The manual labor could be hard on your body, but it also kept me in shape and stress free. I didn’t have deadlines to worry about or a high-pressured boss to answer to. I’d tried that life for a couple years straight out of college and learned quickly it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a man who could sit behind a desk all day. I needed to be outside, working with my hands.
My phone vibrated in my pocket just as I finished with the horses. I pulled it out, accepting the call as I climbed behind the steering wheel. I closed the truck door, leaning against it with my elbow resting on the window ledge as I pressed the phone to my ear.
“What’s up, man?”
“You taking lunch today?” Aaron asked.
I sighed, lifting the faded Ranger’s ball cap from my head before resituating it. “Hadn’t planned on it.”
I may not have deadlines, but I tried not to procrastinate on the jobs given to me by my latest boss. It ensured I stayed employed with the same farm for the long haul. And this particular gig wasn’t one I wanted to lose. It paid well, with end-of-year bonuses, something most farms and ranches around here didn’t offer to their hired hands. I needed those bonuses to help speed up the plans I had for my future.
“Well that just changed. You’re having lunch with me. Meet me at Kathy’s at noon.”
“How about a raincheck?”
“No way, man. I’m tired of you moping around like a pansy. You need some bro time.”
“What makes you think I’m moping around? I haven’t even seen you since the wedding.”
“Exactly. You’re hiding.”
“I’m not hiding. I’ve been busy.” I’d been hiding. It’s a damn small town, and I wasn’t ready to face Hannah.
Aaron snorted a laugh. “Whatever. Quit being a bitch and meet me at Kathy’s.”
He hung up the phone before I had another chance to argue. I tossed the phone into the seat beside me with a shake of my head, a light chuckle escaping my lips. I turned the keys, cranking the engine alive before steering the truck toward town.
The bell at Kathy’s Café rung over my head as I stepped inside. The smell of grease and the comforting chatter of the diner filled the air around me. Removing my hat and smoothing down my hair, I nodded at the folks I knew as I walked past, making my way to the booth where we always sat. Aaron was already seated, nose buried in the menu even though we both had it memorized.
“Hey, man,” I said, sliding into the seat across from him while placing my hat on the bench seat beside me.
He lifted his head to look at me and even without the guilty look in his eyes, I knew I’d just gotten played. His eyes flicked from me to the door and then back to me.
“Don’t be pissed,” he whispered, “this wasn’t my idea.”
“What wasn’t—”
“Hey, big brother,” Leighton’s voice came from beside me before I could even ask what the hell he’d done.
I glanced up at my sister’s toothy smile, my body freezing as another thin figure trailed to a stop behind her. Lauren stood anxiously beside her with as big a grin on her face as Leighton.
I shifted my glare back to Aaron, making sure he got the message that I’d be kicking his ass later. He at least had the decency to look ashamed before standing from his seat and giving Leighton a quick kiss.
“Hey, babe,” she said, kissing him back before sliding into the booth beside him. “Thanks for inviting us.”
Retaking his seat, Aaron flinched at her words, his eyes flicking back to mine, silently telling me that wasn’t how our so-called bro time got crashed and turned into a double date.
He didn’t need to worry. This shit had Leighton written all over it. I just wasn’t sure why. Even though they both taught at the school, she’d never been a fan of Lauren, so inviting her to have lunch with us meant she was up to something. Something I most likely wouldn’t be on board with.
Leighton cleared her throat, her eyes sliding between me and Lauren, who was still standing beside me. Waiting. I didn’t move from where I was planted on the end of the bench seat. I wasn’t fucking happy with being set up. Especially with Lauren, who was quickly approaching stage-five clinger status. There was no way I was staying.
Before I could excuse myself and get the hell out of there, Lauren shoved in next to me, forcing me to slide to the inner seat, effectively trapping me. Shit.
“Hey, Billy.” She smiled, her hand slipping under the table and onto my thigh.
I gritted my teeth, giving it an awkward pat before removing it from my leg. “Lauren. Good to see you.” I shifted away, scooting and angling my back to the wall so I could keep an eye on her lingering hands.
I didn’t want to hurt the poor girl’s feelings, but I didn’t want to give her the wrong idea either. Apparently, we weren’t on the same page about our few nights together being only that—strictly sex with no strings. A double lunch date with my family and Lauren was not something I signed up for, nor wanted to be a part of.
Before I could figure a way out of it, Miss Debbie appeared out of nowhere, setting mine and Aaron’s usual drinks on the table in front of us, her gray hair pulled back in her signature bun with a sharpened pencil tucked behind her ear. “Ladies, didn’t realize you’d be joining the boys this afternoon.”
That makes two of us.
“It was last minute,” Leighton responded with a smile, giving no further explanation, which I would’ve liked to hear. “I’ll have a sweet tea also, Miss Debbie. And if you don’t mind, we’d like to go ahead and order so we can get back to the school before the lunch period ends.”
“No problem, hun. What will it be?” she asked as she pulled her notepad from her apron and the pencil from her ear.
“Club sandwich on wheat for me, but with a side salad instead of fries.”
“Same,” Aaron responded without hesitation.
I arched an eyebrow at his unusual order, and he quickly averted his eyes from me. Pussy. The man was whipped.
“Make that three!” Lauren added, overly cheerful.
When all eyes turned to me, I sighed, settling back into the seat, draping my arm across the back of the booth. It looked like I wasn’t getting out of here without shoveling a few bites down.
“Burger. All the way. With fries. Oh, and Miss Debbie, make sure Pete makes that one extra greasy,” I added with a big grin.
Leighton rolled her eyes as Miss Debbie gave a smile of approval, sliding her pencil back behind her ear and dropping the order pad back into her apron. Picking up all the menus, she gave me a quick wink. “You got it, sugar.”
Thankfully, the food came fast, and I was only forced to make small talk with Lauren for a short period of time. The woman was more handsy than I remembered. It was exhausting trying to constantly deflect her unwanted touches. I shoved the burger and fries down my throat like I was in a food-eating contest, hoping to bring the lunch to a quick end and ensure my food wasn’t snatched from my plate. Aaron had been eyeing my burger and fries the whole time, his mouth watering. I was surprised he hadn’t caved and ordered his own.
As I popped the last fry in my mouth, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I’d wait thirty more seconds, then excuse myself, using work as my cop-out. The bell rang over the door, the way it had been the whole lunch hour, but something about this particular ring had me on edge. Maybe it was a shift in the air. Or maybe it was the fact that Aaron’s eyes widened seconds before he choked on his bite of salad.