“Do we have to go back right away?” he asked.
I smiled and looked up at him. “What did you have in mind?”
“I have a lot of things in mind, but for right now, I want to stay right here with you. I am not even close to being done with you yet.”
“I like the sound of that. I’ll call and let them know I won’t be back for a couple of days. Beau can hold down the fort.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Your brother is probably going to want to kill me.”
I laughed. “Oakley will learn to deal with it.”
He was quiet for a few seconds. “I really wished I wouldn’t have accepted that offer on my house. I’m kind of homeless.”
“Stay with me.”
“Are you still at your dad’s place?”
I nodded. “I am. It feels right. I don’t want to leave it empty. With you there, it won’t feel so lonely.”
“That’s a big step,” he warned.
“I don’t care. I want you there. I want you with me. Say you will?”
“Can my friends come?”
“Your friends?” I asked with confusion.
He grinned. “My furry friends.”
My mouth dropped. “No!” I said, slapping his chest. “I can’t believe you were even there.”
“Me either.”
“You can’t go back there.”
“My stuff is there.”
“We’ll buy new stuff.”
He chuckled, rubbing my back. “You’re crazy and I love you even more for it.”
Chapter 39
Rogan
I carried my heaping plate of rice and beans with a couple of shredded pork tacos to the table where Granger was stuffing his face like he hadn’t eaten in years. He nodded his head by way of greeting. I looked over at the other tables filled with the other guys from the yard stuffing their faces as well.
“I don’t know how you stay so damn skinny when you eat the way you do,” I told him.
“Because unlike you, I work. I don’t sit behind a desk and file my nails all day.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“I’ll tell you what I’m jealous of,” he said and nodded toward Cora, who was talking with a few of the other guys. “That.”
“She isn’t a that.”
“How is all of that going? She certainly looks like a satisfied woman.”
“You doubt it?”
He grinned, grabbing another bite. “Not at all.”
“Do you like your new position?”
He shrugged. “It’s all right, but I’m kind of tired of everyone asking me what to do all the time.”
“You’re their boss. They are supposed to ask you what to do.”
He shrugged. “It’s all good. I like the money. What’s it like being a billionaire?”
“I’m not a billionaire,” I corrected. He enjoyed teasing me about my relationship with Cora. I didn’t mind.
“You live in a mansion. Do you have a map to get around?”
“It isn’t a mansion. It is actually a very nice family home. Now the property is a different story.”
He grinned, nodding. “Being rich looks good on you.”
“I’m not rich. She is.”
“But you two are a couple and aren’t you like vice president or some shit?”
“We are a team, and we are a couple, but her wealth is her wealth. I’m not with her for that.”
“Oh shit, I know that. I can see exactly why you are with her.”
I kicked him under the table. “You keep looking at her like that and I’m going to knock you on your ass.”
“I was just looking at her.”
“You are looking at her like you look at your tacos,” I told him.
He didn’t deny it. I knew he had an innocent crush on her. A lot of men did. I didn’t blame them. My girl was gorgeous and smart and funny. It was no wonder they all wanted her. They could want her all they wanted. She was mine and I was very secure in our relationship.
“When are you bringing out the new bigwig?” he asked.
“I’m showing him the ropes right now. I don’t want you roughnecks scaring him off.”
“I don’t know why you had to bring anyone else on,” he pouted. “There are far too many suits up there as it is.”
“Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my days working around the clock and I don’t want Cora to do it either. We need some time. We need help. With Beau gone, she and I are pulling all the weight. It was cool for a while, but I’m over it. I want time with my woman and I don’t want to keep risking getting caught having sex in her office.”
“Everybody knows that’s all you guys do anyway.”
“No, everyone suspects but they don’t know,” I corrected. “We both want to be able to take a vacation or have one weekend where one of us isn’t called to put out a fire.”
“Are you planning on retiring soon?” he asked.
“No, but I do have plans to live my life with Cora outside of that office.”
“What are you boys up to?” Cora asked as she walked up to us. She sat down next to me on the bench, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. “You two worry me when you are alone. It’s like two toddlers sneaking away to make mischief. You aren’t planning on blowing up anymore anthills, are you?”
I rolled my eyes. “One anthill, one time.”
“It wasn’t an anthill,” she argued. “And who uses Tannerite to take care of an anthill?”
Granger grinned. “I do.”
She shook her head. “You two are menaces.”
“Hey, your dad didn’t like to use poison on his property. I was only adhering to his wishes.”
“You’re so full of shit,” she shot back.
She reached into the pocket of the hoodie she was wearing and tossed a bag of Skittles at Granger. He quickly grabbed them. “What do you need, boss lady? You need a guy taken out? You need me to fire someone?”
