by Gerri Hill
“She’s more into fish and tofu and stuff. Chicken occasionally. Definitely not beef.”
Kyler wrinkled her nose. “Tofu?” She rolled her eyes. “No, she will so not fit in up here. I don’t think you can buy tofu within a hundred miles.”
Mark nodded. “She looks good, though. When I went to see her in July, she was dealing with Crazy Cathy and the lack of a job was still fresh. She was totally frazzled and stressed out.”
“Yeah, a crazy ex will do that to you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Is this the broken heart ex or—?”
“No.”
“So?”
“It was right after college. She liked to get high. I wasn’t really into that, so—” she shrugged. “When I broke up with her, she went nuts and trashed the apartment.” She grinned. “It was her apartment, not mine. I had already gotten my things out. I mean, she went nuts. Police showed up. There were drugs there. She got arrested. The whole thing.”
“Man. It’s a wonder they didn’t haul your ass in too.”
“It was quite obvious which of us the drugs belonged to.”
“You see her after that?”
“Yeah. It’s why I ran away to Corpus.”
“So you have a Crazy Cathy in your life too. Cathy trashed the apartment, only it was Lexie’s place.”
She finished her beer. “That’s another reason I’m not interested in dating. After her—Micha was her name. After Micha, then it was the broken heart. Britney. So I don’t date.”
“Your boss’s wife?”
“That wasn’t dating! That was sex.”
“That’s just crazy,” he said with a laugh. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”
“When he caught us, I think if he’d had a gun…”
They looked at each other, both smiling. “If we don’t find you a date soon, you and me, ten years from now…”
“Yeah, we’ll be sitting here drinking beer, wondering where the time went.” She smiled when she said it, but it was probably the truth. Four-plus years had already buzzed by. She wasn’t really concerned, though. She was happy. Content. Her days were full. Her life felt full. The people here had adopted her as one of their own. She certainly wasn’t lonely. That thought never even crossed her mind. Boring, maybe. She supposed she had become boring.
“Maybe we should get a dog.”
She arched an eyebrow. “We?”
“Well, you. I can visit him when I come over.”
“If I got a pet, it would be a cat.”
“A cat? I don’t see you as a cat person. A dog. A black lab, maybe.”
She considered it. “Maybe. A hiking partner.” She slid her empty glass toward him. “So? How was she?”
“Lexie?” He laughed. “Culture shock, like you when you first walked in here.” He refilled her mug. “You asked me where you could get a one-way ticket out of town. Remember?”
She laughed. “I’d been here three days before I found out there was a bar up here. That’s the only reason I came in.”
“Yeah, to drown your sorrows.” He smiled broadly. “And then you met me, and all was right with the world again.”
She rolled her eyes. “So what about your sister?”
He shrugged. “She stayed for a beer. We chatted. She’s terrified, I think. Like a fish out of water, you know. She had a lot of friends, was always busy, always going out, doing stuff.”
“So maybe she’ll take up hiking.”
“She went to the gym every day. She’s a beast on the treadmill.”
“Why run inside when you can run outside?”
“Spin classes. Weight machines. Some fancy rowing something or other.” He picked up her glass and wiped under it. “I told her the closest gym was in Alpine.”
“Alpine is a college town. She could probably make some friends there.”
“She’d probably come closer to making friends in Marfa. You know, artists and old hippies and such. Marfa has more of an Austin vibe than Alpine. Besides, she’s thirty. Kinda old to hang out with college kids.”
“Well, you shouldn’t worry about it. She’ll either fit in or she won’t. She’ll stay or she’ll go. Your mother seems to think she’s already got her mind made up anyway.”
“I don’t know. Lexie wants to make it work, I think. I mean, in her mind, she wants to give it a go. Said she needed a change.” He shrugged. “But you should have seen her face when she walked in here.”
“Was she expecting a five-star restaurant or something?”
“We’re not much more than a roadside diner. Greasy spoon.” He laughed. “Then she read the menu.”
