Nice Shootin' Tex

by Cyndia Rios-Myers

  "You came," I said with a smile. Ugh. So much for cool and distant.

  He laughed at that.

  "I know. I'm a couple months late. My overseas job went longer than expected."

  "So what brings you here?"

  He laughed again.

  "Hogs. Remember?"

  I laughed. "I thought you had a problem with hogs on your reservation. Are you here to take some of ours off of our hands?"

  Oh my Lord! I was flirting! In front of my dad and brothers, no less. Oh, I was so dead!

  Daniel laughed again, though.

  "I know. I should have called first." He self-consciously shuffled on his feet then. "But I was in the area so I thought I would just drop by. Is that okay?"

  "Sure. We usually don't receive customers here on the ranch, but would you like to come inside?"

  He smiled at me again.

  "Sure. Why don't you introduce me to your family first, though?"

  Oh my Lord. I was such a moron. I turned to face my father who was staring at me like I was crazy.

  "Dad, this is Daniel Serrano. He is from the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in New Mexico. Daniel, this is my father, Luke McCoy."

  My dad reached out and shook his hand.

  "And this is my brother Arnold." They then shook hands. "And you already met Tim."

  "I did."

  "Just where did you meet Mr. Serrano, Laura?" asked my dad.

  I then briefly gave Daniel my back as I faced my dad and brothers.

  "I met him in Washington State. He was a firearms expert at American Sharpshooter."

  My dad's eyes widened in shock. My brother's brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak.

  "Really? So he knows -”

  Praying that Daniel couldn't see my expression, I widened my eyes and mouthed the word No.

  "Do I know what?" Daniel asked.

  I then turned around and faced him with a smile.

  "Uhh... Do you know who won the competition?" Tim finished for Arnold. "Laura says that she knows but can't tell."

  Daniel smiled at us and shook his head.

  "No. I don't know, unfortunately. I was only there for about two hours the first day of the competition. I haven't been back since nor have I spoken to those fellows."

  I sighed in relief.

  "Please come in, Daniel," said my dad.

  It was surreal seeing Daniel sitting on my dad's living room couch. He was funny, smart and very knowledgeable about hogs. Especially so on firearms which intrigued my brothers. I had to be told twice to get our guest something to drink; I'd been so busy staring at Daniel.

  "Oh! Of course," I said. I went to the kitchen and poured him an iced tea and brought it over to him.

  My heart skipped a couple of beats as he smiled up at me and took the glass from my hands.

  "Thank you," he said in his deep voice.

  I smiled and sat back down on chair which was across the couch from him.

  "Like I was saying to Tim earlier, the people of my nation will be happy to pay for your travel costs as well as for your time and expertise on the matter of our hog problem."

  My dad asked more probative questions to Daniel while I stared. Just then I caught Arnold making faces at me from behind dad's back. It took all of me to not laugh out loud like a stupid high-schooler.

  Finally, arrangements were made. Dad, Arnold and I would be travelling to New Mexico at the end of the week. Four days away. Yikes!

  Daniel then stood up to leave, presumably. We all stood up with him. After leaving his contact information with my dad, he looked at me.

  "Do you mind walking me to my truck, Lauren?"

  No!!!! I could have cheered. I gave him a small smile.

  "Sure."

  I ignored the eyeballing that my brothers were throwing my way as I followed Daniel out of the house. As soon as we got eight feet from the front door, he spoke to me in a quiet voice.

  "Don't do anything sudden. They are probably staring at us through the windows."

  That made me laugh out loud. He was so right about my family. He laughed too.

  "I told you not to do anything sudden."

  I shrugged. "Oh well. I guess that I'm not good at taking advice."

  I noticed that our footsteps slowed as we walked to his truck. I loved that.

  "So tell me. How did you fare in the competition?"

  I sighed in relief. It felt good to talk to someone about it who knew nothing about me and Trevor.

  "I came in third. But please don't tell anyone I said that."

  "Really? I thought you'd win."

  I shook my head. "No. I came home. I think that Max Allen probably took it though. He was very good."

  "He was. But you were better."

  I smiled at his praise.

  "So what were you doing overseas?"

  "I was training the Swedish Army on how to use new weaponry made by my company."

  I brightened at that. "Sweden? That sounds so exciting!"

  He nodded. "Yeah. Cold though."

  "Did you enjoy it?"

  He shrugged. "It's business. It's good business. But I'm glad to back. It was only supposed to be three months, but it turned into five."

  I nodded in understanding.

  "So what are you doing in Olney?"

  He laughed.

  "I was really in the area to try to work things out with a contractor. I thought I'd stop in to check your operation out."

  I nodded. "So what do you think?"

  "It doesn't disappoint," he said with a slow smile.

  That moment seared itself into my memory; Daniel leaning on his Ford truck as he stared at me with his handsome face and captivating eyes. I committed all of the colors around us to memory.

  "So tell me. Did you enjoy the competition?"

  My smile faltered as I looked out in the distance. How could I be honest without sabotaging any interest he might have in me? I decided to be honest with few details.

  "I really enjoyed it. I very much enjoyed it. But this here, this is my real life. I am so glad to be here now."

