“I saw said female.” Randy crossed his arms and nodded. “I’d drop the leg too if she were in my arena.” His shoulders shook as his wheezy laugh had Graham smiling. “What you fellas get, closin’ yourselves off out there. See a pretty face and lose your minds. Ya need more practice around the other sex. And church don’t count.” He narrowed his gaze at Graham and nodded for him to head inside. “Now treat the lady to a drink, on me.” Randy didn’t offer the money for said drink, just his typical nod of entrance.
Graham stepped inside and slipped his hat from his head as he searched the room for his brothers. He heard the laughter and immediately looked to the left. Sloppy waved from behind the bar as she swiped a towel over the overly polished wood. “Hey Slop, how’s it going?”
“Good, Graham. Heard about your accident today.” She grimaced when she eyed his hand. “You going to live?”
He smirked as he accepted the cold bottle of beer she slid across to him. “Much to everyone’s disappointment, I think so.”
She grinned. “That’s good. Seth wasn’t too sure if he would after today.”
“His fate is still in question,” Graham admitted unforgivingly.
“Don’t be too hard on him. He was a hero. Let him bask in that for at least a few days.” Grinning, she nodded towards the table where his family sat. “She’s real pretty.”
“You’re real pretty,” Graham complimented and had Sloppy rolling her eyes.
“And don’t you forget it.”
Graham glanced at her name tag. “Ruby, is it?”
“So my birth certificate says.”
“Don’t recall ever seeing you wear your actual name before.”
“Well, maybe I’m tired of people calling me Sloppy.” She smiled, her red lips freshly painted.
“You haven’t been sloppy since you were fourteen years old. It’s not your fault you live in Parks and nicknames seem to stick.”
“True. Guess I need to branch out then.”
Graham tilted his head. “You thinkin’ about it?”
“The thought has crossed my mind,” Ruby admitted. “But then what would I do with this place and old Randy?”
Graham shrugged. “He’s a grown man.”
“Right.” Ruby leaned on her elbows, her dark, pixie cut hair swooped to the side of her face. She’d always struck Graham as a poisonous fairy. A dainty girl with a short crop of black hair, creamy skin, and that odd style of wearing bold colors on her lips and eye lids. To him, Ruby had always been the little girl that tagged along after them in school. Unruly hair, skinned knees, and stained dresses. “Well, I can tell you what a few grown men are doing right now, and that’s making fools of themselves over the newcomer. Go humble them, Graham, before they embarrass the family name.” She winked and walked down the bar to another local customer.
He grabbed his hat and beer and walked towards his family. Alice spotted him first, her eyes widening a small fraction before a slow smile crept over her face. “Well, well, well, look who decided to join us.”
Her comment had everyone else glancing his direction. Everyone smiled minus one person: Julia. She seemed to shrink back into her chair and that surprised him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about a woman being scared of him, and he sensed that from across the room as his eyes met hers. Wariness watched his every move as he walked towards the table. He tugged on Seth’s collar, his youngest brother voicing a protest as Graham plucked him out of his seat at the head of the table and next to Julia and nudged him further down the table. Graham eased into the chair, his knees slightly bumping the underside of the table.
Alice laughed at Julia’s surprise of him sitting beside her. Graham extended his good hand towards Julia. She hesitated but then slipped hers into his. “Graham Hastings. Don’t think we’ve had a proper introduction.” He waited patiently as she just stared at him as if he’d dropped down from another planet. She blinked, and then forced a polite smile. “Julia McComas. It’s nice to meet you, Graham.”
“And what changed your mind?” Alice asked.
Graham pinned a pointed gaze at his brother Calvin. “I was hungry.”
Calvin rubbed his stomach. “Thanks for the spaghetti earlier.”
“Jerk.” Graham reached for the menu on the table and flipped through it, already knowing what he wanted.
“We haven’t ordered yet,” Alice reported. “We were waiting for you to get here.”
Graham glanced up. “How’d you know I’d come?”
