says. “But I want to get out of Portland.”
“Still no serious girlfriend?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“So, my efforts to train you didn’t have any lasting effect?”
All three of them laugh as if it was a lost cause in the first place. On the bright side, Chuck hasn’t said or done anything crude so far. So I’m still going to hold out hope. It’s so nice to be all together again. It would have been fun to go back to the Palo Alto house all together instead of staying at a hotel, but Easton and I have new roommates, so unfortunately, there isn’t room for the guys to stay over. I love that house. It’s going to be heartbreaking to say goodbye to it at the end of this term.
“Excuse me,” I say to a boy who is about twelve years old and staring at the guys as if they are Gods or something. “Would you please take a photo of us?”
He hops up excitedly as I hand him my camera. “Yes, ma’am.”
We all pose in front of the railing with a bull ride going on behind us. “Thank you,” I say as I take the camera back and check the shot as we all sit back down. It’s such a great picture. They all have their chaps on, and it brings back so many memories as I stare at it—a mixture of happiness and sadness. I guess that’s what nostalgia is. I’ve never felt nostalgic for anything before.
I still think rodeo people are lunatics, but Easton loves it. Even though he didn’t need to, he wanted to graduate when I did, so he took time off school to tie up all the loose ends at the ranch and to have his knee surgery. He went back to modeling after his surgery, while waiting for his knee to heal enough so he could compete again. That work with Stuart parlayed into a bunch of international runway shows, several endorsement deals for bronc riding, and more print contracts with a cologne company and a watch brand. He did a lot of traveling, but I was lucky enough to tag along for some of the trips.
He cut back on modeling when he came back to school full-time. He still goes out to the ranch one weekend every month to help, not that he needs to. His dad’s cancer is in remission and Crystal moved in. They also hired two extra ranch hands, and everything is running smoothly. As soon as Easton graduates, he’s going to hire a company to come in and start extracting the gold on the property. Fingers crossed they’ll strike it rich.
“Oooh,” all three of the guys groan and wince simultaneously as a bull rider bites the dust. Literally. He landed face first and his back is bent in an unnatural way. He doesn’t seem to care that he has a mouthful of dirt. He waves at the crowd to let them know he’s okay. Although, based on how he is stumbling towards the fence, I’m guessing he’s not okay. Crazy cowboys.
Chuck leans back against the bench behind him. “Man, I miss shooting the shit with you guys. Sorry for cursing,” he adds without looking at me.
I wave my hand to indicate that I’m not as uptight and prudish as the first time we were at this rodeo. “Cursing, manure, serious injuries and all, I miss you guys, too. And I’m glad we decided to do this.”
“I also miss my mullet,” Chuck laments.
“No!” we all shout at the same time.
I rub his sandy blond curls. “Don’t ever disrespect your head like that again. This is much better.”
Easton leans back from the bench in front of me and rests his elbows on my knees. “What do you say we go to that same steakhouse we went to the first time we brought Della here?”
“Yes.” I lean forward and remove his hat to kiss his forehead. “And can we go to that bar with the longhorn thing on the dance floor?”
He smiles and pretends to debate it in his mind before he eventually agrees. “Sure.”
Both Chuck and BJ grin, oddly enthusiastically, as if the three of them are in on something together. “What?” I ask, suspicious of any time that all three of them are smiling like that simultaneously.
“I get the first dance,” BJ says.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I still can’t dance. Fair warning.”
It’s only ten o’clock when we arrive at the country bar, so it’s not busy yet. It’s weird to be here. It looks exactly how I remember it, but it feels different. The first time we were here I felt like such an outsider in a world I knew nothing about. Now, it’s a part of who I am, so familiar and comfortable. Easton even called ahead to reserve the exact same table we stood at two years ago. So, sweet.
“Virgin margarita,” Chuck says as he places a drink in front of me.
I sip it and it actually is a virgin.
BJ clinks his glass with mine and says, “Cheers to the good girl.”
With a grin I hold my glass in the air. “To all the cowboys I’ve loved before. Great roomies and best friends.”
After enthusiastically toasting to that, Chuck wraps his arm across my shoulders and squeezes me into a slightly jarring sideways hug. “You’re finally proud to call me a friend. I’m touched.”
I shove him away playfully. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Maybe the secret to getting along with you is not spending any time with you.”
He laughs. “Whatever it takes. You called me a best friend. You can’t take it back now.”
Oh. My. Gosh. My jaw drops as I catch a glimpse of a familiar face in the doorway. That can’t be a coincidence. She smiles and waves as she makes her way across the bar. “Janine!” I squeal and rush to hug her. “What are you doing here?”
“Havie invited me to the reunion.” She glances at Chuck, who is frozen in stunned shock with his beer bottle suspended halfway to his mouth. She smiles demurely. “Hi Taylor.”
“Hi Babe.” He blinks repeatedly, sort of dumfounded. “You look great.”
She does look stunning. Her hair is silky straight and shorter than she used to wear it. And although she is wearing simple dark jeans and a white blouse, it’s a sophisticated Manhattan casual look. Way different than the Oklahoma farm girl casual look that she used to have. Her cheeks blush from Chuck’s compliment and she tucks her hair behind her ears. “You look good, too.”
He stares at her, completely thrown off. It’s as if he’s seeing her for the very first time, like he never truly noticed her before. BJ and Easton exchange a look, amused by the sparks that are flying. The staring with no speaking goes on too long and Janine turns away from the awkwardness to hug Easton and BJ. They ask her about New York and her residency. Chuck hangs on to every word she says, not distracted, not interrupting, and genuinely interested. Eventually she sneaks a side peek at him, clearly as shocked by his uncharacteristic quietness as the rest of us.
