Wright Together, page 15
“Thank you.”
“How does it feel to be old?”
I stuck my tongue out at her. “I hate you.”
“I know. I love you, too.”
“It’s nice to have a fully developed prefrontal cortex, unlike someone I know.”
My sister rolled her eyes. “Overrated.”
“Are you ready to start school?”
She grumbled. “Let’s not. Where are you? Sounds like a party.”
“Yeah. My friends threw me a surprise party.” Whitt arched an eyebrow, and I added, “And my…date spearheaded the whole thing.”
“Date?” Bailey gasped. “Like a boyfriend?”
“Sort of.”
Whitt’s eyebrows rose sharply at that.
“Let me see. Let me see!”
I laughed and gestured Whitt into the picture. “Bailey, this is Whitton Wright.”
“Hello, Bailey,” Whitt said. “Please call me Whitt. Everyone else does.”
Bailey grinned. “Oh my God, hi. I’ve never met my sister’s boyfriend before. This is awesome.”
“Bails,” I groaned.
“Right. Right. Sort of boyfriend. And a Wright. Isn’t that the new company you’re working for?”
“Sure is,” I said. “He works there, too.”
“Ahhh, office romance,” Bailey said with a wink. “I get it.”
I shook my head at her. “You’re silly.”
“You and your sister have that in common,” Whitt said.
“We definitely do.” Someone else spoke on the other line. Bailey turned her head and yelled back, “I’m on the phone with Bailey and her boyfriend. Jesus Christ, give me a minute.” Bailey looked back apologetically.
Fury burned in my veins. That had to be my dad. Fuck him.
“I have to go. I don’t want to keep you from your fancy party anyway. I’ll see you next week?”
“I’ll be there. Love you. Call me later if you need to talk.”
Bailey waved me off, said good-bye to Whitt, and then ended the call.
“She’s a riot,” Whitt said.
“That’s Bailey.”
“And you’re going to see her when we’re in Midland?”
“Yeah.” I glanced down at my feet and back up into his impossibly blue eyes. “Do you want to go with me?”
“As your sort of boyfriend or your actual boyfriend?” he teased with a grin.
I laughed and pushed him backward. “Do you want to go or not?” I asked, breathless from the feel of his solid body against mine.
“Of course I do. Anything for you.”
And he meant it.
Part IV
Cherry Blossoms
21
Whitton
“Is this going to be like that barbecue place?” I asked skeptically.
Eve laughed and shrugged. “I mean, sort of. It’s Midland. What did you expect?”
“With you, I’m never quite sure.”
Her grin was triumphant. “I like to be unpredictable.”
And unpredictable she was. In the best way.
We’d spent yesterday on site with the Kings, finalizing the plans for their new development. Wright Construction would be breaking ground in the next couple of weeks. We’d agreed to dinner with the Kings later tonight, but the rest of the day was ours.
Which was how we’d ended up at some barn-style restaurant with the word Boose in bright red neon letters across the front.
“Boose?” I asked.
“The story is that it used to be called Caboose when it was downtown. The first two letters burned out, and no one ever fixed them. Then, when it burned down in the ’90s, they built the new place and dropped Caboose and just became Boose. Everyone called it Boose anyway.”
My gaze shot to hers. “You made that up.”
“Did not!” she insisted. “It’s just Boose.”
“And we’re meeting your sister here?”
“Yeah. Bails said she’d be a few minutes late.”
“Oh, so it runs in the family?” I joked.
She shoved me as we made our way toward the restaurant. “Jerk.”
“Can’t help it if it’s true.”
“I haven’t been late for anything lately that you didn’t make me late for.”
“I don’t apologize for fucking you first on your birthday.” My hand slid from her waist to her ass and squeezed. “I was in control of the clock anyway.”
She flushed. “You just made everyone else wait, you mean?”
“Are you complaining?”
