He smiled. "I had checked into my room and everything." He smile disappeared as he continued. "But I couldn't stop thinking of my girl wrapped around that asshole." he said with gritted teeth.
Oh, crap. His anger was palpable; it filled the room. I was reminded that my gentle love was still very much a warrior. But he had forgiven my part in it, I suspected. Trying to distract him from his anger, I pointed to the couch.
"Please don't drive out there again tonight; I'd worry. Stay here, on the couch. I have towels, pillows and everything."
He groaned. "I don't know. It might be too tempting to come to your bed in the night."
I shook my head at that. "No. I'll lock my door tonight. Plus, I'll make you breakfast tomorrow. Egg and sausage sandwiches and maybe some home fries with -”
"Done," he cut me off. I smiled as he removed his jacket and set it on the coffee table. I brought out some linens from the hallway closet and made the couch up while he used the bathroom. He then checked all of the doors and windows to make sure they were locked. He then smiled and pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
"Go to sleep before I forget my promise to wait."
"Okay," I said with a smile. "Good night, Daniel. I'm so happy you are here."
He sighed at that and kissed my nose. "Me too."
I kissed him one more time and then turned around and went to my bedroom where I locked the door with a loud click. I then took off my robe and climbed into my bed, happy because my boyfriend was sleeping on my couch. My smile did not disappear off my face as I fell asleep.
The next morning, I smiled as soon as I remembered who was still in my house. I almost clapped, but didn't. Quickly, I threw on some sweatpants on and brushed my teeth and washing my face before pulling my hair in a ponytail in my master bathroom. I then threw my robe on and gently unlocked and opened my bedroom door. Walking on my tiptoes, I walked to the living room where my boyfriend still slept. God, he looked so handsome laying there with his white t-shirt on. His beautiful copper skin and black hair contrasted beautifully with the white pillowcase under his head and the blue blanket over his chest. I smiled and walked away, but let out a yelp when I felt a hand on my arm. Looking back, I saw Daniel looking at me with a mischievous grin.
"I didn't know you were even awake," I said with a smile as he threw his cover off.
He then pulled me down next to him and then covered us both with the blue blanket.
"No, you didn't. I'm stealthy, Texas," he said in a husky growl.
I laughed at that.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked him as I kissed his neck.
"With you sleeping in the next room wearing next to nothing? No."
I laughed at that. We cuddled together as we softly talked about our plans for the day. Unfortunately, I wouldn't see him that night, but he did promise to spend the day with me on Saturday before heading back to the reservation. I then heard his belly gurgle. He laughed.
"Alright. Breakfast. Let me get it started."
"Sounds like a plan," he said with a smile.
I turned the coffee maker on along with the radio while he used the bathroom to shower. I then threw sausage in the oven while I made the eggs and the potatoes. I tried not to giggle as Daniel kissed the back of my neck while he searched for a coffee cup. Twenty minutes later, we were seated at the small dining table eating breakfast. He groaned as soon as he bit into the egg/sausage/cheese sandwich.
"Oh, Lord. This is divine."
I smiled at the praised that warmed me to my core. He then bit into the home fries and moaned some more. I smiled as I committed his quirks to memory. He liked to douse his home fries in ketchup. He liked his coffee without any milk or sugar. He used way too much salt and pepper on the already drowning potatoes. He finished long before I did and smiled as he kept me company while I ate my food. Too soon, it was time for him to go. I kissed him at the door and made many promises that included not shooting my brothers when no one was looking, not getting in the way of a charging razorback and other assorted things. I told him that I looked forward to seeing him the next day.
"I can't wait, baby." He then kissed me and walked to his truck. I smiled as I watched it drive away.
With a spring in my step, I locked the front door before heading to the kitchen to clean up. Just then, my cell phone rang. Frowning, I looked at my cell phone and saw that it was Tim's number.
"Ugh..." I groaned before taking the call.
