1
Bart
“I’m looking for a mind at work! I’m looking for a mind at work! I’m looking for a mind at work! Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-hooooo oh oh!”
I danced around in my truck as I blazed a trail down the highway toward Conroe. If my brothers knew I’d become obsessed with that new musical everyone was talking about, I’d never hear the end of it. But dammit, if the songs on that soundtrack weren’t catchy as hell.
“Now I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine...”
I blabbed along to the words as I cranked up the music, allowing it to fill the cab of my truck. With my windows rolled down and the sun shining bright in a cloudless sky, it ushered me all the way back to my hometown. And it boasted of wonderful news to come. I needed to take the weekend and check back in on the business’s new Remington office building project because we’d hit a lot of snags that had since been unkinked. Our new main office building would be closer to Will and Bryce’s home base. However, it would get everyone off the ranch and separate our animal training from the petrol business, which would create a seamless transition into purchasing the refinery property.
My brothers were a bit wary of making this new place our business headquarters, especially given how much Bryce and Will loved Houston. But, with the decision to try to build the oil refinery plant here in Conroe to open up new jobs to the beloved people of our hometown, it didn’t make any sense to have the headquarters an hour away. The only part of our business in Houston was our headquarters. And if we moved it to Conroe, then all of our business trips could be conducted right here in Conroe as well.
That meant more money influx to breathe life into this small town again, much-needed jobs for those out of work, and training opportunities and promotions and dreams being rebuilt.
I wanted to bring that to the people of Conroe.
After all, this place couldn’t rely on the rodeos alone. That was seasonal, at best. And everyone seemed to struggle around the holidays before the warmer weather crept up on us again. Not with this refinery, though. If we could establish ourselves fully as a family oil company right out of our hometown, we could win over new and massive customers just with our down-home American-grown story. And with a line of people ready to interview for new jobs, it made us look even more successful than we already felt.
People ate that kind of shit up nowadays.
Still, I knew Bryce wasn’t on board. For what reason, I had no idea. On paper, it seemed like the perfect plan for all of us. Bryce could run the company and still stay with his family. Will didn’t have to keep traveling out of town for business now that he had a family of his own. And having the company move here gave me a reason to move home. I mean, someone had to look out for the business in Houston.
As I passed the sign ushering me into Conroe’s city limits, I turned down my music. I breathed in the fresh scent of cut grass and cow manure as it filled me from my toes to my forehead. It always felt good to come home. And every time I came back, I was reminded of how much I missed it. I missed living in Conroe. I missed getting together regularly with my brothers. I missed the compound and spending my weekends horseback riding and exploring the untamed woods that surrounded our family’s property.
If I could get both of my brothers on board for this kind of a change now that we were full steam ahead with the new headquarters, it would be a no-brainer for me to move home.
Which meant I would never have to admit to my brothers how much I missed them.
Which also meant I wouldn’t get relentlessly teased for it until the day I died.
Suddenly, the air around me changed. Long gone was the scent of fresh grass, and in its place was the scent of homemade fried chicken. My mouth watered as I pulled over onto the side of the road. I looked around, trying to figure out where the hell that heavenly smell was coming from.
And when I saw Pete’s Chicken up at the corner, I made my way along the shoulder of the road until I pulled into the parking lot.
“Just what I need,” I said with a smile that faded quickly with the bickering in the distance.
“Hey! I’m talkin’ to you!”
“I said, leave me alone. That’s all I want you to do.”
“And I said I need to talk with you. You ain’t duckin’ me anymore. Got it?”
The growling voice set me on edge as I slammed out of my truck. I followed the sound of the yelling and arguing until both parties came into view. I didn’t recognize the man, but I recognized her instantly. And when I saw a man with Luna pinned against her car, every ounce of me dripped with fury.
“I wanna know why the hell you keep shooting me to voicemail,” the man said.
Luna’s voice trembled with fear. “Because you wouldn’t stop calling and texting. So, I blocked you.”
The man gnashed his teeth. “You ever think about just picking up the fucking phone?”
She snickered. “And talk to someone I don’t wish to speak with? No, thanks.”
I watched the man knock her to-go order out of her hands, and I lunged at him. I wrapped my fist in his shirt and swung him around, placing myself between him and Luna. I heard her gasp as I brought the man close to my face, almost lifting him off his fucking feet. And it took everything inside of me not to whoop that man’s ass right where I stood. “I believe the lady said she doesn’t want to speak with you. So, I suggest you leave.”
The man smiled at me. “All we were doin’ was talkin’.”
“Before you yelled at her, pinned her against her car, and knocked her food out of her hands?”
“Maybe she should pick up her phone, then.”
I shoved the man away. “Or, maybe you should take the hint.”
I felt Luna’s trembling hand against my back, and I peered over my shoulder. “You okay, Luna?”
She nodded, but her tears told me a different story.
“You know her?” the man asked.
I turned my attention back to him. “Does that matter?”
The man chuckled. “Got your guard dogs on me now? You’d rather go through all of this than just pick up your fucking phone, El?”
I pointed in the man’s face. “You got one last shot before I rid you of your teeth. Take it, or suck on milkshakes for the rest of your life.”
And as the man shook his head, I watched him back up to a car that could only be described as a rusty tin can on wheels. But, once he made his way out of the parking lot and disappeared down the street, I turned to face Luna.
“What the hell was that?” I asked.
2
Luna
I couldn't think straight. It was even hard to see clearly. The only thing I seemed to be able to focus on was Bart and his voice.
His presence.
His scent…
“Luna.”
I jumped. “Sorry. Sorry. I just—” I looked down at the spilled food all over my shoes, and I groaned. “I have to go back inside and reorder. Dad’s starving.”
Bart gripped my arm. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. Just give yourself a second to breathe.”
I pulled away from him. “I don’t need a second to breathe. I need to get home. Dad’s hungry, and this is all he wants right now.”