“Not in the least.” She winked. “I wasn’t complaining last night or this morning either.” Then, she slapped my ass and wrenched open the door to Boose.
I could do nothing but laugh at her. The weekend was already shaping up to be incredible. Starting with the hotel where, somehow, we’d gotten the same guy at the front desk. He even remembered that we’d had to share a room and offered an extra complimentary room since the rodeo wasn’t in town this weekend. We’d declined, and he’d blushed.
Then, we’d promptly had sex on every surface of the place. As incredible as the sex was, I still felt like I had to hold back with her. Like we were so close to me being able to release entirely, but there was something between us. A gap that I couldn’t bridge. I was hoping that meeting Bailey would be another piece of the puzzle that was Eve Houston.
I stepped through the door behind Eve and immediately stopped in my tracks. One thing I’d learned about both Lubbock and Midland was that the outside never matched the inside. Fancy restaurants could be hidden in strip malls, and apparently, dance halls with polished hardwood floors were hidden in run-down barns.
“Don’t know how to line dance, do you, sir?” Eve asked, her eyes glittering.
I just shot her a look. Of course I’d never line danced before. Did they even have line dancing in Seattle?
Boose was styled like an old-school saloon with a long wooden bar down one side, complete with red-cushioned stools and a large, open dance floor. The other side of the room was full of booths, where the restaurant served lunch and dinner. A sign overhead read, Boose: burgers, beer, and bops.
Eve tugged my sleeve as we headed toward a woman with her hair in a white bun, standing before an antique wooden stand. “Hi, Ellen. Lunch for three, please. We’re waiting on one more.”
“Well, Eve, is that you?” The woman pulled out three menus and rolled-up silverware.
“Yes, ma’am.” A hint of an accent came into her voice as soon as she spoke to this one.
“Love to see my local girls.”
She gestured for us to follow her, and we headed into the sea of booths.
“You still playing soccer? You always were a spitfire.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I glanced at her in question, and Eve just grinned.
“Ellen’s daddy opened Boose years ago. She knows everything about everyone.”
“Sure do,” Ellen agreed. “And you’re still in the big city?”
“Yep. Lubbock.”
“Big city,” I said under my breath.
She laughed. “Anywhere outside of Midland is the city.”
Ellen stopped before an open booth, setting down the menus and silverware. “You tell your gram I said hi. I haven’t seen her around for backgammon in a while.”
Eve looked like she’d been punched in the stomach. All the air rushed out of her lungs at once. She swallowed hard. That beautiful, playful smile gone from her face.
“Uh, Gram passed, Ellen,” Eve whispered, her words thick with emotion. “Last year.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Ellen frowned and touched Eve’s arm. “I’m so sorry. My mind is a steel trap most of the time, but it likes to forget the things I hate to remember. She was a special woman.”
“She was,” Eve agreed.
Ellen gave me a warm smile, patted Eve’s arm, and then headed back to her booth. That couldn’t have been easy to hear. Not with the way she’d mentioned her grandma to me. But Eve was already sliding into the booth, and it looked like the last thing she wanted was any sympathy.
I took the seat opposite her. “Eve.”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly, holding her menu up between us, like a physical barrier to her pain.
“You sure?”
“I don’t blame Ellen.” She tugged the menu down and met my gaze. “I don’t want to remember that she’s gone either.” She reached across the table, placing her hand on top of mine. “Just don’t bring it up to Bailey. She’s more fragile than I am.”
I saw all the makings of an oldest sibling in that moment. Saw myself reflected in her gaze. How much I protected West and Harley from our dad and always put on a brave face about it. I was the mediator. I was the one who kept the ship running. As far as I knew, I was the only one who still had contact with him. Even if I hadn’t heard from him all summer. It had been a blissful break. One that I hoped continued.
We ordered waters and a mozzarella stick appetizer while we waited for her sister to show up. It was about twenty minutes later when Eve perked up. I turned in my seat and found a tall platinum blonde bouncing into the room in short shorts and cowboy boots. Eve waved her hand, and Bailey saw it and waved back. She tapped Ellen’s stand twice and spoke to her briefly before dashing across the room.
