As soon as he reached me, Hal dropped his overnight bag, and I swept him off his feet. When our lips met in a passionate kiss, all my worries instantly evaporated. The spark between us was even more overwhelming than it had been in Vegas, and I just knew these next few days were going to be pure bliss.
That kiss went on for a long time. Finally, he rested his forehead against mine and whispered, “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He felt smaller and lighter than I remembered, but everything else was wonderfully familiar. It was incredible to breathe in his clean scent, touch his skin, and taste him on my lips. All of that had been painfully absent during our virtual dates.
By the time I put him down, most of the crowd had moved on. I scooped up his bag and remarked, “You’re travelling light.”
“Literally never. We need to go find my luggage.”
We walked to the baggage claim hand-in-hand, and while we waited for the bags to show up, he wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck. We were both so distracted that we missed seeing his luggage go by the first time and had to wait for it to circle back around.
It turned out he’d brought two huge suitcases, in addition to the carry-on. “This makes a lot more sense,” I said, as I helped him heave the bags off the rotating carousel.
“Well, yeah. I need wardrobe options. Also, I brought a few projects to work on while you’re busy with ranch stuff.”
“That’s good.” I’d wondered what he’d find to entertain himself while I was working with the horses or doing my chores.
Hal retrieved a toiletry kit from one of the suitcases and told me, “I need a minute to freshen up. Wait here.” Then he hurried to the restroom.
He looked exactly the same when he returned, but there was a sparkle in his dark eyes and a mischievous grin on his lips, as if he was up to something. I wondered what that was about.
After he put away the toiletries, he stacked his carry-on on top of one of the suitcases and took my hand again. Each of us wheeled a big bag to the exit, and as we stepped outside, I said, “Welcome to Texas.”
He squeezed my hand. “I’m so happy to be here.”
Once we reached the truck, I loaded his luggage into the back, and Hal asked, “What’s the barrel for?”
“Crude oil. You know Texas is famous for its rich oil deposits, so everyone with a truck carries an empty barrel with them at all times. You never know when somebody’s going to hit a vein, and oil’s going to start shooting up out of the ground. We can’t let that stuff go to waste, so we position the barrels to catch as much as we can while we wait for someone to come and cap the gusher.”
I’d managed to say that with a straight face, but Hal wasn’t even sort of buying it. “What’s the barrel really for?”
I grabbed the edge and rotated it around, and he burst out laughing when the words came into view. “Tank’s holding down the fort for me tonight. I don’t like to leave the animals unsupervised for very long, and this way we won’t have to hurry home. But there’s a price to pay when I ask him for a favor, and it’s usually in the form of a practical joke. He’s been teasing me about your upcoming visit, and he rigged this while I was taking a shower. I couldn’t get it out before I left for the airport.” I rotated the barrel again to hide the words.
“Tank’s awesome.”
“He’s like the younger brother I never wanted.” Hal was still grinning as he walked around to the passenger door and tried the handle. “Hang on,” I said, as I hurried over. “There’s a trick to it.” I showed him how to pull up on the handle and the door at the same time, and after he climbed into the seat, I slammed it shut behind him. Then I did it two more times, until it finally latched.
When I circled around and slid behind the wheel, Hal asked, “What are the chances that door’s going to swing open while we’re driving?”
“Pretty slim, but wear your seatbelt.” He quickly put on the belt, tugging it a few times to make sure it really was fastened.
He tried to insist on paying the parking fee when we left the lot, and as I pulled onto the street, he said, “It was sweet of you to pay for my plane ticket, but please let me reimburse you.”
I could guess what was happening, so I explained, “I drive this truck for sentimental reasons, not because I’m broke. It belonged to my granddad, and he loved it. I do, too. It doesn’t look like much now, but when I find the time, I want to restore it to its former glory.”
“Okay. I didn’t know if I should be worried about your financial situation.”
“Nah. My grandparents made some smart investments over the years, and they left everything to me. I’m not rich by any means, but I’m lucky, because I don’t have to worry about being able to take care of my animals, the ranch, or myself. I’ve even been able to set up a trust, so the horse rescue will be able to carry on long after I’m gone.”
While we were talking, he slid toward me on the bench seat, as far as his seatbelt would allow, and rested his hand on my leg. He was as eager for physical contact as I was, and I loved that.
He said, “I always wondered how you supported yourself.”
“Why didn’t you ask me?”
“It was none of my business.”
“I’m an open book. You can ask me anything.”
