Love Under Construction (The Love Under Series Book 1) (4 page)

Every time I started to snooze, the bus stopped to let passengers debark or receive new travelers. I supposed little snoozes were better than nothing, and I was grateful there were no screaming, crying, unhappy children on the bus. It seemed there were just a few random people mixed in with commuters. I could only assume they were commuters as they were dressed in business attire and carried no luggage. 

The lights came on, and the driver announced our arrival at Oklahoma City. I had been here a handful of times before, so I knew where I was, but it had always been a layover, and I rarely left the airport. The couple of times I had visited Aubs, we drove from college straight to her house and stayed put. Thanksgiving break, Christmases, we stayed close to home. So being there now was like being there for the first time. I grabbed my gym bag from the overhead compartment and filed out of the bus into the terminal. It was nearly midday, and the station was bustling with passengers coming and going. 

I texted Aubrey to let her know I had arrived.

Me: Just arrived. Where are you?

She responded a few minutes later.

Aubs: Got snagged in a little traffic be there in five. Go to the diner across from the station. They have Wi-Fi.

She knew the way to my heart and where normally I would be browsing social media, I simply wanted to disappear and keep a low profile so Facebook and Instagram didn’t seem that important at the moment.
I suppose I could check my emails, though.
 

I walked across the street to the Station Diner. It was an old Amtrak train car converted into a diner. On one side there were booths equipped with old flip frame jukeboxes and a counter that ran the length of the place with assorted danishes and muffins under domed stands. It had a very 1950s feel with the black and white checkered floor and bright-red topped swivel stools at the counters. I slid my bag between the stools and took a seat at the counter. 

The waitress made her way down the counter to me with coffee pot in hand. She flipped over a mug in front of me. 

“Coffee, dear?” she asked. 

“Yes, please,” I said, nodding enthusiastically. 

“You eating or just the coffee, hun?”

“I will take a blueberry muffin if you have one.”

“Toasted?” she asked as she plucked a blueberry muffin from under the domed lid. 

“Like that is just fine, thanks.”

She placed the muffin on a small plate in front of me. “Holler if you need anything.” Then she headed back down to the other end of the counter filling cups of counter eating patrons as she walked down the row. 

The muffin was fresh and moist as I broke it in half then pulled the top off. The moist blueberries left thick syrup on my fingers as I popped a piece of muffin in my mouth. The Christmas muffin wrapper paper was far out of season, which made me believe they were made in house. The rich sweetness made my taste buds happy. I took a sip of coffee to wash it down as the muffin stuck to the roof of my mouth. 

The jingle of the bell over the entrance door caused me to spin my stool and face the door. Aubrey stood there with her arms outstretched. I hopped off my stool and tackle-hugged her. 

“Thank you. I missed you so much,” I mumbled into her thick hair.

She pulled me away at arms' length to look at my face, and I bowed my head. 

“No, let me see what that jackass did.”

I lifted my head but couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes.

“Don’t be embarrassed. Be strong, Suzie. Lots of women stay, you got out. I am proud of you.”

“I don’t feel proud.”

“Maybe not right now, but you will. Come on, let’s get home.”

I returned to the counter and left a ten-dollar bill on the counter and popped the last quarter of the muffin in my mouth before following Aubrey out to her truck. 

Aubrey and I met in college. I was a business major working towards my MBA, and Aubs wanted to be a veterinarian. She was almost done until she took advanced biology and they required her to dissect a cat. She flipped out and stole all the feline cadavers and buried them in the field behind the campus chapel. She almost got expelled. Instead, she changed her major to nursing. She had enough credits to finish on time, and somehow, cutting open humans didn't offend her as much. She graduated with honors and a veterinary assistant certificate to boot. We were fast friends, kept in touch, and had gone on annual vacations together since sophomore year. 

After graduation, Aubs went back home to Oklahoma. She had offers from all over the country for jobs, but a military firefighter stole her heart, and she stayed close to home. Since then, she collected every critter in her path. That was how they met. 

She was trying to rescue a duck that got a hook stuck in its foot and got snagged up in the tree by her house. The fishing line attached to the hook became entangled in the tree limbs, and the duck was stuck hanging and thrashing. She rescued the duck, a few bites and scratches later, and Jonathan rescued her. 

They’d been married five years, but didn't have any children. He said she would have to cut back on the zoo that they had before she even gave a thought to having children. 

Aubrey had a black crew cab pickup truck. She had horses and frequently transported them, so a truck was ideal. As she pulled out onto the highway, I saw more trucks than cars. We were definitely in the country. 

Some considered Texas “cowboy” territory, but the truth was, I lived in Central Dallas, and it was not country. Sure, you had some who entertained their Stetsons and boots, but you were more likely to see Cowboys football jerseys than felt hats in my neck of the suburbia. I worked in an office building and lived in a three-story apartment complex. We had more concrete than grass, nothing like the expanse of dirt roads and endless pastures of green that spread out before me as I gazed out the windows. 

