Walker Pride (12 page)

“How long is this function tonight?” he asked still standing in the doorway.

“I’m scheduled for three hours.”

He rocked back on his heels. “Is Bethany helping or is she in your way?”

Susan shrugged. “So far she’s a help. We’ll see how she handles people.”

“I know her father. Give her some leniency.”

That was a slight cause for alarm, Susan thought. Though Bethany’s father had been kind to her the few minutes she’d ever been around him.

“I’m sorry I can’t be a little more social,” she said as she draped the foil over the pan holding the chicken.

“You’re busy. I just…” He stopped and wiped the back of his hand over his brow. “I just wanted to say hi.”

That alone turned her to mush. She was sure he wasn’t the kind of man to just drop in and say hi.

She hesitated for a moment, turned, and walked toward him. “I’m glad that you did.” She wanted to pull him in, kiss him softly, but she kept her hands to her side. “You’re still coming in the morning, right?”

He nodded. “Looking forward to it.”

“Good.” It was killing her to not move in, so she did. Worst-case scenario, he’d step away. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she eased when his hands came to her waist. “It’s going to be a long night.”

“Tell me about it,” he said before dipping his head and kissing her softly.

“C’mon, you two.” Bethany sighed behind them. “Seriously just thought you were going to flirt with each other. Didn’t know it would end up like this.” She passed by them. “By the way, Eric, your flirting is horrible.”

He gazed down into Susan’s eyes and she could see that wrapped in her arms there was a peacefulness that washed over him.

“I must have done okay,” he said keeping his eyes locked on hers. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He kissed her gently one last time before walking out of the house.

Bethany laughed behind her as she watched him walk away. “You know that getting involved with anyone will ruin your plans.”

“What do you mean?” Susan went back to the stove and carefully placed the chicken in a carrying tote.

“You’ll get all involved and forget about what needs to be done. I don’t know my cousin well, but I know for a fact that he rarely comes to town. He’s not the kind of man to just stop by and say hi to someone. Once his routine is threatened, he’ll stop coming. Keep focused on what you’re doing. You have plans.”

Bethany picked up another tote and headed out of the house.

Susan let out a long breath. She didn’t want to think that way, but there was some merit in what Bethany said. She’d come this far. She couldn’t let her feelings for a man get in her way for success. That had already been done and she didn’t want to go back there.

But she didn’t want to let it go yet either. He was surging feelings through her she hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was nice to be touched, gazed at, kissed.

Susan picked up the tote and headed out the door. It would be in the back of her mind. She’d promise herself to not get worked up about the what-ifs. She’d just make the best of what was.

Right now, she was going to focus on the job at hand and hopefully there would be a few referrals coming her way when it was done.

~*~

Eric cranked up AC/DC in his truck. Some days called for Hank and some days called for something a little heavier. There had been no real need for him to make that trip to town. It was an hour round trip, not to mention buying a part he was sure he had somewhere just to drop in and kiss Susan one more time.

They were going on less than a week of knowing each other and he couldn’t get enough. This was maddening. He was stressed and she was going to pay for it.

He noticed his father’s car when he drove up to the house. He’d hoped to have the sink fixed before his father arrived. That’s what he got for stopping in town—for indulging in that distraction.

When Eric walked through the back door of the house he wasn’t surprised to see his father looking at the work he’d done before he left.

“I suppose this is going to need to be redone someday,” his father said running his hand over his silver, thinning hair.

“If you start that she’ll want a kitchen remodel.”

His father smiled, though his eyes remained weary. “Yeah.”

He stepped back to let Eric in with the part he carried in his hands.

“I’ll leave you to this. Why don’t you come see me in my office before you go.”

Eric gave him a nod and watched him walk away. He didn’t like how his father sounded. Suddenly he wasn’t too optimistic about his father’s meetings.

An hour later Eric walked into his father’s office, tapping on the doorjamb first.

“Come in. Shut the door,” he said.

Eric pulled the French doors closed then turned to see his father wiping his fingers over his obviously tired eyes.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he took a seat in front of the desk.

“Could be better,” his father said on a heavy breath. “My brother has a gambling problem.”

“Obviously.”

“In the last six months he’s racked up over a hundred thousand in debts.”

“I don’t see where that’s our problem.”

His father’s eyes lifted and locked on his. “He’s my brother.”

Eric felt his words as if they’d been punched into his gut. He’d never turn away his brothers in a time of need. Gambling was an addiction—a disease. He needed help and Eric knew that meant his father was going to do everything he could to help.

“Elias didn’t win the property exactly. He paid off Byron’s debt of nearly a million dollars.”

That had Eric out of his chair and pacing. “A million dollars?”

“He knew he’d inherit half of the property. He used it as leverage to save his life.”

“What about our lives? What about our livelihood? Do you know what will happen to the cattle if we lose that acreage?”

His father nodded. “I know.”

“You’re willing to go through with this, aren’t you?”

There was pain in his father’s eyes and it hurt to see it. “There is little we can do now, except try and reason with Elias Morgan.”

“Fine. I’ll march over and have a word with him. I’m his family. He should listen to the grandson he never bothered to get to know.” His voice had risen until he was nearly yelling at his father. He hadn’t noticed until his stepmother opened the door and walked in.

Eric raked his hands through his hair and sat back down as Glenda stood behind his father and rubbed his shoulders.

“It’s not sounding like things went well today,” she said before she kissed the top of his father’s head.