Eve came to her feet, and Bailey fell into her embrace.
“Evie!”
“Bails!”
The girls held tight and turned in a quick circle. From this angle, it was clear that Bailey was a few inches taller than Eve, who was already taller than average. She was solidly built with sunbaked skin and heavily lined eyes.
Bailey pulled free and turned to face me. “Oh my God, you must be the boyfriend.”
“Bails,” Eve said again, this time with indignation.
“What? I’m meeting him. He must be important.”
“Nice to meet you, Bailey.”
I came to my feet and held my hand out. She took it in hers and shook, shooting a look at Eve with waggled eyebrows.
“Strong grip.”
Eve’s eyes went to the ceiling. “Lord. Sit your ass down.”
Bailey laughed and then slid into the seat next to Eve, across from me. “So, tell me everything. Eve has never brought a guy home. Are y’all, like, getting married?”
Eve’s forehead hit the table.
I just laughed. “We’re dating.”
“Ohhh, so it’s like that,” Bailey said. “I’ve dated a few guys, too.”
“You’re seventeen,” Eve grumbled. “Please stop using dated as a euphemism.”
Bailey shrugged. “Is she always this much of a downer for you, too?”
“She’s wonderful.”
Bailey fluttered her eyelashes at her sister. “He’s a keeper, sis.”
“I like him,” Eve admitted.
My heart skittered over those words. They shouldn’t have drawn such a reaction, but as much time as we’d spent together, neither of us had ever admitted to feelings. Hearing them from her, even as much as her liking me, was a revelation.
“When does school start?” I asked Bailey. “Eve said you’re starting your senior year.”
Her face soured at those words. “Yeah. I mean, I spent half the summer retaking Trig so they’d let me take AP Calculus. I haven’t exactly had a break. But it’s fine. I didn’t want to be in the house anyway.”
Eve bit her lip. “And you have everything you need to start on Monday?”
“Sure.”
It didn’t exactly sound convincing. Eve must have heard it, too, because she opened her mouth to ask more, but Bailey bulldozed over her.
“I just want to get back on the volleyball team.”
“Which is why you cared enough to retake Trig,” Eve said.
“Whatever works, right?” Bailey smiled up at me. “I couldn’t play last year because I was on academic probation.”
“She’s going to turn it around this year though, right?”
Bailey rolled her eyes at her sister. “Of course. Have to get into college so I can play volleyball.”
“Do you know where you want to go?” I asked.
“Nebraska,” she said automatically. “Though wherever will recruit me to play all four years.”
The waiter came back now that Bailey was here. We put in our order and chatted about her future plans while we ate. Bailey nibbled on a salad, Eve had a chicken sandwich, and I got the burger, which everyone had insisted was incredible, hence its placement on the sign. And it was every bit as good as described.
Bailey entertained us the whole meal. She could talk a mile a minute about anything that interested her. Like any teenager, she could shut down just as quickly when bored with a subject. Which appeared to be a long list of things—school, her grades, last year, work, the house, her dad. I’d thought Harley was a handful. Bailey gave her a run for her money.
“So, Nebraska is the dream?” I asked in surprise. I wasn’t sure I’d heard anyone say they wanted to move to Nebraska.
“If they can fill a football stadium for volleyball, I want to go there,” she told me confidently.
The waiter appeared then with the check, and I paid the whole thing before either woman could offer. Bailey shot Eve a look. I recognized it as the twin look that West and I shared. Though I didn’t know Bailey well enough to read it, I got the impression that I must have been doing something right.
We lingered over drinks as the crowd ebbed and flowed around us. Bailey kept trying to convince me to get out onto the dance floor and show off my line dancing moves.
“Come on,” Bailey said, jumping to her feet and grabbing my arm. “I’ll show you how it’s done. Eve would never.”