She nodded towards Calvin. “He confessed and we knew you’d bite the bullet for a good steak.”
“Seems I’m predictable.”
“I’d hardly say that,” Julia mumbled as she took a sip of her own drink. He turned and quirked a brow at her before turning back to his menu.
“Guess I’ll throw you all off tonight, then, and say that I’m buyin’.”
Seth and Clint hooted and held up a hand towards Sloppy at the bar for another round of drinks.
“Don’t go crazy,” Graham warned them.
“You offered,” Clint reminded him.
“True. But we have to move cows tomorrow. I don’t want you fools falling out of the saddle.”
“Turn it off, Graham,” Lawrence warned. “Just be generous and move on.”
Taking his brother’s advice, Graham decided it wouldn’t be so bad to just enjoy the company and a good dinner. He watched Clint toss back the rest of his beer when Ruby walked up with the next round. Maybe.
“And what will it be, Graham?” Ruby asked, pen and pad in hand.
“Steak. Medium rare. And whatever else you want to put with it.”
Ruby nodded and jotted down his order. She looked to Julia. “And you, sweetie?”
“Same. Please.”
“It’s a big steak. We offer half steaks,” Ruby offered.
“I’m good,” Julia assured her. “I like steak.”
“Atta girl.” Ruby winked and moved on down. She tapped her elbow against Lawrence’s head to get his attention, the brother immediately reciting his dish of choice.
“You like steak, but you bought vegan sandwiches for lunch?”
“I have varied tastes. Do you guys come here often?” Julia asked Graham.
“Yes. When we can. Sloppy’s a family friend.” He nodded towards Ruby.
“That’s Sloppy?” Julia’s eyes widened. “She doesn’t look sloppy to me. She’s beautiful.”
“That she is. But like all people, she had an awkward stage… hers just happened to be from age zero to fourteen.”
“And the nickname stuck,” Julia finished, and he nodded.
“Well, I’m glad to see she embraces it. Not many people would.”
“It’s how people know her around here. Few really know her real name.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you know her real name?” Julia asked.
“Of course I do.” He looked offended.
“And what is it?”
“Ruby Cole.”
Julia smiled in appreciation. “So why did you sit beside me? After today I figured you would want to boot me out of Parks forever.”
“This is the head of the table.” He pointed to his chair.
“And?”
“And I’m the head of the family.” He pointed to his brothers. “I always sit at the head of the table.”
“Seriously?” she asked, knowing the answer. His face was overly serious, as if her question was completely preposterous.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Just seems a bit old fashioned, I guess.”
He shrugged. “Just how it’s been.”
“Hey Julia, good news, Calvin’s going to come check out my air conditioner.”
“Oh, good.” Relief washed over her face.
“What’s wrong with your AC?” Graham asked.
“My window unit’s acting up. My house is as hot as Hades’ first flirtation with flames. We about died just ch
anging clothes to come here. It’s miserable in the house.”
“Keep telling you to have your house converted to central air and heat. You sweat all summer and ‘bout freeze all winter because of that stupid unit,” Graham muttered.
“But then I wouldn’t be able to call upon a Hastings brother to come to my rescue,” Alice smirked. “You know I have to do my part to make you guys feel special every once in a while.”
Julia grinned at her friend and then turned to see Graham’s reaction. Absolutely no emotion could be read on his face. The man was an iron mask. Did he ever smile? Or laugh?
“I would have fixed it for ya, Al,” Seth offered.
“No thanks. You fixed it last time… a week ago, and yet, here we are.”
The brothers laughed as Seth sheepishly shrugged. He looked at his watch. “Did anyone tell Philip we were eatin’ in town tonight?”
None of the brothers acknowledged his question.
“Well, ain’t that a shame.” Seth whipped out his cell phone. “He’d be awfully disappointed to miss out on a steak on Graham’s tab.”
“I think he had a date in Sheffield.” Clint interrupted.
“A date?” Hayes’ brows rose. “When did Philip start datin’?”