It was a running joke. Whenever she needed a favor or something extra from Granger, she bribed him with Skittles. It didn’t take her long to figure out he was a cheap hire, wanting very little. They got along great, which made me happy. Granger was helping me clean up some of the land on her father’s estate. She’d gotten the idea she wanted a little farm. I was hoping the dream would fade before we ended up getting up at the crack of dawn to milk cows.
“Nope, I just wanted to say thank you for doing an extra good job this last month.”
“Thank you,” he replied. “Now, if you kids don’t mind, I have a date with some tacos. No sex on the table.”
He got up and walked away, leaving us alone for a few minutes. As alone as we could be in a lunchroom filled with railmen.
“How’s it going?” I asked her.
She smiled, rubbing my leg under the table. “Good. Everyone seems happy. I had a couple of complaints in the suggestion box but nothing earth shattering. What were you two talking about?”
“Stupid stuff,” I answered. “Nothing exciting. He’s a little worried about a new suit.”
“Was it the right thing to do?” she asked nervously. “I hate to break up our team.”
“You didn’t break up the team. The business is growing, and it is too much for us to handle on our own. We can’t give customers the service they are used to if we are stretched thin. It’s the right move.”
“Good, because I am really looking forward to lightening our workload.”
I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. We did our best not to show too much affection in public, but sometimes, I just couldn’t stop myself. “You and me both. I have grand plans of sleeping in on a Saturday morning and staying in bed all day.”
“And what do you plan on doing in that bed?” she whispered.
“You. I plan on doing you. Over and over and over.”
I saw her cheeks flush and knew I got to her. I loved that I could turn her on wit
h a few words or a simple touch. She did the same to me. I would have thought the desire and passion would cool after six months together, but it only grew more intense.
“Oakley is coming this weekend. Don’t forget.”
I groaned. “Wasn’t he just here?”
She slapped my arm. “That was for Christmas. He is coming to check out that house I told him about.”
I smiled. “I know. I just like to tease you. You know I love your brother.”
“Good, because when he moves back, you guys better get along. I won’t tolerate any more pissing contests.”
“I won those pissing contests,” I replied.
She groaned, rolling her eyes. “Funny, because he says he did.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t give him the house?” I asked again. “I feel weird living there and him buying a new place.”
“He doesn’t want the house. He wants to keep it in the family, but he doesn’t want to live in it. Oakley has never been the type to want to follow in our father’s footsteps. He needs to forge his own way. He wants to create his own legacy and have something to pass down to his children.”
I scoffed. “That’s assuming the man ever settles down.”
“True, but one day, he will. For now, the house is ours.”
I nodded, appreciating how she just took me in. It had been a tough pill to swallow in the beginning and my ego took a bit of a hit, but I got over it. Being with her and making her happy was more important than me feeling more manly. She was the breadwinner but insisted we were equal partners. That was her generous nature. I accepted her and all that came with her. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I think you should probably give your speech,” I told her. “Everyone is sitting down. You have a captive audience.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to give it? They like hearing from you better.”
“Nah, they need to hear from you. Let them know the changes happening at the office are not going to change anything here.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“You’ve got this,” I said and gave her leg a squeeze.
She got up from the table and grabbed one of the folding chairs. Just like that first time she addressed the group, she climbed up on her pedestal and began to talk.
“I am so proud to be a part of this team,” she said. “You guys are the best. I cannot tell you how many times we get compliments from drivers and customers who have interacted with one of you. They always ask me how I got such a good group of people to work out here. I am not sure what that answer is, but I am glad each of you is here.”
“Tacos!” Granger shouted. “We’re here because of tacos.”
Everyone laughed, including Cora. “I wanted to assure you all that we are still going to maintain our small business attitude, even as our business grows. We will still be making regular visits out here, and as always, if there is a problem, you can come to us. Rogan and I will be driving this train still, but we need a little help. Extra people helping us means we will be more available to all of you. Trust me when I say Rogan is a hard man to impress. The candidates we have been interviewing have to get through him first. You all trust him. Please trust that he is doing the right thing for you. Can we all just give him a hand to let him know we are glad he is looking out for all of us?”
There was a round of applause. I held up my hand, letting them know I appreciated their confidence in me.
I mouthed thank you to Cora before she got back to her little speech. I sat at my table and watched with awe. I was so proud of her. The first month or so after Beau retired had certainly been rocky. Neither of us really understood how much the man did until it was dropped on our plates. He was the glue that held everything together. With his absence, we had to make our own glue.
We did that together, spending many late nights in the office. We strategized, delegated, and worked our asses off to fill the hole he left behind. The strain had made it difficult for us to keep up with everything, but it brought us closer together. We leaned on each other, and when one of us was buckling under the weight of it all, the other was right there to prop the other up.