“You want to dance?” he asks her.
She glances at me and then back at him. After a long hesitation she says, “Sure.”
I silently clutch both Easton and BJ’s arms to contain my excitement. Chuck and Janine hit the dance floor and start to two-step, just like they were meant to be together. I bounce up and down on the spot. Yay. I love happy endings. I smack Easton’s chest. “Why didn’t you tell me Janine was coming to the reunion?”
His eyebrows angle together comically. “You can’t keep secrets.”
“True.” I chuckle as I pick up my margarita to sip the slush. Over the rim of the glass I notice another unexpected guest standing at the other end of the bar—a very pregnant Tracy. She’s with her husband Jeff, her brother Mike, and, “What the what?” she’s also with Jack and Crystal. I spin around to face Easton. “Why is everyone from Three Rivers here?”
“It’s a reunion,” he quips and turns to greet them.
Okay, what’s going on? I’m confused. Jack and Crystal are here, in a bar five hours away from where they live. Jack doesn’t even like driving from the ranch to Three Rivers if he doesn’t have to. And he’s only visited us in Palo Alto once. Bizarre. I hug everyone and then make eye contact with Easton to question him. He winks.
What has he been up to? I love it. I just can’t believe it. I had no idea he’d been planning something so elaborate. It’s a nice surprise. Too bad they didn’t come earlier to watch the rodeo.
Arms circle around my waist from behind and I know instantly who it is as she screeches, “Surprise, Dee Dee!”
I whirl around and squeal as I hug Yulia so hard we almost fall down. I kiss both her cheeks and then reach over to hug Alex. He’s very preppy and stands out terribly in a country bar. I can’t believe he even agreed to come. “What are you doing here, I can’t even, how did you not spill the beans, who’s watching the girls?”
“Alex’s parents are spending the weekend at the house,” she says before she takes a sip of a beer. “God, I needed this break.”
I shake my head, so overwhelmed. “And you decided to come here?”
Yulia shrugs innocently. “Easton wanted to surprise you. Aren’t you happy to see us?”
“Yes, but.” I scratch my head and search for Easton. He glances at me from across the crowd and nods towards the door, so I’ll shift my attention. Okay. This is too strange. Am I in the Twilight Zone or something? The only two people who could possibly stand out worse than Alex are by the bar with their coats still on. Mom is trying to move to the music. Dad looks like he wants to impale himself with the longhorn to put himself out of his misery. When Mom spots me she waves excitedly and it makes me burst into tears. I don’t know why. I’m just so happy to see everyone. I don’t understand it, but I love it. They make their way across the dance floor to join us. And I hug them repeatedly as I fluctuate between crying and laughing.
Then Stuart pops up out of nowhere and says to Easton, “What is this gay heaven that you call a country bar and why have I never been invited here before?” After we all screech, he air kisses cheeks with me, mom, and Yulia.
Seeing how ridiculously ecstatic I am makes Easton grin. If someone had told me yesterday that I would love him more today, I would have sworn to them it’s impossible. I would have been wrong. And now I’m crying again. “How did I get so lucky?”
He reaches out to hug me into his chest. “I’m the lucky one. Della, will you marry me?”
“Whaaaat?” I’m choking. I can’t breathe. Did he just? What? The tears are making my vision really blurry, but I think he’s holding up a diamond ring. I wipe my eyes. Yes, it’s a very big, gorgeous engagement ring. What is happening? He’s proposing. I feel like I’m dreaming. Everyone is looking at me. Agh. Easton just knelt down on one knee. People in the bar are cheering. I’m taking too long. He looks slightly worried. Speak, Della. Don’t leave him hanging. “Yes. Yes. Of course I’ll marry you!” I drop to my knees and fling my arms around his neck. We’re on the floor of a bar. It’s sticky, ew. We just got engaged. Everyone’s whistling and clapping. I can’t believe it. Holding his face between my palms I lock eyes with him. Everything about this moment is so perfectly surreal and wacky. “Easton Everley Havie Lewis, you are a very unusual person.” I kiss him and then add, “The good type of unusual.”
“So are you Della Koskov.” He slides the ring on my finger. “I can’t wait to have some unusual half-Russian and half-Mohave kids with you, so we can take them to the racist Russian’s deli and order some delicious sandwiches.”
I rest my forehead on his, grinning as Tennessee Whiskey starts to play on cue. “I can’t think of any better reason to have children than to rub it in the face of the racist Russian.”
He laughs. “Would you like to dance with me, funny girl?”
“I can’t dance, but I’ll press my body against yours and sway back and forth.”
His eyebrow flicks in a sexy way as he wraps his hand around mine to help me to my feet. “That’s the best dancing. Why do you think I fell for you that night two years ago?”
“I thought it was because I was going commando under my dress.”
His eyes open wide, then he bursts out laughing and leads me to the dance floor. Guaranteed all my blood relatives are currently having flashbacks to the Koskov wedding inferno incident from the last time they witnessed me attempt to dance. Yup. They’re all checking for the nearest fire extinguishers and emergency exits.
I pull Easton by the belt buckle to step closer. “You’re my first fiancé, by the way.”
“I figured.” He nods over my shoulder to make me look. His dad and Crystal are dancing.
“Oh my goodness. So cute. Do you think your mom is happy right now?”
Easton’s eyes water and he swallows hard before he nods. Then he hugs me against his chest and we sway to the crooning of Chris Stapleton.
Best.
Night.
Ever.