Something Blue, page 4
“Home?” he finished for her.
“Yeah. Home.”
Sawyer ran a hand through his tousled black hair. “Yeah,” he said, and she could’ve sworn it sounded like he knew the trail of her thoughts. “And check these out.” He led her to a series of smaller canvases, horses the focus this time. “They look alive, like you could touch them. These kind of look like home to me.”
He stepped around her to reach for something, his body close enough she could’ve fallen back into him.
He took the artist’s business card and quickly slid it into his back pocket.
Sawyer appreciated art?
She was not going to find that attractive.
“Garrett, come here.” Shelby popped back up outside the art booth, waving him over.
They all left, with Garrett hurrying out in front. He reached for the clear cellophane bag in the palm of her hand, two perfect, bright yellow squares inside.
“Those aren’t—”
“Mama Luann’s lemon squares? They are indeed.”
“Don’t tease.”
“I’m not. I saw online that she was going to have a booth here. Why do you think I insisted we come all the way out here just to meet up with everyone?”
Garrett already had one of the lemon bars in his mouth. “I didn’t know it was for this.”
Beth looked to Sawyer for an explanation.
“Luann’s is a sweets shop in Austin. His favorite.”
“We have to get some more.” Garrett was about to head off in search of the booth.
“I had her put aside a baker’s dozen. Already paid for.”
“You’re the best, you know that?” He turned and kissed Shelby, this time full on the mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
A pang of envy tugged at Beth. She wasn’t jealous that Shelby had found someone she’d fallen madly in love with; she was jealous she could.
Beth had never felt that kind of all-consuming emotion for anyone. Sure, she loved her family, but that was different.
“There’s the fabric shop I was telling you about.” Cece quickly turned from the group. “I’m going to check it out.” The words were barely out of her mouth before she was gone.
“Yeah, I’m going back to that organic farm stand,” Aurora added. “I saw some super fresh veggies that might inspire a new dish.”
Her sisters couldn’t have abandoned the scene any faster. Maybe they felt as awkward about the moment as she did.
They hadn’t grown up seeing their parents lavish attention and affection on each other. After their dad left, their mother didn’t date for eons, so there were no examples of couples being…couple-y.
Outside of wedding days, where it was expected, and kind of required, that kind of open tenderness and consideration seemed too private and precious to witness.
Garrett and Shelby left as soon as he finished the lemon bar, and Beth realized she’d been left alone with Sawyer.
“I don’t want any sweets. You?”
“Not at all.”
“Good. How do you feel about street tacos? There’s a truck up ahead.”
She loved them, and eating something as unromantic as tacos might help with the awkward silences. “Sounds good to me.”
They each ordered a taco with chorizo, shrimp, and sriracha and Sawyer was paying the truck owner before Beth could even offer.
They found an empty table, and it turned out she was hungrier than she thought and halfway through her second taco she started wishing she’d ordered a drink with her lunch.
Sawyer seemed to read her mind. “The sriracha isn’t playing games, is it?”
“I’m dying over here.”
“I’d kill for a beer right now.”
She nodded fervently, mouth full of spicy shrimp.
“Want to finish these and hit the saloon up there?”
“Please.”
They tossed their trash and headed to the saloon, reaching the wooden front porch before she spotted Shelby coming toward her.
“Guess what! They have a vintage consignment shop.”
Beth quickly moved closer to the door of the saloon.
Nothing against consignment, but Shelby was the kind of shopper who went in for the long haul. A decathlon of shopping, complete with jumping the hurdles of other shoppers, javelin-throwing of charge cards, and a shot put of coffee halfway through if you got too tired to make it to the finish line.
They’d once spent an entire day at two stores, looking at kitchenware.
It was the type of activity much more suited for Cece. Beth lacked the patience.
“You want to go?” Shelby asked.
Beth looked helplessly at Sawyer.
“Actually, we’re dying of thirst after a spicy lunch.” He came to her rescue. “Can we join you after?”
“Hey, baby, how about just me and you go?” Garrett offered.
“You sure?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. We’ll see y’all in a bit.” She all but floated away with her fiancé, and Sawyer ushered Beth inside as quickly as possible.
“Thank you. That was a close call.” She laughed.
“I get the feeling you’ve already been hit by the bullet you just dodged.”
“Many times. I’m sure shopping all day is fun, if that’s your thing, but Shelby can look at stuff for hours. I’m a get-in, get-what-I-need, get-out kind of girl.”
“I bet.”
“Hey now!”
“I’m just saying I can tell you’re efficient. I can’t picture you wandering about, window shopping all day.”
They found two stools at the bar, and the bartender came over immediately. Sawyer looked at Beth to order.
“Your Shiner Bock on tap.”
“I’ll do the same,” Sawyer said.
Their beers arrived and Beth took a few sips before turning to Sawyer. “I hear you’re having the couples wedding shower at your place.”
He finished a long draw on his beer. “Yeah, thanks to you.”
“What?”