  He nodded at that. "I understand that perfectly."

  My smile returned at those words. He then opened the door to his truck and sat down.

  "So are you still living here?"

  I happily shook my head.

  "No. I'm renting a house out in town near a pond. It makes for such great landscapes for painting."

  His smiled widened.

  "That's right. You are an artist."

  I shrugged. "Yeah, when I'm not killing hogs that is."

  He laughed out loud. He then sobered a bit as he looked out his windshield. It looked like he was thinking about something. In the end, he sighed and looked at me.

  "I have to get back on the road now. Long drive."

  I nodded at that.

  "Okay. We'll be there on Friday."

  "I'll have the funds wired to your father's account within the next couple of days."

  I shrugged, not wanting to gloss over business stuff.

  "But yes. You'd better be there, Miss McCoy."

  Butterflies rushed my stomach and my heart skipped a few beats.

  "I'll be there."

  He then leaned forward and pulled his wallet out.

  "Here's my business card. Keep that safe."

  I smiled as I took it from his hands.

  "I will."

  "See you Friday."

  "You will."

  He then put his sunglasses on and turned his truck on. After a wave, he drove off. I stared at the dust trail he left behind for a couple of minutes before turning around and heading back to my father's house. They were all waiting for me in the kitchen. Ignoring them, I grabbed my keys off the counter along with my cell phone and purse.

  "Oh, no," said Arnold. "Where do you think you are going? You owe us some answers before you take off, missy!"

  Still, I slowly walked towards the front door, never showing them my back.

 
; "Uh...what do you want to know?"

  "I would love to know how well you know this guy. I want to know why you neglected to mention him."

  I stopped as those were reasonable questions.

  "I met him the very first day of the competition. He mentioned his work; I mentioned mine. He mentioned the hog problem at his reservation and asked if we could help. I didn't want to turn the business away so I gave him my business card."

  Tim laughed at that.

  "Good to know, but that's not what we asked. Why didn't you mention him before?"

  I sighed as I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking at them again.

  "With all of the...Trevor stuff that I was trying to put behind me, I kind of forgot him."

  Arnold nodded at that.

  "Still, that was quite the spill you took in the office when you heard he was outside."

  I rolled my eyes as they shared the information with Tim who guffawed like a hyena.

  "What can I say? He made an impression on me."

  My dad wasn't laughing as much.

  "Does he have any inclination that you and Trevor were...an item?" he carefully asked.

  I sighed again and deflated.

  "No," I said with a shake of my head. "I don't want him to know about that...not yet. Can you guys keep that between us?"

  They shrugged at that which I took as a yes. My dad grabbed his own keys and went for the side door before turning to face me one more time.

  "Well, it is safe to say that you made an impression on him too. He didn't drive all this way for hogs, Lauren."

  My face flushed at that and butterflies took off in my belly.

  "Can we not talk about Daniel anymore? The...personal aspect of him, I mean?"

  Tim and Arnold looked at each other and appeared to mentally confer before they looked at me again.

  "No. We will be involved in everything," said Arnold.

  Tim nodded in agreement with a smile. I groaned and stomped my foot before turning on my heel and heading out to my truck. Brothers sucked sometimes. However, my anger evaporated by the time I got to my truck. Sitting down in my seat, I pulled Daniel's business card out of my back pocket. Staring at Daniel's card, my heart warmed and my face blossomed into a smile.

  It was made of heavy, grey stock. The writing was in a raised, dark green serif font. Native Arms was the name of his company. His name was in the center of the card with the word "Owner" underneath in a smaller font. It made me smile. It wasn't snooty sounding like C.E.O. or anything like that. The address of the company was on there along with the website and a phone number. Off to the bottom right hand side was Daniel's e-mail address and cell phone number.

  "Hello again, Daniel," I warmly said to the card.

  Still smiling, I put it inside of my wallet before returning that to my purse and heading home.

  A couple of days later, I was sitting in front of my easel in my guest room painting. I was only using the shades of two colors: grey and green. In it, I painted a picture of Daniel standing before a field of grass. I hoped that I had captured the look on his face when I first saw him, again. That's when I heard a knock at my door.

  After putting my utensils down, I went to the front door and saw my friend Mara standing there. I smiled as soon as I saw her. She looked happy and nervous. Opening the screen door to let her in, I asked her if she was alright.

  Eyes shining, she showed me her left hand instead. My eyes widened as I saw the diamond ring on her left finger.

  "Oh, my Lord. Is that an engagement ring?"

  She nodded and smiled.

  "It is. He proposed last night. I said yes!"

  Instantly, I was both happy for her and sad for my brother. Still, I was all smiles as I pulled her into my arms.

  "Congratulations! When did it happen?"

  After walking her to my kitchen table and sitting down with some coffee and biscuits, Mara spilled. She told me that it had happened the night before, at her place. Mentally counting back, I realized that they'd only been speaking for about two months. My furrowed brow must have revealed my thoughts.

  "I know it's soon. I know that. But it feels right. To both of us."

  I was still nervous for her, but smiled anyway.

  "Well, congratulations again."

