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I raise an eyebrow. “Not going to pretend I’m the happiest person in the world, Rye. But I’m hardly depressed to the point you gotta worry about me.”
“Are you sure? I know you and your brothers just retreat home every weekend once the work is done. And I know you’re just going to fall asleep on the couch tonight after half a six pack and half a pizza.”
I shrug. “Worse ways to spend a Friday night.”
“You need a woman, Cash.”
“And I’m not disagreeing. But I can’t just take a jaunt down to the woman store and pick one up, cousin.”
“Wallowing in self-pity, pizza and booze won’t take care of it either.”
I grunt. “Believe me, I’ve been giving it a go. Been using the internet to try to find someone, but that’s been going rough.”
“You’re not going to find anyone on the internet, Cash. Not in a place like Burly, not in this county. You’ll get someone from the city you need to drive two hours to go on a date with, and she’ll probably be a vegan and take deep offense to your profession.”
He isn’t wrong. Burly’s super small, and the results I’ve gotten from the dating sites haven’t been great. I know everyone in town, and I know that the girl the website wants to match me with isn’t right for me, because I already dated her three years ago. Once, a website even suggested Lemon Rough as my match. While I’m a country boy, I’m not country enough to think that dating my cousin is a good idea.
“I’m not disagreeing with you. What would you do, my oh so wise cousin?”
“Grab one of your brothers and go get drunk outside the house for a change. The Burly Saloon is holding a big line dancing event. Live music. If anything’s going to attract someone new in the county to show their face, it’s something like that, Cash.”
I laugh. “You come all this way to suggest that, and you don’t offer yourself as my wingman?”
He turns red, scratching his head. “I got a date with Prairie. Can’t blow it off. Wouldn’t want to blow it off.”
I grin, and shake my head. “Man, I never thought I’d be jealous of someone seeming hen-pecked. But I get it. I’ll head out. Break up the monotony if nothing else.”
The front door opens again, and in comes a brother of mine. Jennings. He’s minding his own business, but sees Rye out of the corner of his eye. “Oh hey Rye, what’s the occasion?”
I rise to my feet, a wild grin on my face, and approach my younger brother. “Well, little brother, what do you say about you and me heading out to the saloon tonight? My treat.”
Jennings stares at me. “Uh... okay? I got nothing else planned. You coming too, cousin?”
“I’m just leaving,” Rye says, a smile on his face. “I wanted to make the suggestion – you two have fun.”
Rye slaps my brother on the back, and heads out the door.
“Go put your dancing boots on, Jennings. We are going line dancing.”
Jennings is a tad surprised, but nods along. He must think it’s important to me because he doesn’t raise further objections.
I’m all over it. I’m bored, and more bored than I am tired. I don’t think Rye’s suggestion is going to lead me to love at first sight, because that seems a bit silly.
But if it happens? I’m not going to tell it to fuck off.
* * *
The Burly Saloonhas grown a bit over the past few years, trying to stay relevant and trying to get customers to come in from outside the town’s borders. A fancy jukebox usually gets people onto the dance floor, but tonight, as Rye said, there’s live music. A country western band, and a fancy one too. Got a fiddle, guitar, bass, and even a big ole’ cello, the singer breaking down into a heartfelt harmonica solo with every song.
Not everything they do is a banger, but I’m tapping my feet all night.
Jennings is sitting at the bar, kind of timid. He just turned twenty-one. Our father has never been the type to encourage underage drinking, but all of us Rowdys had a beer or two before we were legal. Still, being out in public with a beer in his hand must be making Jennings nervous, like someone’s about to bust him.
“Never thought you were much of a dancer, Cash.”
“I’m not. But you don’t have to be much of a dancer to enjoy yourself at something like this. Besides, what would you have done tonight that’d be more fun than this?”
“Read a book? Play a video game? I don’t know. I’m just rolling with life’s punches right now, Cash.”