“You were the one who put the idea in their heads when we were touring your place.”
She shook her head. Shelby was right—who knew what this man was thinking? “You said you wanted the ranch more involved in the festivities.”
Sawyer quirked his lips and tilted his head in a way that made him too good-looking for words. “Did I, though? Did those words come out of my mouth?”
“Yes, you—” Beth thought back on their conversation outside the inn.
He’d been a bit of a naysayer about the various wedding plans, played devil’s advocate on every other topic, but he hadn’t ever actually said he wanted to host the wedding events or a shower at his ranch.
“Do you not want to host the wedding shower?”
He laughed, the sound full and round, warming her skin. “Oh, I’m hosting it now, regardless.”
Oops.
“I swore I thought you—”
“It’s fine.” He clinked his pint glass against hers. “But I am hoping you’re still running the shower show, regardless of location.”
Beth blinked. Shelby had said Sawyer Silva was a tough shell to crack, and she wasn’t wrong.
The man had agreed to host a wedding shower but knew nothing about how they operated.
“If you’re the host, it’s your show to run.”
He set down his glass with a thud. “Um, that’s a big no-thanks for me. I just got roped into having it at my house and paying for food and stuff. I don’t want to be in charge of that chaos. I thought you liked running things?”
She did. She loved running things. All of the things. If she ran them, then life went smoothly. If she didn’t, everything fell apart.
Like this shower was about to do.
“I don’t know where you got the idea that I have to run things, but I’m happy to step in and help.”
He gave her a knowing smirk that would be obnoxious on anyone else. “You are welcome to step in on this shower…thing. Would you mind?”
“I’d love to.” Plus, with Aurora catering, the whole event would be another feather in the cap of Orchard Inn.
And they needed a lot of feathers right now.
“So, what’s it like?” Sawyer turned his body more toward her, leaning an elbow on the bar. “Running an inn along with all this wedding planning and party throwing?”
The effortless charm was completely unfair.
“Like spinning a hundred plates at once. What about ranching?”
“Same. Except with horses.”
Beth snorted over her beer.
“You okay?” He patted her on the back.
“I think so. Just the imagery of horses spinning around…”
Sawyer laughed, too, the full, rich sound washing over her again.
This was murky territory. Sitting here, laughing with him, being charmed by him, with cold beers and warm laughs and him insisting on looking like he looked.
Any other time, she would’ve soaked in the attention from a good-looking man, agreed to go out if the guy asked, and then call it off after a few dates because they’d either get mad she was a workaholic and they weren’t the center of her world, or she’d realize they only wanted one thing, and it wasn’t her sparkling personality.
But with Sawyer, she couldn’t even go down that short path.
He was intimately tied to the Meyers-Silva nuptials, and paying for a lot of it. She never mixed business with pleasure, and certainly not when that business was the only life-support system her family had right now.
“We should probably finish these up and find the others.” Beth took a long sip.
Sawyer looked at his over-half-full beer. “Okay, but I haven’t chugged a beer since college. Did I say something wrong?”
“No.” She was being weird again. No one had ever accused her of being weird until today. Get it together, Shipley. “I just…” What? “I thought you might be tired of me by now and ready to find your brother.”
His gaze was a mix of amusement and bafflement. “We just got here. I’m far from tired of you.”
She had to look away from the spark in his eyes, the curve of his lips. “Have you given any more thought to how the ranch can be a part of the wedding ceremony?”
“To be completely honest, no, I have not. Not at all. Any suggestions?”
“Incorporating your family into the ceremony is something personal. The idea will have to come from you.”
“Great.”
“But once you have an idea, or a few, then I may be able to help you flesh them out and decide.”
His head fell back as he sighed. “Thank you. I’m out of my league when it comes to stuff like this.”
“The wedding will be fine.”
Sawyer straightened back up. “I’m more concerned about Garrett.”
“He’ll be fine too.” Why wouldn’t he be? The guy was clearly on cloud nine.
“I’m—I’m sure he will be. Just. You know. Big step and all. I’m his big brother. I tend to worry.”
“Tell me about it.” Beth sipped her beer. Sometimes it felt like all she did was worry.
“You’re the oldest, too, right?”
“Thanks for noticing.”
“No, I wasn’t saying—”
She smirked.
Sawyer’s eyes narrowed. “Ahhhh, you almost had me.”
She shared a smile with him. “I am the oldest, and I worry, just like you.”
“I feel like the parent sometimes, you know?”
“Actually, I do know.”
She had his full focus then. “You do?”
“Beth.” Shelby rushed up to the bar, miraculously already done with her shopping. “Please look. You are never going to believe what we found.”
Garrett was right behind her. She gingerly set a cardboard box down on the other side of Beth. She lifted something from the box, and unwound the bubble wrap.
It was a giant ceramic bowl, painted in yellows and greens, with a couple of hula girls on the side.
“That’s pretty.” Beth glanced at Sawyer to see if he had a clue what it was.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s a scorpion bowl.”
“There are no scorpions on it,” he replied.