“You’re right. I would never, and I’ll bet you good money Whitt won’t do it either.”
“Yeah, you couldn’t pay me to get out there.”
Bailey sighed. “Come on, y’all. It’s fun.”
“You go then.”
“Not without you. Come on, Evie.”
Eve shook her head with a laugh, and then suddenly, the expression was gone from her face.
“What?” Bailey asked. She whipped around, and her expression froze, too. “Fuck.”
I glanced over in confusion at their reaction. All I saw was a tall man in a cowboy hat, smiling at Ellen, and what looked like ranch buddies. I didn’t know how else to describe the men who had sauntered inside.
“Dad,” Bailey groaned.
Oh…shit.
22
Eve
The world narrowed to the moment when Dad saw the pair of us together. He was with his golfing buddies. Guys he’d known my whole life. They’d ride horses, barbecue, and attend church together with their wives and children. Dad had paraded us before them for too long. Long enough for me to know each and every one of them was a creeper.
“Sit down, Bails,” I snapped.
The last thing I needed was for them to look at her ass nearly hanging out of her shorts. I didn’t give a fuck what she wore, but I didn’t want forty-year-old men to ogle the teenager.
Bailey didn’t argue for once. She plopped her butt back in the seat and went strangely silent. Whitt’s gaze shifted back to me. I’d told him the bare minimum about Dad, and I’d hoped he’d never meet the man. Because I knew exactly what was coming.
“Well, well, well,” he said with a boisterous laugh, “look at my two beautiful girls.” He left his posse behind and strode toward our booth.
If I could have gotten us out of there before this, then I would have. But there was no out with him, only through.
“Hello,” I said crisply.
“Dad,” Bailey said.
His smile was wide and fake as a snake. Ready to coil and strike at the right second. “This is a nice surprise.”
Neither of us said anything. Then, he caught sight of Whitt, who had been unnaturally still. As if he sensed our discomfort, like a predator at our back. I knew the moment my dad clocked him for exactly who he was.
“This must be the boyfriend,” he said.
Whitt, to his credit, came to his feet—a full head taller than my dad—and held his hand out. “Hello. Mr. Houston, I presume?”
“That’d be me,” he said, shaking his hand, “but you can call me Rick.”
“Whitton Wright.”
“Wright.” He pointed a trigger finger at Whitt. “Like Wright Construction, right? We see your signs all over town.”
“Correct.”
“Hope you’re treating my girls to lunch because you know they can’t afford it.” He laughed, aiming a finger at us, as if it were a joke.
Whitt gave him an appraising look and didn’t deem it fit to respond to that.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” I interjected, wanting nothing more than to put Bailey behind me like a physical shield.
“Here with the boys.” He gestured to the table of his friends. “You remember Ron, Dirk, Mullen—”
He was going to list them all if I didn’t intervene, so I quickly said, “Yes, I remember.”
“Why wasn’t I invited to your little lunch?”
Somehow, he managed to make it sound both our fault and condescending. Instead of the fact that none of us would have ever wanted him at our lunch.
“We’re only here for a day. Thought I’d introduce Bailey and Whitt.”
“Interesting,” he said. “But not to your old man?”
“It’s fine, Daddy,” Bailey said with a laugh. “They’re not serious enough for parental introductions. Don’t blow it out of proportion.”
I held back my wince. That wasn’t exactly true. If I had a parent I gave a shit about, maybe I would have introduced them to Whitt. If Gram were still here…
“Ah, so just one in a line of many,” my dad said with a laugh. He clapped Whitt on the shoulder. “Good luck with this one. She’s a fireball.”
“That’s why I like her,” he said, his jaw twitching.
Whitt wasn’t feeding into Dad’s ego the way that he wanted. I could see it now. He was going to go from obnoxious to so much worse any second. How could I extract us from this? I couldn’t let him be his normal self. Not in front of Whitt.