"Was that the truck of a Mr. Daniel Serrano leaving your house at eight a.m.?" he asked in a tone.
"You see, this is why I didn't want to move down the street for you!" I angrily retorted.
"I take that as a yes," he said in response.
"Yes! That is a yes! My boyfriend came over yesterday evening. We had a wonderful dinner and saw a wonderful movie. He then stayed over and slept on the couch the ENTIRE night." I didn't see it fit to tell him about his four and a half hour layover into Fort Worth.
"Okay, okay," he relented.
"Quit asking me questions about what Daniel and I do in private. I might actually tell you one day."
"Eww. Stop. I get it," he said after mock gagging.
"Good," I retorted.
"One thing, though. Does he know about Trevor the bastard?"
My anger died then. "Yes," I said after sighing. "He knows everything."
"Was he happy to hear it?"
"No! Not at all."
Tim said nothing for a minute.
"Laura's cooking. Have you had breakfast? You should eat before we hit the Monroe ranch this afternoon."
"We had breakfast - in bed," I added.
I then heard a clicking sound followed by silence. I laughed and then hung up my phone. All in all, it was an awesome way to start the day.
Chapter 24
Saturday morning was a good one too. I spent the early part of it painting and then cleaning my entire house. I then went to Tim and Laura's for some tea and cookies. Tim was out running errands while Laura and I snacked on their back porch.
"Have you heard from Mara?" She asked me.
I sighed. "No. Truth is, I've been so busy with work, Daniel and with keeping house, that I haven't tried."
"She texted me the other day."
"Really?" That surprised me.
She nodded and then took a sip of her tea. "She said that she just wanted to know how everyone was doing."
I stared at the green pasture behind their house.
"I hope she's happy. Could you tell if she was?"
"From a text message?" She asked with a smile. "No, I couldn't tell."
I shrugged and ate another cookie.
"You look happy," she said with a smile.
"I am," I replied with a smile.
That afternoon, Daniel and I went hiking at a nearby forest preserve. We held hands for most of it. We stopped for kisses and tight embraces beneath tree areas with heavy canopies. Daniel stopped our trek many times to point out wildlife that I would have missed without him.
"Wow. Where did you learn all this stuff?" I asked as a well camouflaged bald eagle perched on a tall branch of a tree.
He laughed. "What? No Indian jokes?"
I went serious then. "No. Not ever."
He caressed my face. "I'm not sensitive about that, Lauren. I've heard all sorts of things and a few creative sorts of insults too."
A disturbing thought occurred to me just then.
"Does anyone object to our relationship because I'm...not Native?"
His face softened and he gave me a kiss. "Don't you worry about that, Lauren. I won't let anyone insult you or hurt you, okay?"
"Oh, Lord. That doesn't sound like a no."
He shrugged. "The only person with a minor problem with it is my mom, but not even she has a leg to stand on with that."
My brow furrowed at that. "Why?"
"Because my dad was only half Apache. He was also part Mexican and part White. The five kids she made with him is ample proof of the fact tha
t it didn't bother her much."
I smiled at that. "Serrano," I said out loud.
"Yeah, most people think I have the name because of missionaries. I actually have the name because of genuine Spanish ancestry."
I grabbed his hand and we continued walking. He then asked about my background; I told him it was mostly British with some Irish and Scottish ancestry too. We then talked about our family members and their quirky habits. It was a lot of fun.
"What about alcohol, Daniel? Is that a problem for you?"
He sighed at that. "No. My sister and I got my dad's tolerance for it. My brothers did not," he said in a heavy tone. He then scoffed before continuing. "Talk about a sore family subject. They are still mad over that."
I nodded at that, remembering the fact that everyone drank soda or juice at the cook out at his place. He was so considerate. I told him that. He rewarded that with a kiss. That evening, he helped me cook at my place - steaks and potatoes on the grill. Salad too. After that, we convened to the couch where we watched some DVDs on my DVD player. Daniel laughed as soon as he saw my system.
