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The next morning arrived bright and early as Saturday was the day to catch up on ranch work. I pulled on my jeans, T-shirt, and boots. My battered cowboy hat sat on the back of my couch. I slapped it on my head as I left the house to drive to the ranch where Nanna lived. The red dirt road wound through the sagebrush, mesquite trees, and cacti past a rusty gate with a circle T on it to a large plantation style house. She sat on the veranda waiting for me, sipping sweet tea. She smiled a warm, lovely smile when I put my truck into park and climbed out to kiss her on her wrinkled cheek.
“I’m surprised to see you so early, my dear.” She poured a tall glass of sweet tea for me and handed me two aspirins. “I heard that there was a band in town last night. Oh how, your grandfather and I used to go to town to dance.”
A faraway dreamy look filled her eyes. She always knew what I was doing before I did. It didn’t surprise me that she knew I wasn’t in tip-top shape. I sank into the old oak chair next to her and took a refreshing sip as she reminisced about her days being courted my grandfather. The tension in my head gradually dissipated as the aspirin kicked in.
“Well, Nanna, I should go feed the cows.”
“Sounds good, dear. I’ve got my knitting group today, so I’ll see you on Sunday.”
I got up and refilled her glass, placing a kiss on her cheek. She placed her hand over mine and gently smiled at me. I headed out to the old wooden barn behind the house. It used to be a bright red but with time and weather, it had chipped so only the dark brown wood showed. An old blue tractor sat under the overhang; the paint faded with the years of use. I climbed into the cab, the seat creaked as I sank onto it. The steering wheel was worn smooth, and the engine stuttered and spat until it turned over with a roar before settling into a rough idle. I shifted it into gear and headed out to give my ten cows their morning hay.
By noon, the hot sun had purged my system of the alcohol as sweat poured down my back. I wiped my face with my T-shirt. The cows had been fed, a couple of fences mended, and hay mowed. I showered and changed to head into town for some lunch at Susie’s Café on Main Street.
The front of the cafe was packed with cars. The red and white bunting hanging above the windows flapped against the glass panes. The aroma of bacon floated in the breeze. The silver bell chimed as I opened the door, and Susie waved at me from the grill as I took my customary seat at the large bar that ran the length of the cafe.
“Hey handsome, what can I get you?” Lindsay slid a large cup of coffee towards me, smacking her gum. She pushed her blonde bangs from her eyes, poised her pen over the pad, and gave me a tight smile.
“I will have three eggs scrambled and a large side of bacon.” I looked her straight in the eyes. “How was your night?”
Lindsay snorted. “It was short. You should know you weren’t there.” She flipped her hair over her shoulders and sauntered down the counter to fill someone’s cup.
“Yup.” I stared into my coffee. I never had a problem saying yes to her in the past, but since meeting Melanie, I found myself not even remotely interested in Lindsay. There was just something about her that called to me, but was I ready to risk my heart on another relationship? After everything that has happened to me, could I even fall in love again? It had been five years, and I never felt the urge for something more than a physical relationship. My heart was stuck on Melanie, and the more I got to know her the more I wanted, but it wasn’t even whole to offer her. She was the type of girl who deserved a man’s whole heart.
Old George hoisted himself up on the neighboring stool. Lindsay slid a steaming travel mug of coffee down the counter towards him before leaving to check the booths.
“So, Pete, how’s the ranch and your beautiful grandmother doing?
“Mowed the hay this morning. It’s going to be a good crop. Nanna’s keeping busy, like always.”
“Tell her hello from me.” He put a five down on the counter and clapped me on the back before heading for the door.
He passed through the door as Dee and Melanie came into the café. Melanie looked stunning in a white T-shirt and tight blue jeans. Our eyes met briefly as Dee led her to a booth in the back. The room came to a standstill for that moment as she faintly smiled at me. A throat clearing brought me back to the present. Lindsay slammed my plate down, making my eggs jump. I turned back to Melanie and Dee, but the moment was lost.
DELILAH TOOK ME TO the quaint little café in town for lunch. The aromas coming from it made my mouth water before we even stepped inside. There he was sitting at the counter, looking just as delicious as the omelets being served. As we slid into a booth, a pretty blonde waitress came up to take our orders.
“Hi Dee, what can I get you, today?”
“I’ll take the western omelet. What do you want, Melanie?” She handed me a menu. I was so hungry, everything looked delicious.
“I will take two eggs, scrambled, and some bacon.” I handed my menu to the waitress.
“Did you make it to the band last night, Lindsay?” Delilah asked.
“The band was awesome. I had a great time.” She winked and snapped her gum before heading to the grill to put in our orders. Delilah snorted into her water.