“No, that’s what it’s called.”
“But what is it?” Beth tried.
“I don’t get it.” Sawyer went back to drinking his beer.
“A scorpion bowl.”
“You keep saying those two words, but I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
Shelby tossed her hair over her shoulder with a put-upon sigh. She then cradled the bowl like it was the most precious of finds. “Scorpion bowls were used in tiki bars, starting back as far as the 1930s. You make a large rum drink and share it with your friends, using straws. This one came from the 1950s.”
“Do you throw a lot of tiki parties?” Sawyer asked.
“I might now.”
“Don’t listen to him, baby.” Garrett gave his brother a stern look. “We’ll have all the tiki parties we want and he won’t be invited.”
“I didn’t say I don’t like parties.” Sawyer put up his hands. “I’m just trying to understand what this is all about.”
“I guess we’ll just have to mix up a scorpion bowl and have you guys over. Then you’ll understand.” Garrett laughed with his brother.
“That’s a great idea.” Shelby looked to Beth.
“Yeah,” Sawyer added in his vote. “We could get together, take a few of the horses for a ride, hang out.”
Beth widened her eyes at her best friend, silently communicating.
“Maybe,” Shelby quickly added. “But I know everyone is busy with the wedding and stuff, so we’ll see. Okay.” Shelby carefully wrapped her scorpion bowl back up and placed it in the box. “Garrett, do you want to grab some lunch?”
“Yeah, I’m starving. We’ll catch y’all later?”
“Later,” Sawyer said. “And don’t forget to pick up some of that agave nectar at the booth for Lina. You told her you would.”
“I know I did. I’m not going to forget.”
Sawyer leveled a look at his brother.
“I’m not.”
Shelby waved as they left the saloon.
“I better text him later or he’ll end up forgetting.” Sawyer shook his head.
Beth stared at him until his eyes met hers.
“What? He will.”
Beth laughed. “You literally just reminded him.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Who is Lina?”
“Our housekeeper. And she uses agave nectar in this killer lemon-limeade she makes. If he forgets, I don’t get my lemon-limeade for weeks.”
“Oh. Now I see why it’s so important.”
Sawyer laughed along with her. He nudged her arm with his. “Trust me, if you had some, you’d know. You’d be texting him too.”
Her face hurt from smiling.
Beth quickly took another sip of her beer and excused herself to the ladies’ room.
The entire walk across the bar, she reminded herself: Brother of the groom. Brother of the groom. So unprofessional. Just focus on the job.
But his laugh, and those eyes. The easy way he talked to her and put her at ease. He was as headstrong as her, if not more so. He’d never judge her for being obsessive about work. From what she could tell, he was the same, even when it came to lemonade.
She washed her hands and smoothed down her hair.
And not to mention those arms and shoulders.
He was the whole package. The kind of guy she’d like to date. But she couldn’t. Not right now.
Maybe after the wedding?
Beth made a face at her reflection. Now that was an interesting option.
When the wedding was over, and Orchard Inn was back on track, things might be calmer. There’d be no conflict of interest between business and pleasure.
She might have time to date in general, Sawyer specifically.
This plan had promise. All she had to do was be patient. And maybe not be alone sipping drinks with him until then.
Beth left the restroom with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. A plan always made her feel good.
She returned to the bar to find Sawyer bowed up at the bartender. “What are you trying to say, friend?” Sawyer asked the guy.
The bartender, his face the color of a tomato, sputtered and stammered. “Nothing. I was…nothing.”
“Is everything okay here?” Beth moved to get her purse. Bar fights were not her style.
“Everything is fine,” Sawyer said.
But he didn’t look it.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes, let’s.” She led the way out of the bar, wondering what in the world she’d missed.
She wanted to ask, but Sawyer didn’t look like he was in a talking mood at the moment. Obviously something had happened, and she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Still, when it came to dating and opening her heart, she didn’t want it to be with someone who picked fights in a saloon.
Couldn’t he see he was messing with her plan?
Chapter 4
His Friday started even earlier than usual. He never slept well when he was looking into a new horse acquisition.
There was a chestnut quarter horse stallion at another ranch, and they were looking to sell.
He didn’t necessarily need another stallion, but this one was something special. Before he made a final decision, though, he wanted to make several visits. It was all part of his method.
Sawyer climbed in his truck and headed west to the ranch, the sun rising in his rearview mirror, coloring the sky yellow and blue. He tuned the radio in to his favorite classic rock station—people were always surprised that his tastes went beyond country music and all things stereotypically Texan—and thought about the day before him. Give the horse another look-over, probably his second of three or four viewings, talk paperwork and price, set up a follow-up visit.
This trip would take him most of the day and he didn’t want it any other way. Being out, driving around the Texas countryside, cleared his mind.
A certain buttoned-up redhead had fogged up his brain all week.
His time together with Beth at the Founder’s Day festival was barely anything. Some tacos and a beer, a little small talk, some laughs. It wasn’t even a date.