"Oh, babe. We are going to have to do something about this," he said as he pointed the remotes at the screen.
"Do something about what?" I said as I sat the bowl of kettle corn on the coffee table.
"This screen has poor resolution. You don't even have a Blu-ray player."
He didn't sound mean with his criticisms. Still, I looked at him and waited for him to continue.
"I like being a homebody, Lauren. Going out is nice, but it's not a big draw for me."
I smiled at that, agreeing. "Me too, Daniel."
"Not according to your entertainment center here," he said with a smile.
I blushed and wiggled on the couch. "Well, I like to paint a lot in my spare time. And cook. And visit with my brother and sister-and-law."
"Well, darling, I'll be spending a lot of time here. I have standards."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay."
"I'll help you pick out new stuff next week. I will even pay half, okay?"
"You don't have to do that," I said with a smile.
He went serious then. "I know that. But I will."
I smiled. "Okay."
With that, we cuddled and watched a romantic comedy. He laughed at a lot of the romantic parts, but wasn't too bad about it. We watched a horror flick after that with lots of cringing and hiding my face in Daniel's neck. It was a fair trade off for that made for a great evening.
I was kind of mopey on Sunday as I was missing Daniel a good bit. Still, I went to my dad's house after services and helped him clear out my bedroom. It was fun taking stuff off the walls and reminiscing. Tears fell when I found pictures of my mom that I'd forgotten about. My dad had to leave the room a few times when he saw those. Finally, the back of my truck was filled with most of the contents of my old bedroom. I'd been wedging things in place and tying them down with straps when my dad came outside.
"Lauren?" he asked me in a questioning voice.
I was still standing on the rear bumper of my truck when I looked at my dad. He was holding a painting. One of my paintings.
"Oh," I gently said as I gently climbed off of my bumper.
I took it out of his hands and looked at it. It was one that I had made a few months before I'd left for Washington. It was a picture of a big boar with shotgun cavities for eyes with fire powder and smoke coming out of his mouth. I'd signed the bottom of it too.
"Where did you find this?" I asked as I looked into his eyes.
He was mystified. "I found it in a nook in your closet that I didn't know about. Did you paint this?"
Wow. All of my secrets were coming out in the open, it seemed. I nodded.
"Yeah, I did."
He gently took the painting from me again.
"I didn't know you painted. Why didn't you tell me that?"
He didn't sound angry or disgusted at all; only disappointed. I shrugged while I blushed.
"I don't know daddy; I thought you might discourage it. I thought that maybe you would want me to concern myself with the business and not with art."
He looked at me like I was crazy. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
I sighed as I recalled a conversation Arnold and I had a few weeks back regarding our art. He'd reminded me of an episode that I had forgotten about. Poor Arnold.
"Remember when Arnold got himself a camera in high school and he took all those pictures? You told him to keep his head out of the clouds and keep it on tractor equipment and ranching - where it belonged."
He stared off into space for a moment.
"I forgot about that." He then looked at me again with his stormy green eyes. "This is really good, Lauren. Art gallery good," he earnestly said.
I sighed. "Thank you, daddy."
"Are there any more of these?"
I blushed again. "Yeah, daddy. I do it pretty regularly."
He nodded at that. "I'm sorry you kept it from me."
"I'm sorry that I thought I had to. I was wrong."
"You were."
I reached my hands to take it from him. He put the painting closer to his chest, though.
"No, I don't think so. You left this one in my house. This one's mine."
I nodded. "Okay daddy."
He then left.
We were done cleaning the room and making up the beds late in the afternoon. Arnold walked into the bedroom as I was carefully making up the beds with freshly laundered linens.
"Did you see what dad hung up in the foyer?"
"No," I said, shoving blond strings of hair behind my ear.
"A painting of a hog with shotgun barrels for eyes. Trippy. Scary looking. One of your darker ones, I might add."