“No tofu.”
“She was like, ‘Everything is fried! Who eats like that?’”
“Maybe she can help with the menu then. You’ve been talking about putting in one of those indoor grills. You could do real steaks, grilled chicken. Grilled fish,” she added hopefully.
“I know. We’ll see.”
She glanced at the clock above the bar. “We’re going over at six thirty, like usual?”
“Yeah, Irene can handle it.” He leaned on the bar. “I’m anxious for you to meet Lexie.”
“Oh, Mark, don’t push it so much. I told you—”
He laughed. “She looked really good. I think you’re going to like her. In fact, she’s—oh, speak of the devil,” he said when his phone rang.
“Hey, sis.” He nodded. “Okay, I won’t forget. We’ll bring them.” Then he smiled at her. “Kyler’s having a beer with me.” He paused. “She’s not a big wine drinker.” He nodded. “So you should tell her. Just like you should tell her you don’t like the greasy, meaty, cheesy casserole, tell her you don’t like wine.” He paused again. “Okay. I’ll bring a bottle of bourbon. Yes, and some Coke too.” He ended the call.
“What was that about?”
“Dinner rolls. Don’t let me forget. I took them out of the freezer earlier to thaw.”
“And wine?”
“She said Mom had three bottles of wine out. Lexie wanted to know what kind you drink.”
“So she’s not a wine drinker either. I would have guessed she was. You know, the tofu and fish thing.”
“My sister likes bourbon. And then she dilutes it with Coke like you do.”
“My kind of gal.”
“See? I told you. And she’s cute.”
Kyler shook her head. “She may be cute and she likes bourbon, but I don’t do tofu.”
“You’ve never had it, have you?”
“No.”
“It’s not bad. Whenever I go see her, she takes me out to a vegan restaurant at least once.” He looked past her and nodded. “Be right back.”
She stared into the mirror behind the bar, absently watching as he took beer bottles over to a table. She didn’t know why, but she was a little nervous about the prospect of meeting Lexie. She didn’t care one way or the other if she liked the sister or not. Or vice versa. It wouldn’t affect her life. And based on the little she’d learned about Lexie, she would probably be leaving and heading back to Austin after the holidays. As Tammy had said, it takes a certain person to embrace the remoteness that they had up here.
“We’re not that busy tonight. Irene told me to go already. You want to head over?”
She nodded and finished off her beer. “Don’t forget the bourbon and dinner rolls.”
* * *
They went around to the back door of the office and took the stairs up to the Waltons’ suite. She smiled at that thought. That’s what Susan always called it—their suite. It was larger than an apartment, though. They’d gutted the whole upstairs when they bought the lodge. It had been cramped with three bedrooms—the previous owners had four kids—and a small kitchen and living area. Susan and Dale had opened it up—bright and airy—and enclosed only a master bedroom for them. Everything else was open, with thick wooden pillars spaced throughout. The white sheetrock walls were replaced with cedar planks and a bank of windows displayed the rocky hillside
of junipers and oaks. It was warm and inviting and Kyler felt right at home there.
She took a deep breath as Mark tapped his knuckles against the door before going inside. She paused only a second, then went in after him. At first glance, everything seemed normal. The flames in the fireplace were dancing, a candle was lit on the mantel, and quiet music—a Christmas tune—played in the background. The enticing smell of dinner wafted about.
Then her gaze was drawn toward the kitchen. A young woman was at the sink, washing dishes. Light brown hair, silky and shiny, not quite shoulder length, was tucked behind both ears. She caught a twinkle of diamond from an earring. The woman turned and Kyler felt her breath catch. Mark hadn’t been lying—his sister was damn cute. Her hair was parted slightly off center and part of it feathered across her right eyebrow. An eyebrow that was dark and thick and arched slightly as Kyler stared. She smiled then, meeting eyes that were…what? Green? Blue?
“Kyler, come in,” Susan beckoned. “Meet my daughter, Lexie.”