“I just bet she had a good time.” Her eyes sparkled at my confusion and wiggled her eyebrows at me. “She has an on-again/off-again fling with Pete. We all pretend to not know about it. But they both have had difficult lives.” She twirled her straw like a baton. “So, it makes sense that they end up in bed together.”
Delilah pushed her straw into her icy water, spraying me with the cold water all the while watching me like a New Yorker stares down a taxi driver. A faint blush colored my cheeks and I shifted in my seat. Delilah seemed to be enjoying my discomfort as Lindsay brought our food.
It was wonderful. The bacon was so crispy it crunched between my teeth. The fluffy eggs were like little yellow clouds that melted in my mouth, and a groan escaped as I swallowed my last bit. Lindsay stood at the edge of our table with a smirk on her face as she refilled our water glasses.
“I can take the check.” I set my fork down and extended my hand towards Lindsay.
“It’s already taken care of.” A dark cloud crossed her pretty face. “Pete paid for it before he left.” She spun on her heel and walked back to the grill. Delilah sat across from me looking like she won a big bet.
“What?” I snapped.
“Well, he wouldn’t have bought my breakfast.” She wiped her fingers and wiggled her eyebrows at me. “I think he likes you. No wonder Lindsay looked upset.”
“Very interesting.” I mused. He had paid our tab. What a sweetie. But I decided in my week of self-pity, that my taste in men was terrible. I couldn’t fall for a country bumpkin, even if he paid for meals and held open doors, and had a gorgeous body. “He seemed like a nice guy.”
“I love you, Melanie, so don’t take this the wrong way. But he’s not your type.” She was silent for a minute, lost in her thoughts. “You’ll break his heart when you go back to New York. He doesn’t need that.”
“Geez, Delilah, I think he’s cute, but I only danced with him. It’s not like I am going to marry the man. I could never be happy in small town life.”
“Ouch, I love it. If I didn’t work such odd hours at the hospital, I’d live here.” She punched me on the shoulder, as we walked to the door. “Men don’t stand a chance when you’re on your game.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship. I’m just trying to look out for myself.”
“You do now, but what about when you decide that Vance isn’t worth the heartache?”
I just shrugged and walked into the Texas heat.
#####
THAT AFTERNOON, WE went to Sunnydale’s Spring Festival. Colorful tents lined the sidewalk of Main Street where vendors sat selling everything from pies to beaded necklaces to hand-carved wooden statues. And the smells. Buttery popcorn, kettle corn, churros, and, of course, hotdogs. It smelled so good; my stomach rumbled. Delilah and I walked around the stands, ate churros, and played some games. When the sun began to set, a chill came into the air.
“Hey Delilah, I’m going to get my jacket from the car. Do you need anything?”
“Nope.” She aimed her air rifle at the balloons and lined up her next shot. “I’ll be here until I win that purple unicorn. It’ll look great on my sofa.” She nodded to a ridiculously large stuffed unicorn at the top of the booth.
I headed to Delilah’s car when a familiar rusty truck pulled up next to me.
“Hey,” I waved to the driver and continued on my way.
Pete leaned out of the window. “Are you coming or going?” He pushed his cowboy hat up higher on his forehead. His eyes sparkled when he looked at me causing my heart to pitter-patter to its own beat. My breath caught at how good he looked in a tight T-shirt with a five o’clock shadow. What was wrong with me? I usually liked clean-shaven men in fancy business suits, not some ruggedly handsome hillbilly. I shook my head to clear such thoughts.
“I’m on my way to get my jacket. Delilah’s shooting balloons,” I motioned back to the festival.
A chill crept up my arms causing the hair to stand on end. I rubbed my arms and looked away from his intense gaze.
“Alrighty, I’ll park and walk with you.” He smiled like I had just made his year by going to the Spring Festival. His eyes lit up and little creases formed in the corners of his eyes. He angled his truck into a nearby spot. By the time I’d retrieved my jacket, he was leaning against the hood of his truck with his arms crossed. He gently took my jacket and helped me into it. An electric buzz went up my arm as his hand grazed my skin. His soft breath tickled the back of my neck. I was suddenly aware of how close he was and took a step away. Come on, Melanie. Hold it together.
“Are you enjoying your stay?” He fell into stride next to me.
“It’s been nice.” I hesitated and twisted my hands inside of each other. “It’s nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.”
“Really?” He stopped and tipped my chin up with his finger to meet his unwavering gaze. I sucked at lying; his eyes searched mine for a minute.
“Actually, I miss it a lot.” A sigh escaped. “I love Delilah, but podunk isn’t my thing.”
“Well, that’s Sunnydale. As backwoods as you can get, but we do have a nice traffic light.” He grinned and we walked in silence. “Why did you come here then?”
“In my defense, Delilah lives in San Antonio. That’s a big city.” I pushed my bangs out of my eyes. “I thought we would be hanging out there. Not here.” I swept my arm towards the festival.