  "Thank you. But enough about me, what is new in your life?"

  I sighed and then smiled.

  "Staying busy with work. We actually secured a contract with the Mescalero Apache Reservation out of New Mexico. We are headed up there the day after tomorrow."

  Her eyes brightened at that.

  "An out of state contract? That's wonderful! Do you guys need another?"

  My smile faded then as I thought of Arnold.

  "Mara, I don't know if that's such a good idea right now."

  Her smile faded as the reality dawned on her. She sighed and nodded.

  "That's right. Arnold."

  I watched her stare down at her biscuit as I drank some coffee out of my cup. She then looked up at me again.

  "Do you think I'll ever be able to work with you guys again? I kind of used that money to supplement my ranch income."

  Immediately, I felt uncomfortable. My best friend who was also my brother's ex-girlfriend and was now our ex-partner was putting me in a bad spot.

  "I don't know the answer to that, Mara. You are my best friend, but Arnold is my brother and my business partner too. I don't know when or if he'll be comfortable having you around again. To be honest, I don't even want to have that conversation with him right now."

  Her eyes welled up a bit as she nodded up and down. She then pasted a fake smile on her face as she looked at her watch.

  "Well, will you look at the time?" she then pushed her chair back and stood up.

  Surprised, I stood up too and followed her as she walked into my living room and towards my front door.

  "Ted's meeting me for lunch out in town. We are going to discuss wedding plans," she said with a big smile.

  "I would love to meet him sometime," I said before she opened the door.

  "Oh sure. We'll get together soon. I'll call you."

  With that, she walked down my sidewalk, driveway and then got in her car. I stared at her as she sat in the driver's side of her truck. She wasn't moving, but was staring at the steering wheel like it held all of the answers to the universe. Quickly, I opened my front door and ran to her driver's side window which I gently rapped with my knuckles. She looked at me in surprise before wiping tears off of her face. She then reluctantly rolled down her window.

  "Mara. I'm sorry if you are hurting right now. I'm sorry that Arnold is hurting. But I am happy for you - really I am."

  She shook her head.

  "Things are changing so much, Lauren. I can't see you on the farm and I can't do jobs with you anymore."

  "I don't live on the ranch anymore. You can visit me here," I pleaded.

  She shook her head at that.

  "When? I'll have to do extra work to make my monthly budget needs for the ranch. Then there's my time with Ted too and planning for the wedding."

  All of her reasons made sense, but I still got the feeling that she was trying to cut me out of her life.

  "Isn't there room for me somewhere?" I asked.

  She smiled through her tears. "You are my friend. That will never change."

  That wasn't an answer, though.

  "I've really got to go now, Lauren. I'll call you soon."

  With that she turned her truck on and slowly pulled away from my curb and onto to the street that led away from my home. I stood there staring at her retreating truck for a few seconds before turning around and going home. Two hours later, I was sitting at my brother's house, drinking more coffee with Laura.

  "That is sad, Lauren; sad for Mara and Arnold. It's like their failed romance hurt more than it hurt him."

  I had told her about my sad exchange with Mara. My brow furrowed at her words, though.

  "How so? Arnol
d's heart was broken when Mara left him for another man - a man that she is marrying might I add. How will that affect him?"

  She nodded her pretty brunette head at that.

  "It will hurt. No doubt. But Mara lost two friends in the deal - not only Arnold but you."

  "I'm still here."

  "You are Arnold's sister - that comes first. You are a reminder of her failed romance. You are a reminder of the lost income she is going to have to work hard to supplement. You are a reminder of the fact that she might be persona-non-grata with the McCoy's for quite a while. She's lost an entire family's worth of friends because of her choice."

  The weight of Laura's wise words made me sag on my chair.

  "Ugh. I know what you mean. I wouldn't want to be her right now."

  Laura smiled, knowing that I understood. I had such a great sister in law. Suddenly, it came to me that she was drinking coffee - again. I then remembered that she'd had some beer with dinner a few nights before too. Looking closer at her eyes, I saw shadows under them. Oh, no. Did she and Tim miscarry? I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to either. None of us was supposed to know that she was pregnant. Maybe she and Tim wanted to keep it that way. So instead, I smiled brightly at her.

  "You are looking more beautiful than ever, Laura,"

  She scoffed at that and self-consciously shoved some hair behind her ear.

  "No, I don't."

  "Yes you do. While I piling on compliments, I am going to add the fact that I am so happy that I have you as a sister-in-law. I am also so lucky that I live right down the street from you."

  She smiled brightly at that and laughed.

  "Oh, no. I'm the lucky one."

  "No, I think Tim is the lucky one."

  We both laughed hard at that, finally in agreement.

  Chapter 20

  Two days later, we were on the road from the ranch in Texas to the Mescalero Reservation. I was nervous, and excited. Daniel and I had exchanged a few e-mails regarding travel details. I kept it official, even though I wanted to ask him more things about himself. I was ready to tell him things about my life. On the road, we rode together in Arnold's truck. He drove with my dad riding shotgun. I sat in the back amused at my dad's backseat driving. Just then, I felt a buzz on my cell phone indicating that I had a text message.