The eyes were blue, she decided.
“Nice to meet you.” Lexie held up wet hands. “I’d offer to shake, but…”
No. The eyes were green. Say something. She swallowed.
“Hi. I’m…Kyler.”
The blue or green eyes blinked at her. “Yes, I kinda assumed as much.”
She stumbled to think of something—anything—to say when Mark elbowed her.
“Told you she was cute.”
Chapter Ten
“Open whatever wine y’all want.”
“I brought bourbon.”
Lexie feigned surprise. “You did? I think I’ll have that instead of wine.” She smiled at her mother. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, honey. Have what you want. Kyler? What about you?”
“You know, I think I’ll have bourbon with them.”
Lexie was surprised when her mother playfully pinched Kyler’s cheek. “I know you only humor me when you join me for wine. I know you would rather have a cocktail with the guys.”
She watched as a very lovely blush covered Kyler’s face. Oh, Mark hadn’t been fibbing. In fact, he hadn’t been generous enough in his description of his friend. Her hair was dark and thick and wavy, reaching just past the collar of her shirt. Smooth, tan skin—she looked almost handsome.
“Yeah. Mark’s a bad influence on me.”
“Sure. Blame me.” He sat the bottle of Crown on the countertop. “Where’s Dad?”
“In the shower. He finally got that hot water heater working. Took him all afternoon.”
Lexie twisted off the cap. “Cocktail or straight up?”
“I’ll have a cocktail. Kyler and I found this sipping whiskey that is to die for. Pecan praline. It’s like candy. That’s the only thing I’ll drink straight now.”
“So you two hang out a lot, huh?” She didn’t ask the question to either of them in particular, but Kyler was the one to answer.
“When I first moved up here, I was completely lost. Everything was foreign to me. I came from down at the coast—Corpus Christi. I went into the bar and there this handsome fella was.”
Mark blushed. “Yeah. Remember when Tammy tried to set us up?”
“Who is Tammy?”
“She’s a clerk in the office at the park.” Kyler took the glass she offered her. “Thanks. She and her husband have become friends of mine. They have a ranch and I go out and do some riding.”
“Horses?”
“Yeah. Their property backs up to Mount Livermore so there are some great trails.” She raised her eyebrows. “Do you ride?”
“Me?” Lexie shook her head. “No. I’ve never even been near a horse.”
“Oh, then Kyler should take you,” her mother offered.
Lexie gave her mother a fake smile. “That’s okay. I’m sure you’ll have plenty to keep me busy.”
“Don’t be silly. Other than working on our new online registration system, you’re going to have plenty of time on your hands.”
“What online registration? I thought you already installed one.”
“Oh, we have one, but it’s not totally what we wanted. We couldn’t decide which software we liked the most, so we got the one that fit us best. Dale thought we could just write our own, taking bits and pieces of everything we liked, but he stays so busy.” She added wine to her glass. “Frankly, I’m scared to even try it. I haven’t written code in over seven years. We thought we would talk you into taking a look at it. Maybe tweak the one we’ve got.”
“Me? I don’t know the first thing about a reservation system.”
“But you know all about building programs.”
“I know about managing projects to build programs. Big difference.”
Susan waved her protest away. “You were better at it than both me and your father. I can’t believe you couldn’t get another job.”
“I could have gotten a job, Mom. Just not at the salary I was used to and not as a manager.” Lexie turned to Kyler. “The company I worked for got bought out,” she explained. “My department was absorbed and we were deemed redundant.”
Kyler nodded. “I’m sure that was tough.”
Lexie cocked an eyebrow. “You already knew that.” She turned to Mark. “You have to tell her everything?”
“Surprisingly, I’ve told her very little about you. But I was explaining why you were coming up here.”
Kyler held her hand up. “Really. He rarely talks about you. Well, he did tell me about Crazy Cathy.”
“Oh my god! You told her about that?” She glared at Mark. “Really?”
“What’s the big deal?”