The lights from the rides twinkled in the setting sun as children ran up and down the street. Happy screeches filled the air. A band tuned their instruments at the far end of the festival.
“If you give us a chance, you might find that you like it. We can be surprising.” He continued to walk as if he didn’t say the most confusing thing ever.
We? What was he talking about? Sunnydale surprising me or him surprising me? Delilah was up ahead, waving us down, holding on to a large purple unicorn. She was surrounded by her brother and a bunch of other people I hadn’t met. She winked at me as Pete made his way through the group.
“So, you ran into Pete?” That seemed like more of a statement than a question. She linked her arm into mine. “Let’s go try some rides.”
#####
IT WAS SUNDAY MORNING, and the noise of Delilah’s family gathering in the kitchen for breakfast permeated the house. The sunlight streamed in through the open window, caressing my bare shoulders. I rolled over, groaning as a splitting headache arched across my forehead. A light knock sounded against the doorframe where Delilah stood there with a wide toothy grin. She crossed the room. The mattress sunk as she sat next to me, waving a steaming cup of coffee under my nose. I extended my hand to grab the heavenly mug but Delilah held it just out of reach.
“If you want it, you will have to come and get it!” She stuck out of her tongue and gracefully jumped off the bed without spilling a drop. She danced to the doorway and down the hall.
“Augh, why are you so chipper this morning? It’s only 9 AM!” I slid out of bed and stumbled down the hallway. In the kitchen, Delilah’s mom was cooking bacon on the stove, while her dad was dishing out fried eggs. I slid onto the wooden bench at their large kitchen table. He passed me a plate full of eggs and bacon. It was steaming and fresh. Delilah set the cup of coffee next to me and two Tylenol.
“I’m sure you have a headache after all the beer you had last night. Frankly, I was surprised. I haven’t seen you drink that much since sophomore year in college.” She slid on to the bench next to me and propped her elbows on the table. “Do you remember anything from last night?”
“Um,” I squinted my eyes and concentrated. “I remember riding the Ferris wheel and having a couple of beers with Pete.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Other than that, not much.”
Delilah looked at me slyly. “Do you remember kissing him?” My fork clattered to the table. Delilah’s parents shared a look and slipped out of the room without comment, taking their breakfast with them.
“I did what?” I exclaimed as Delilah giggled.
“Yup, you sure did. You even said it was the best kiss ever.” She leaned closer and wiggled her eyebrows.
“OMG, how embarrassing! I did that? What did Pete say?” I groaned and closed my eyes.
“I’m sure he liked it.” She winked and started in on her eggs. “He was busy kissing you back.”
How mortifying! Barely knew the guy and here I had gotten drunk and was frenching him in public. Sure, he was cute, but I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I needed to take care of myself, first. We finished our breakfast in silence. Damien came into the kitchen and poured himself some orange juice. He leaned on the counter and brushed some imaginary lint off of his Sunday best.
“Are you going to church this morning? Mel, I bet your loverboy will be there.” He set his glass on the table and leveled a look at both of us.
A blush rose up my neck. “I’d like to pass if possible,” I mumbled into my coffee cup.
“God won’t mind if you have a headache and fall asleep during the sermon.” He crossed his arms and the black jacket tightened over his shoulders. His eyes were unreadable.
“No thanks, I’ve embarrassed myself enough this weekend.” I polished off the rest of my eggs.
Delilah grabbed the plates and cups to take them to the sink. “I’m with Mel. We probably should head back soon. I’ve loads to do today.”
Finally, something was going my way. Relief flooded me. I didn’t want to face anyone from last night; I wanted to go back to Delilah’s and figure out my life.
Delilah and I packed up our things and grabbed Benny before saying our good-byes. As we were in Delilah’s car heading towards her apartment, I turned toward my best friend. “I had a great time this weekend. It was definitely what I needed. Thank you.”
Delilah winked at me before turning back to the road. “What are friends for?”
My eyes closed as I leaned against the cold window, praying for my headache to go away. Maybe, tomorrow I’d figure out my life.
THE CHURCH BELLS TOLLED after the final hymn as I helped Nanna out of the pew and down the church aisle. Reverend Johnston stood at the back of the church, shaking hands as his congregation left. Even though he was pushing eighty, he was still as sharp as a tack. He gently encased Nanna’s hands in his.
“God bless you, dear.” He said in a deep booming voice.
“You too, Reverend.” Nanna winked at him, and he winked back at her. He reached for my hand to give it a hardy shake.
“Son, you need to back off of the Saturday nights. They’ll eventually catch up to you.”
“Yes, sir.”