His father patted her hand and Eric could see a connection between them that he wasn’t sure he’d ever noticed before. There was unconditional love which was almost so thick in the air he was sure he too could feel it envelope him. Maybe they’d always been that way and he’d been too hurt and angry to ever see it.

When his father took his stepmother’s hand and kissed it, he let out a breath. “No matter what happens, everything will be okay. No one will suffer,” he said.

Eric let out a groan and the intimacy of the moment was lost. “No one? What about Byron? He walks away? Look a the pain he’s causing you.”

His father lifted his eyes and narrowed them to make a point. “No one suffers.”

Eric wasn’t sure about that. There should be some retribution for what he was doing to the family. And Eric couldn’t help but feel a bit jaded. He had a lot to lose. That house had been his home for twenty years. He’d built that barn with his own two hands. The horses he boarded were his business and if they lost the land, he’d lose that too.

Someone needed to suffer and if it wasn’t his uncle then maybe it should be his grandfather. His breath came quicker now and so did the anger that rose through him and squeezed at his chest. This wasn’t over. They weren’t just going to hand over the property and walk away.

Eric stood to excuse himself, but his exit was stalled when his stepmother moved in front of him. “I hear you’ve been spending time with Susan.”

He winced. Somebody had a big mouth. “Yeah, we’ve hung out a few times.”

A smile formed on her mouth and her eyes went soft. “Is that what you’re calling it?”

Now he was beginning to understand who told her about them. Russ just might get a punch in the gut he decided.

“We’re just enjoying each other’s company and getting to know each other. That’s all. We’re not serious.”

She touched his arm, much as Susan had that first day he’d met her. “I like her, Eric. She’s a very nice girl. Why don’t you invite her over on Sunday for dinner? And also invite Bethany. I’d like to get to know her too.”

Eric nodded then gave his father a wave as he left the house. He wasn’t sure if he had one emotion left that hadn’t been touched on today. Every muscle in his body was drained and as he passed the clock in the kitchen, he realized it was dinnertime.

He’d settle in and make himself a steak. Yeah, that’s what he was going to do.

As he passed by the basket of fruit on the counter, he snagged an apple. Whisky River would enjoy a little snack and Eric could use the time to sort out his feelings. Whisky River was a good listener.

The job had run smoothly. Bethany’s serving skills and people skills were also a success. In fact, Susan figured that the three referrals she received were because of Bethany alone. She’d entertained that book club and Susan was sure not once had they talked about books.

The thought made her laugh as she loaded the dishwasher with the utensils used from the job.

There had been one connection made tonight that had her second-guessing one of her next jobs. She’d met Lydia Morgan, the granddaughter of the man who had called her a few days ago. They spoke briefly and set up a phone appointment for the next day. The woman had been very quiet—reserved. Susan wasn’t sure she was too comfortable to be around, but then again she had a quality that drew Susan to her.

She wished she knew what that was. What was so familiar about that woman that made Susan want to work with her?

As she closed the door on the dishwasher and started it, she looked at the clock over the microwave. It was 10:30 already and she was exhausted. Maybe a nice soak in the big—she stopped thinking. The big tub was in Bethany’s bedroom now and she’d gone straight to bed. Maybe she should have kept that room.

Susan rolled her shoulder back and moved her head from side to side to work out the kinks. Perhaps she’d better get to sleep too. After all, she had a guest coming for breakfast.

When she thought of him, her body heated. It was silly to get so worked up over someone she’d just met, but she couldn’t help herself. It had been a long time since someone made her feel giddy inside. Eric did that to her.

It was a high of sorts, which she knew then meant there would be a crash too. Something made her want to chance it.

The next morning Susan rose early enough to catch a few photos of the sunrise, which was filled with the brightest of colors. She managed to not fall over in the warrior pose while doing yoga, which was a first. In anticipation of the wonderful morning, Susan’s pot of coffee was especially comforting.

Her cooking skills, on the other hand, seemed to be a little off. As she cracked the eggs for the frittata, she had to scoop out at least four shells. The spinach had frozen in the refrigerator, so only half of it was useful. Then it burnt.

Bethany walked through the front door fresh from her run and coughed as she walked into the kitchen. Susan stood next to the oven fanning the towel against the smoke.

“That doesn’t look appetizing.”

“I can’t believe I burnt it. I never burn things. This is horrible. What do I do now?”

Bethany gave her a chuckle as she moved to the window to open it. “I’m sure he’d be happy with cereal. He’s not a picky guy. I don’t think anyway.”

“I don’t mind cereal,” his voice came from behind her and she spun to see him standing in the doorway. “Front door was open. I assume to vent the smoke.”

Bethany winced. “I did that. I saw the smoke and hurried in.”

Susan closed the door to the oven and threw the towel on the counter. “I don’t have cereal.”

Eric smiled at her, one of those endearing grins that had her insides twisting. “C’mon, I’ll take you out. It’s a nice morning. We can walk down the street to the waffle place. That’s vegetarian, right?”

There was ease around him, but she wasn’t sure he was like that with many people.

“I’ll take you up on it, but I’m going to cook for you. This was rare.”

“I’m sure it was.”

Bethany cleared her throat. “Well, I’ll just go get a shower.”

As she passed by Eric, he reached for her and she stopped. “Glenda wants you to come out for Sunday dinner.”

“Me?” Her eyes opened wide. “I’m sure your family doesn’t want me around.”