I laughed out loud at that.
"I painted that one back in my depressed time, Arnold."
He nodded. "So he knows?"
"He knows. He was really cool about it. Do you think you will - ?"
He shook his head and cut me off. "No. I'm glad that he's discovering the artist you are, but I'll keep my stuff under wraps."
I nodded. "Okay."
"So you ready for Chris and Daniel tomorrow?"
I couldn't stop the huge smile that split my face at the sound of Daniel's name. Composing myself, I stifled my smiled and nodded.
"Of course. Yes."
He rolled his eyes at me. "Whatever."
I drove home that evening and unloaded everything out of my truck bed and put it in my one car garage. I was beat by the time I was done. My phone buzzed as soon as I pulled a beer out of my fridge. I smiled as soon as I saw Daniel's number.
"Hey you," I said with a smile.
"Hey yourself. You guys ready for two Apache warriors to come and shame you with the hunting of hogs?"
I smiled. "Well, I know that I am ready for one in particular."
I heard him sigh on the phone. "I can't wait to get back to you, baby."
I sighed at his words. I loved him. I loved him, I loved him, I loved him. I loved him with all of my heart. I couldn't wait for the right time to tell him that.
I asked him how his day went and he groaned. I went to the chair on my porch and listened to him as he told me about all of the paperwork he had to do and all of the instructions he had to leave for his brothers who worked for him at his company. He then asked me if he was boring me.
"Gosh no, Daniel. I did some paperwork too. I understand perfectly how challenging and rewarding it is to work with your siblings. Vent away."
He said nothing for a second or two, but I was okay with that. I then volunteered what I'd done today along with my father's discovery of my artwork.
"How did that go?"
"Ummm. Not bad. Not great either. He looked...hurt that I hadn't shown him what I'd painted. That I painted."
"You are great at what you do, Lauren. I don't think that anyone would have discouraged you."
"Thank you, Daniel. You know, I can't wait to see the native weaponry you make. I bet t
hey are all fierce looking and beautiful at the same time."
He was quiet for an entire minute. "I can't wait to show it to you, Lauren. Actually, that was kind of something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Oh?"
When he finished telling me his proposal, he asked my opinion.
"What do you think?"
It was big, but it still didn't take me much considering.
"Okay."
"Okay as in yes?" he asked with a smile in his voice.
I laughed. "Okay as in yes, Daniel."
"Awesome!" he cheered.
Chapter 25
The following week wonderfully arrived. Chris and Daniel laughed out loud as soon as they saw my painting in the foyer the day they arrived.
"If that is what Texan hogs look like, I'm going home," said Chris.
Tim, Arnold and Dad laughed at that while I blushed. Daniel reached for my hand and squeezed it.
"Lauren painted that."
Chris looked at me in shock. "Really?"
I blushed and nodded. "This is good, Lauren."
"Thank you," I bashfully replied.
Having them out on jobs with us was nothing short of a blast. They were so enthused and excited about the hunt. They were incredibly skilled at it too. Their first two nights, we doubled our usual haul of hogs. My dad pulled me and Arnold aside and asked us if we were okay with sharing our profits with them. I was all for it. Daniel however, turned it down. Chris seemed a bit more reluctant to do so.
"We are here to learn, Luke. We'll save the profit making for when we get back to Mescalero."
Daniel spent his days at home with me, which was bliss. We cooked together, watched TV together and even napped together - on the couch. Daniel was still not ready for the sexual part of our relationship, which was okay by me. I didn't want to push him. Suddenly, Friday arrived. I had to break the news to my dad. I was so nervous.
We were outside roasting a pig while my dad was discussing plans for the next week. Chris and Tim were in the barn tending to the dogs, which was an aspect of the operation that Chris was very much interested in. Arnold was turning the hog while Daniel stood right next to me.
"Daddy?" I gently asked.
"Yeah, Lauren."
Nice Shootin' Tex Page 25