“So, Kelli has the guest house ready for you. I would bring you back to my place, but Jonathan is home on leave and well … you know.”

“How long has he been home?”

“He has only been home since late last night, so he is making up for lost time, if you know what I mean,” she said with a giggle.

“Yeah, I don’t need to bear witness to any of that. How long was he gone this time?”

“Only three weeks. Those brush fires in California get really crazy, but they are as controlled as they are going to be for now, I guess.”

“Is your stepmom okay with me staying out at the ranch?”

“Oh, yeah, most of the time it’s just her out there all day while the guys are out in the pastures. She will be happy to see you.”

“I don’t know that I will be the best company. I’m not really in the mood to be around people.”

“Look at me,” she said, facing me until I met her eyes. “It’s just some bruises, don’t let that motherfucker put you in a closet. You are family, and I will not have you hiding. You want to hang low for a couple days, fine, but that’s it. Nothing a little makeup can’t fix. You can’t let him win.”

“Okay, you are scaring me, please watch the road.”

“Sorry, I could run this road in my sleep.” She faced forward again, looking back at me every few seconds. “But I mean it, Suzie, no hiding!”

“Okay, okay, I just need to chill for a bit. What am I going to do?”

“Stay as long as you need to want to. You always have a place to stay here.”

“I appreciate you coming through for me, Aubrey.”

“That’s what friends are for,” she said matter-of-factly before flipping on the radio, basically changing the subject. “Now this calls for some music.”

The rest of the ride was filled with random mix of country and ‘80s hair band music that we sang along to all the way back to Centerville. As we pulled through town, the familiar moose that was missing his antlers greeted me at the local coffee spot. LuLu’s was Centerville’s version of Starbucks. There was a Starbucks in the mall, but they had nothing on LuLu’s, and it was hell of a lot cheaper too. 

The entrance to the ranch was on the far end of town past the school campus and the dairy. The city limit was severe as the paved road suddenly stopped and you had your choice of left or right, both dirt roads. The left was undeveloped pasture and land for sale and to the right was Blackheart Ranch. 

The wrought-iron arches marked the entrance with a B in the middle of the filigree ironwork. The gate was open, and we pulled into the long drive to the main house. 

"We're here,” Aubrey announced. The large one-story ranch house stood before us with the wraparound porch. The guest house was directly left of the driveway, just a smaller version of the main house. 

“Kelli is home, but the guys are still out. I don't see any of their trucks. They must still be at the auction house. Come on, let's go say hi.”

My belly did all kinds of flip-flops as my anxiety took hold of the idea of having to explain myself. I wished Aubrey had done some of her makeup magic before we arrived. I had to look like a hot mess, my hair had yesterday’s spray in it, and was surely a rat's nest. I left my bag in the car. I didn't need my phone. There was no one to call. All I needed was Aubrey, and she was right there.

We walked up the three steps to the porch, the front door was open beyond the screen. Aubrey walked right in, holding the screen door open behind her for me.

“Kelli, we’re here,” she called out.

“I'm in the kitchen,” Kelli's voice came from the right.

We walked through the large dining area that held two full-length tables with chairs all around, enough to seat twelve people into the kitchen beyond.

“Hey, girls! You made it back okay,” Kelli said, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Going in, I hit a lot of traffic, but the way back was much quicker,” Aubrey explained as she washed her hands in the sink.

“Come on in, Suzie, don't be shy, you know us. It's been a while since you’ve been on the ranch. How long has it been? Four years? Five?”

“Four, I think. Christmas after Aubrey’s wedding. I’m sorry I haven’t been back.”

She threw her hands down. “We will always be here. You girls have lives to live. I understand. Just know you always have a home. Are you hungry?”

“I'm going to get her set up in the guesthouse. Are the keys on the hook?” Aubrey questioned.

“Yes, the keys are on the hook, but it's open. I have been airing it out since this morning. Nobody's been in there since Christmas.”

“Thank you for having me, Kelli.” I followed Aubrey out to the guesthouse.

“Come back in when you’re ready, and I will make us some lunch. The guys won’t be back until late tonight, so you girls are on your own for dinner.”

It was Saturday night at the bar and it was two-dollar draft night so Brewer's Taps was pretty crowded; nothing like cheap beer to draw in the crowd. It wasn’t the regular Saturday night crowd, though, since Fort Sill was under bivouac training that weekend, so the soldier boys were not there. I didn't plan on staying, but my dad asked me to drop off quarters for the pool table. Jenny met me at the corner of the bar.

“Where you running off to, stud?"

I glanced at my rear jeans pocket dramatically. "I don't remember being branded."