“Does it matter?” Alice asked. “Good for him. Might do you all some good to find a girl to take out every now and then. Teach ya’ll some manners.”
“Don’t have time for women,” Lawrence admitted with a disappointed frown. “At least, no time to drive and meet any.”
“It’s not that far to Sheffield,” Julia encouraged.
“I’m not talking about Sheffield,” Lawrence stated. “That town’s not much bigger than Parks. If we wanted to find a good woman, we’d have to go farther than 60 miles.”
“Unless a good woman came to you,” Julia replied. Several heads turned her direction and Graham’s brow arched at her response to his brother. She blushed. “I didn’t mean me. I just meant that maybe… I don’t know… one will turn up one day. Soon. And there’s always Alice. She’s single.”
Alice choked back a sip of her drink and Hayes lightly patted her on the back.
“They always say to never settle,” Lawrence said. “And, well, Alice would be settling if she chose one of us. She deserves the best.”
“Awe, thanks Lawrence.” Alice beamed across the table. “And that mentality right there is what would make you a delightful catch for any woman.”
“Women are a distraction,” Graham reminded his brother.
Julia turned in surprise. “A distraction? That’s a bit rude.”
“Really?” he asked, holding up his hand. “Would I have this if you hadn’t distracted Seth earlier today? Would the cow have charged if you hadn’t distracted her?”
Julia fumbled over what to say. “Well, you were removing its… well, you were being mean to the calf. I’d be upset if that were happening to my baby. Wouldn’t you?”
“There’s a purpose for it. We don’t do it to be mean,” Graham added bluntly. “Lowers the testosterone production, helps them gain weight better, which in turn helps them build up more internal intermuscular fat resulting in a better grade of meat. You said you like steak. How do you think a good quality steak comes about?”
Miffed, but somewhat appeased that there was an actual reason behind what she’d witnessed earlier, she soaked in the cocky tilt to his head as he crossed his arms in challenge.
“Alright, well you don’t have to be arrogant about it.”
He cocked his dark brow. “Not arrogant, educated. There’s a difference. Arrogance would be stomping into a cow pen like you own the place.”
Julia slapped his arm with impressive force. Her face registered her surprise at the motion and had everyone at the table watching the two of them.
“I’m so sorry about that.” She shifted away from Graham. Embarrassed, she tucked her hair behind her ear and reached for her drink to take a sip and cool her temper.
“I can take a hit,” Graham added.
“He’s used to women slapping him,” Clint teased, receiving the steady glare his oldest brother must have mastered at birth.
“Never been slapped. That’s your department.”
Clint flushed slightly and then shrugged. “It’s true. But only twice.”
A cell phone jingled and had them all staring at Alice. She glanced at the caller id and groaned. “It’s the office line patching through. Gotta take this.” She slipped away from the table and was back in seconds. “Gotta go. Seems I’ll be helping deliver two foals tonight.”
“But what about your dinner? And you’ve been drinking,” Julia pointed out.
“Nope. It’s a vanilla coke.” Alice smiled. “I had a feeling the Jepsons’ mare would pop any day, so I’ve played it safe. Just have Sloppy box mine up and put it in the fridge. Calvin will drive you to my place and fix the AC tonight.” She looked to the brother for confirmation and he nodded.
“But—” Julia’s eyes pleaded with her friend not to leave, but Alice was already shouting her orders to Sloppy about her meal and pushing her chair under the table.
“See you later. Don’t wait up. If I come home tonight, it will be super late. I may just crash on a cot in the barn at the Jepsons’ and come home tomorrow, depending on how the night goes. You’ll be fine.” She flashed a quick smile before snatching her purse from under the table.
“But—” Julia tried again and was talking to air. Alice was gone in a whirl.
It was her first night in the strange town. She was sitting at a table with six strange men, one of whom would be taking her to Alice’s house later. Nothing about her first night in Parks seemed fine. Keeping her feelings to herself, Julia forced a smile as Clint carried on about the safety of Parks. But deep down, Julia battled frustration and nerves about spending her first night alone.