I averted my eyes and gently led Nanna into the fellowship hall for refreshments. She joined several ladies from her knitting group in the corner drinking iced tea and gossiping. Damien waved me over to where he stood with a couple of other men.
“Where’s Dee and Melanie?” I took the ice-cold cola they handed me.
“They left this morning to head back to San Antonio. Evidently, neither brought church clothes.” He rolled his eyes. “They’d brought lots of other clothes, though.” He sipped his cola. “You and Melanie had a good time?”
“We kept it PG.” I stared into my can. “She was just getting over the last guy. I don’t need to be a rebound. Plus, I don’t have time for dating. Last time I checked, there was no law about not kissing a cute girl.” I directed my gaze right at him.
“Wow, someone’s a little defensive.” He punched me in the arm and walked over to talk to Lindsay. At that point, Nanna came over to my elbow and placed her hand softly on my sleeve.
“It’s time to go, Pete. The cows need to be fed.” We left the church together.
#####
THE HOT TEXAS SUN BEAT down on my back as I repaired the barb-wire fence between Nanna’s place and the neighbors. My thoughts wandered back to the events of last night. It’d started innocently enough. We went on a couple of rides, but she wanted to hang out with Dee at the picnic tables. Someone bought the first round of drinks, and it went from there. Before I knew it, Melanie and I were the only ones left. Maybe it was the amount of alcohol, or maybe it was the Festival, or maybe the universe was interfering, there was a definite connection between us. I leaned over and put my hand on her bare knee. She shivered beneath my touch, and she leaned into me to whisper a story in my ear. I don’t even remember what it was about. Her cherry red lips were so close to me, and I tried to fight it, but I just couldn’t. I turned my head to look at her and my lips interrupted her story. She didn’t pull away. At first, she was hesitant. Then, her body turned a fraction closer to me. Her mouth parted a bit more as our lips pressed together deepening the kiss. Her arms wrapped around my neck bringing us closer together as my hand slid around her back to anchor her. Time stood still. The world was only our two hearts beating and my lips on hers. Cliché, I know, but I have never had such an earth-shattering kiss as that. Her vanilla scent washed over me and her lips tasted of beer. My heart leapt in my chest, and it felt so right to hold her in my arms that I couldn’t get enough of her. Just as her lips parted to make way for my tongue, a voice cleared over my shoulder causing Melanie to stiffen instantly and pull away. A delicate blush crept up her neck and her cheeks turned the color of a glorious sunrise. Dee stood there with her hands her on hips, a smile quirked on her lips. She came to collect Melanie for the ride home, and they left before I could get her number. Smooth, Pete. I had hoped to catch her this morning before they left but no such luck. Maybe that was how it was supposed to go. She would go on with her life and I with mine.
Sweat trickled down from my brow and dripped to the ground. I grabbed the discarded T-shirt to wipe the sweat and gulped my lukewarm water before bending back to the task. A black cow with large horns came to lick the salt from my back. Her rough tongue caused goosebumps to pop up. I stepped out of reach. This particular cow was my grandfather’s pride and joy. She produced several bull calves that won at bucking bull futurities. Only ten of the cows remained from his large herd. Nanna had to sell most of the cattle to pay for his medical bills. It was hard to be a small-time rancher, especially in today’s economy.
“How are you doing, girl?” I rubbed her forehead and behind her ears. She leaned into my scratches and closed her eyes. “Are you the one crawling through the fence? I highly doubt it.” I eyed the large white cow giving me a wide berth. It was probably her, being a Houdini daughter and all. Houdini was a large white bull that won a lot of championships. I sighed and stretched out my tight back muscles before continuing down the fence.
My dream for the ranch was to get it back to where it was before my grandfather passed with high quality bucking bulls and cows. It was going to take a lot of work, tons of money, and a good dose of luck, but it would be worth it for Nanna to live out her days on the ranch in comfort and maybe I could quit my job at the factory. The buzzing of my cell phone broke my internal reflection. I fished it out of my pocket as a strange number lit up the screen. The location of the number said New York. Interesting. I opened the message.
Hey Pete, It’s Melanie. I don’t know why I am texting you exactly. But I had a great time at the Po-dunk last night. I hope you did too. ;)
The text message threw me for a minute. I stared at the screen trying to formulate a response. A sweat broke out on my forehead and my stomach knotted. What was with this girl? Why did my body respond to her the way it did? I didn’t want a relationship. I don’t want my heart broken because we weren’t right for each other. My fingers tapped out a message of their own accord.
Hi Melanie, I had a great time too. I’m glad your first one was a success. I hope you don’t have too much of a headache this morning.
A cringe made its way through me when I hit SEND. Could I sound any more like an awkward teenager? I slid the phone back into my jeans pocket.
“Nice job, Pete. You sound like an idiot.”
What would she think of that? Would she even respond?