“I never did like Cathy,” her mother chimed in, on cue. “I told you that from the very beginning.”
Lexie rubbed her forehead. “You had a dream she set my car on fire. I know.”
“You were in the car at the time.”
Lexie held her hand up. “Mom…I know. Thankfully, your dream did not come true.”
“How long were you dating?”
Lexie turned to Kyler. “About two months too long.”
“About two years too long,” her mother added.
Lexie took a large swallow from her drink. “Shouldn’t we start on the tree?”
* * *
Earlier when Lexie had inspected the tree, she’d been shocked to find that it was a real tree. As long as she could remember, her parents always had an artificial Christmas tree. This one smelled wonderful and when her father plugged the lights in, the room was transformed into holiday goodness. Oh, her mother had already put out a few Christmasy knickknacks, but it wasn’t until the tree was lit that the room became festive.
She quickly found out that Kyler was an ornament hog. She also found out that Kyler was right at home with her family. She was also quite familiar with their tradition of making note of each ornament that was hung.
“Oh, this is the one that Phil made a few years ago.”
“He’s such a talented wood carver,” her mother added. “Can’t believe it’s only a hobby of his.”
“Who is Phil?” she asked as she pulled a small ceramic owl from the box.
“Phil is Tammy’s husband,” Mark supplied. “She’s the one who works at the state park.”
“Runs the office,” Kyler interjected as she nudged Lexie out of the way to grab another ornament. “When we go riding at their ranch. I’ll introduce you to Phil. He’s got a great collection of carvings.”
“I’m not going riding,” she said a little too forcefully as she hung her owl on the tree. “I don’t remember where this came from.”
“I got that owl in El Paso at a garage sale, of all places,” her mother said.
“You have a lot of new ornaments. I don’t recognize them.”
“Yes, I suppose we do. When we were in Austin, our tree was a little more fancy, always a theme and matching ornaments. Our theme has become a little more nature-oriented up here.” She held up a little squirrel with a tiny red scarf around its
neck. “Picked this up at a shop in Marfa. We’ll need to go by there during the holidays. They’ve got so much neat stuff.”
Her father was in his recliner, watching them. His hair was showing gray now, but he was still as thin and fit as always. “Lexie, there’s a deer in there. Put him over on the right, toward the bottom. Got a good spot for him.”
Mark found the deer and handed it to her. Kyler had pulled out a bright red cardinal, sitting on a snow-covered log.
“One of my favorites.”
“You got that for us that very first Christmas you were here.” Her mother laughed and turned away. “Which reminds me—I have a gift for you.” She produced a small box wrapped in red and green paper. Kyler took it and weighed it in her hand as if trying to determine what it was.
“An ornament, I’d guess.”
“Yes, it is. For your tree, not this one. Open it,” her mother urged.
Kyler ripped into it, then a blush covered her face as she grinned at her. Her mother in turn laughed out loud.
“I couldn’t resist!”
Kyler held up the ornament—a bright blue bird with exaggerated feet and bill, holding binoculars up to its eyes. Bird Watcher was stamped across his breast.
Mark laughed too and slapped her shoulder. “Busted!”
Lexie frowned, feeling left out of the obvious joke between them.
“Well, for your information, I love it. Because I’m starting a new theme on my tree. All birds.” Kyler glanced at her, seeming to recognize the distance Lexie felt. “I’m a closeted birdwatcher. I knew your mother had a clue, but I didn’t think Mark knew.”
“How could I not know? You made me put a bird feeder up at my house so we could see it from the deck.”
Lexie saw the genuine affection between them as they smiled at each other. “So what is it that you do? As a birdwatcher,” she clarified. “I mean, other than watch them.”
“Well, you identify them. Using a bird book. And then you put them on your life list.” Again, a slight blush lit her face. “Sounds kinda lame when I say it out loud.” They all laughed, including Kyler. “It’s a hobby, that’s all. I only wish I’d started it when I worked on Mustang Island. Tons of birds down there.”