∾
“Look, if you need anything, Sloppy lives just around the corner.” Graham pointed to a small house up the street from Alice’s.
Alice lived in a small, efficiency style home. One bedroom, one bathroom, an open concept kitchen, living, and dining area that consisted of a couch that folded out into the bed Julia would be sleeping on for the next couple of weeks. The house was old, built years ago by a roughneck working the oilfields in order to avoid hotel costs. It needed a decent paint job, some new porch steps, and lots of small fixer upper jobs. But despite those few things, the place had charm. Graham always liked the little space and wondered why Sloppy didn’t use it instead of her house up the street since it was located behind her restaurant. But Sloppy needed some space, he guessed.
He pointed to Calvin putting his toolbox back into the bed of his truck. “Looks like Cal’s done with the AC.” Having left as soon as he’d finished his steak, Calvin had forgotten his duty of delivering Julia back to Alice’s house. So Graham, attempting to be a gentleman, made the offer. She’d accepted with great reluctance, but seemed to weigh her options amongst all the brothers and found him the best one. That was at least encouraging, since his brothers were in no shape to entertain female company after a few beers.
Graham rolled down his window and Cal walked up. “Hate to tell you this, Julia, but that AC is completely busted. There’s no saving it.”
“Are you sure?” Graham asked.
Calvin narrowed his eyes. “Definitely yes. It’s smoked. I’d suggest calling Mrs. Haymill to see if she can put you up for the night over at the Whippoorwill.”
“That place is a dump,” Graham muttered.
Cal shrugged. “That or sweat it out for tonight and maybe Alice can get a new unit tomorrow. I already called her with the news.”
Julia wrung her hands in her lap.
Graham waited patiently, though he was aware of the lateness of the hour and his early morning. And his hand, geez, his hand was killing him.
“Well, I’m sure one night won’t be too bad.” Julia shouldered her purse and took her first cautious step out of the truck. A loud crash
had her jumping back inside. “What was that?”
“Probably a coon.” Graham waved away her concern. “Sloppy’s dumpsters are just over there. I’m sure there’s just a nightly visitor.”
“A raccoon?” Julia took a deep breath and nodded. “You’re probably right. No reason to worry.”
“I also told Alice her porch lights were out. Both. Front and back.” Cal shook his head in bewilderment. “And naturally she doesn’t have any extra bulbs. I don’t have any on me, either. That woman has no clue when it comes to maintenance.”
“It is rather dark,” Julia’s voice squeaked as her eyes surveyed the small shabby house and the shadows surrounding it.
“Look, if you’re scared, Sloppy’s on the corner, or if it makes you feel better, here.” Graham grabbed an old receipt off his dash and jotted down his phone number. “Here,” he said again, nudging it towards her. “But only if you’re terrified and think someone is breaking in.”
“Is that common around here?” Panic lit her eyes and he immediately regretted his choice of words.
“No.”
“Oh, good. Okay.” She accepted the slip of paper. “Thank you. And thank you for the ride.” She slipped from his passenger seat and offered a small smile towards Cal. She turned briskly at the sound of Graham shifting his truck into gear. “Wait.” She placed a hand on the windowsill of the passenger side. “Could you just… wait until I get inside?”
Cal tapped Graham’s windowsill and smiled. “I’m out of here. See you in the morning. Night, Julia.”
“Goodnight, Cal. Thank you.” He tipped his hat and climbed into his truck.
“Well…” Graham nodded towards the house and Julia visibly inhaled a deep breath.
“Right. Here I go.” She reluctantly released his truck and walked to the sagging porch. Turning the knob, she let herself inside and flipped on the lamp by the door. She offered a brief wave before closing the door and no doubt locking it as best she could and then blocking it with every piece of furniture she could get her hands on. Graham shook his head and chuckled. “City girls.” He started to turn the wheel when the door to the house flew open and Julia sprinted outside in pure terror. Graham threw the truck in park and hopped out, Julia slamming into him as he rounded the hood. He caught her by the shoulders.
Graham Page 3