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Me: You should come. They told me I could bring someone, nothing saying it can’t be a friend.
Steven: You sure no one will mind?
Me: I’m sure.
Steven: Okay then, I’m in. Just shoot me the address and the time.
Raffie had told me these cookouts were no small affair, but I didn’t realize just how big it was until everyone started showing up on Saturday night. The infamous Margo arrived early with a brisket she’d already prepared, her partner Bart trailing behind her.
The day before, I’d heard Cruz reassuring Vivian that it had nothing to do with her ability to cook, but that Margo always cooked brisket for the cookouts, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by having someone else fix one, no matter how good. From what I could gather, Margo had helped raise Reed, and both he and Cruz considered her family.
Luckily, once she’d arrived, it hadn’t taken but a minute before Margo proclaimed V’s potato salad the best she’d ever eaten, and the two ladies were thick as thieves.
They were working together to set out all the food as everyone else began to arrive. First, it was Reed and Ripley, the owners of the Bluebird Ranch and Cruz’s best friends. Then Cap and Frankie, the couple who ran the coffee shop, arrived with a cake Frankie had made for the occasion. Shortly after that, Gibson and Tristan showed up. A few other people I recognized by face but didn’t know arrived, and then, thankfully Landon and his husband, Miller, showed up. Miller went straight over to where Ripley, Cap, and Frankie were, and Landon came over to me.
“Hey, Nash.”
“This is as many people as are normally at the bar,” I said, shaking my head.
“I know, and this is about half as many as are normally there. We’re missing Bear and Ty, and Cody and Eli.”
“Right, I remember Cody saying last night they wouldn’t be able to come.”
“And Raffie and his husband, Gabe, are out of town. Oh, Donovan and Maverick aren’t here. They’re in Austin this weekend for Mav’s sister’s spring theater performance. That’s about it.”
“Oh, that’s about it, huh? Like you didn’t just list off half the town.”
“Eh, not quite half.” He laughed. “It’s a great group of guys, though. I feel all kinds of lucky to have landed here. The last ranch I worked on wasn’t quite as…accepting.”
“As much as I hate to say it, that was the one good thing about Elmer Walker. He didn’t give a shit who I slept with. It was everything else that working for him entailed that was a nightmare.”
“Hey, baby!” Miller called over. “Come tell Gibson and Tristan about your idea.”
“I’m coming,” Landon called before turning back to me. “Come on over and join us.”
I saw Nolan and Spencer coming out of the house. “You go ahead,” I told Landon. “I’ll just grab another beer first.”
I headed for Spencer because even though he wasn’t interested in having a Daddy, I liked him and wanted to make sure he’d recovered from that rough week of his. I met Nolan and Spencer as they approached the drink table. I nodded a hello to Nolan. Technically, he was one of my bosses, but I knew he didn’t view it that way. He might own the ranch, but the horse rescue was all Cruz’s.
“Nolan.”
“Hey, Nash. How are you?”
“Doing good. Hey, Spencer, how are you feeling? Was this a better week?”
He ducked his head a bit and blushed. Apparently, he was still embarrassed because he’d been so snippy the other day, but it was adorable. No, not for you, I reminded myself while I waited for an answer.
“Yeah, it was a much better week, thanks.”
“Glad to hear it.”
We stood around awkwardly for a minute until Nolan said, “I should go check with V and see if she needs anything.”
“I’ll come with you,” Spencer said quickly. “Talk to you later, Nash.”
I watched as he walked off. I guess it could have gone worse. At least he wasn’t rude. I really did hate that things were awkward between us now, though. I grabbed myself a beer and went over to where all the guys were sitting around.
Spencer