I had been asked many times when we were going to get married. In my mind, we already were. We were a team. We were partners in life and in business. Plus, trying to plan a proposal and then a wedding was about the last thing either of us needed.
I wasn’t in a hurry. I wasn’t going anywhere, and I wouldn’t let her go anywhere.
Epilogue
Cora
One year later
I turned left, then right, looking at my reflection in the mirror. I smoothed the black beaded gown over my hips and decided it was as good as it was going to get. I prayed the Spanx held out. Tonight was a big night and I wanted to make sure I looked the part of a successful CEO. I clipped on the diamond earrings that were a gift from Rogan and ran my fingers through my hair.
“Babe, are you ready?” Rogan shouted from downstairs.
I was running late. I was nervous as hell. I walked out of our bedroom and headed downstairs. Rogan was waiting at the foot of the stairs looking handsome as ever in his black tux. I was one lucky woman. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and nearly tumbled down the stairs.
“You look very Bond-like. I kind of want to take you back upstairs and make you scream my name.”
He smiled, taking my hand and dropping a kiss on the back of it. “Woman, looking at you in that dress all night is going to leave me with a permanent erection. Do not tempt me.”
“We could just not go,” I offered. “We could go upstairs and get naked and do things to one another that should never be spoken about in the light of day.”
He leaned down and kissed my neck. “I am going to do those things to you, but not until after this party.”
I groaned. “I feel so weird about this.”
“Don’t feel weird. This party is about you and your success.”
“It isn’t just me. It’s all of us.”
“Which is why we are shelling out a ridiculous amount of money to wine and dine our executives and investors. We are celebrating all of the success the company has had under your guidance. This is about recognizing you for kicking ass. Let us celebrate you.”
“Fine, but I don’t want to make a speech.”
“You have to make a speech,” he said and took my hand. “I love how humble you are, baby, but this is your moment. It is your time to shine.”
He ushered me to the waiting limo that was taking us to the celebration at an upscale hotel. When we walked in, everyone stopped and applauded. I was seriously going to die of embarrassment. I hated so much attention being put on me. It wasn’t like I did it alone.
Rogan grabbed us each a glass of champagne. Steve, the man we hired to fill Beau’s shoes, made his way toward us with his lovely wife on his arm.
“There you guys are,” he greeted. “I was beginning to think she finally managed to convince you not to make her come.”
I laughed. “I did try.”
“It was a valiant effort, but this is all about her tonight.”
“Yes, it is,” Steve agreed.
I turned to his wife and complimented her dress. A few seconds later, we had separated from the men and were catching up on her kids. Then Steve and Rogan rejoined us.
“Ladies, I would like you to meet a potential client,” Rogan said.
I smiled at the older man who extended his hand to mine. “Well, it is nice to finally meet you,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot.”
I assumed it was Rogan who was singing my praises and touched his arm. “I’m sorry if he talked your ear off.”
“Not me,” Rogan said with a laugh and pointed at Steve. “It was all him.”
“Guilty as charged,” Steve said. “I ran into Gary here at a livestock auction up north. We got to talking and he mentioned he was expanding his company and looking at moving freight out west.”
“The
man spent the next thirty minutes talking about your company and how it was on the cutting edge of everything,” Gary said with a laugh. “I missed out on bidding on the steer I was there to get because he got me so excited about the idea of using rail to move my stuff.”
“Did he now?”
“I told him about the new engines and how we just won that environmental award. Everyone wants to get on board, pun intended.”
His wife rolled her eyes. “Dad jokes for days with this one.”
“I would love to talk with you more about your business needs,” I told him.
“I have already scheduled a meeting. I don’t want to ruin the evening talking business, but I wanted to meet you and congratulate you on a job well done.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. I look forward to that meeting.”
Gary walked away, with Steve grabbing Rogan again to make more introductions. His wife turned to me, still smiling. “You’ve made Steve a happy man. He hated his last job. When he told me about your company, I was a little skeptical at first. This job has changed our lives. Thank you for taking a chance on him.”
“He was qualified for the job and it was Rogan who said he had a gut feeling about him. I trust Rogan’s judgement.”
We talked a bit longer before she was pulled away. I mingled, shaking hands and smiling at all of our guests. “There she is,” I heard a familiar voice say and spun around.
“Beau!” I exclaimed and threw myself at him for a hug. “I wasn’t sure you would make it.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything. I had to come and see all of your hard work being recognized.”
“Thank you. How are you? You look good.”
“I’m good. I just sailed in early this afternoon.”
“Where were you this time?”
“The Florida Keys,” he said with a fond smile. “Beautiful weather.”
“I see retirement is working well for you.”
“It is. I can’t believe I didn’t do this earlier. I should have. I am taking advantage of every minute I have.”
Backing You Up Page 24