It had been hard watching Devin leave knowing it would probably be years before she saw him again but Heather liked getting everything back to "normal". Getting back to work again felt good. She'd been fairly busy all morning and for once it wasn't the slightest bit overwhelming. She was enjoying it. Immensely. The bells over the door chimed. A beautiful little girl, probably no older than five or six, bounded through the door. Her mother followed close behind. They headed into the back of the store. A few minutes later they emerged with a white cooler box. As Heather entered the price into the computer, the sweet girl, who had introduced herself as Elora, started telling her all about her kitten, Honey. Apparently with the cooler temperatures, she was concerned her orange tabby would get too cold. Heather smiled at her genuine concern.
"I'm sure this will keep her warm. Nice and insulated." Heather said. Elora nodded. Heather handed her mother a receipt.
"Thank you." the woman said as she grabbed the cooler from the counter, headed toward the exit, and opened the door with her side. Elora skipped along behind her and Heather smiled. She had never seen either of them before. Maybe they were new in town.
By the time her lunch break rolled around, she was more than ready for a break. As she sat eating a burrito, a knock came on the door. The store is obviously closed, people. She set down her lunch and walked out of the office. The face staring through the glass was one she hadn't been anticipating seeing. Hoping...but not expecting. She went and opened the door.
"Stetson." she said in surprise.
"Heather." he responded in that deep voice of his. "You mind if we talk for a few minutes?" He seemed reluctant. But he had come all the way into town so he must have thought it to be important.
"Certainly. Although you should probably know, there's been rumors goin' around ever since the last time you came in to talk." she said with a grimace.
"I've been dealing with rumors ever since I got back. But I wouldn't want to blemish your reputation." he added. She laughed.
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"I'm not too worried about it, Stetson. As long as I know I'm not doing anything wrong, other people can talk as much as they want."
"I like that in a person." he said. It was a compliment and she was glad to hear he wasn't spewing fire over their last conversation...at least not yet. He walked through the door.
"Maybe we oughta stay in plain sight anyway though." His thoughtfulness touched her. She nodded her assent. An awkward silence followed. He just stared at her. Eventually, she grew uncomfortable.
"How's your family?" Heather asked. He blinked. Then sighed.
"Fine, I guess. Pretty sure my dad's still upset with me." He offered her a crooked grin that vainly attempted to cover the pain in his eyes. "But other than that, they've been alright. Shay's been doing a little better." Another pause.
"Not to be frank or anything," she said, "but you made it sound like you had something to talk to me about." He chuckled.
"That actually was quite blunt." She noticed crow's feet around his eyes when he smiled.
"Habit, I suppose." she mumbled. He nodded.
"The truth is, I'm trying to figure out how to say it."
"Just...spit it out." she encouraged.
"That's what I did last time." She felt her cheeks warm at the memory of their last "talk".
"Look. I actually need to apologize for what I said. I didn't have to be so mean." She gulped and rubbed her forearms as if she was cold.
"I mean, if that's what you believe though..." he trailed off.
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"No. I-it wasn't all true. In fact, n-none of it was. I guess you could say I was j-just caught off guard." She hated the stutter she got when she was nervous. He cleared his throat.
"I meant what I said, Heather." She looked up into his eyes and saw the sincerity written there.
"I know." she whispered. She couldn't stop hearing Devin's warning in her mind. She needed to be cautious. But she was about to throw caution to the wind. And that was a dangerous state-of-mind to be in.
"Do you?" He took a step closer. "Cause I don't think I said it the right way. I want to try again. Will you let me?" She sensed he truly wanted her to say yes.
"Yes." she stated simply.
"Heather, I know we both have incredibly busy lives, and both of us have pasts that le us scarred for different reasons, but even with all that in mind, I haven't been able to push aside my feelings for you. I knew there was something about you from the first time we met. But that feeling grows stronger the longer I know you. I, without a doubt, know that you are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with." She felt her eyes widen. He noticed as well. "Maybe that was bold. Maybe it's too soon to say that, but I want you to know that I ain't foolin' around with your heart, Heather. I'm not that man." She felt her heart pounding in her chest. She swallowed hard. He was watching her somewhat nervously. "I've rendered you speechless." He joked. She giggled nervously.
"Just a bit, Mr. Stetson." His eyes brightened at the nickname. "I-I don't even know what to say." She laughed. "I wasn't expecting a visit from you and then to hear all that-I just can't even hardly think." It was his turn to laugh. He was enjoying his effect over her. She could tell. "To be one hundred percent honest with you, Stetson, I'm just uncertain. I mean, we have kids to think about-"
"Who would obviously benefit from a second parent." he threw in. She acknowledged his statement with a nod—feeling a slight bit of grief at the idea of any man taking the place of Sean in the girls' mind. But she also knew that Sean would want
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them to have a father. "If it helps any, I actually called your father." She sent him a horrified look.
"You what!?" she asked incredulously.
"I called your dad. I was raised in a way that, if a man wants to court a woman, he calls her daddy." He spoke with such confidence.
"B-but-what did he say?"
The look of horror and shock on her pretty face confirmed what he had already guessed from his conversation with Mr. Myers. Her relationship with her parents, or at least her dad, was rocky at best. The chasm between the two of them was huge.
"Well, we talked for about a half hour before he answered my question but he gave his blessing. Course he said I wasn't allowed to marry you until he met me." He added the last part with a grin.
"How did you even get his number?"
"Devin." She was still watching him warily. "You're awfully quiet, Heather." She huffed.
"You, Stetson Dalton, could not have surprised me more if you'd wanted to. I haven't talked to my parents since I married Sean almost five years ago. I just never would have expected you to call him."
"Well then I guess I have exceeded your expectations." He sent her a rueful grin and she calmed enough to give him an eye-roll. The phone rang and he watched as she jogged over to answer it.
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"Quitman Livestock Supply. This is Heather." he could only hear her half of the conversation. "Oh! Hi, Austin. Yeah. He is here. He had to drop in to get some," she glanced around the store, "baling twine."
Stetson smacked his forehead. Baling twine. That was the last thing in the world he would be buying! They had plenty of it out on the ranch. "Yeah. He didn't mention what he needed it for. Oh. Alrighty then. I will let him know he doesn't need it. Uh huh. Okay. Bye." As soon as she hung up the phone, he burst into laughter.
"Baling twine? You couldn't think of anything better?" She blushed and walked around the counter to punch his arm.
"Would you rather I told him that you came in to declare your undying love for me?" This made Stetson laugh all the harder.
"Oh no! I'm quite glad you didn't do that!" She grinned.
"Why? You ashamed?" He pretended she'd struck him.
"Of course not! I just don't know that I'm prepared for all the ribbing I'm bound to get. You want to come eat with my family? We could announce a wedding date to tease them." She giggled.
"You're terrible." He plopped his hat back on his head which he'd taken off when he entered the store and sent her a wink.
"See you soon, darlin'." he said. She waved as he le. He could feel the spring in his step. It was a good day. The sun was shining, his daughter was happy, and Heather liked him back. As he got in his truck, he had to mind the gas pedal lest he speed.
He hadn't been this happy for years. It was a wonderful feeling. He pulled into the driveway and noticed Austin's and Kyle's trucks parked in the drive. Aiden didn't appear to have showed up. He walked through the front door and was immediately pounced on by several of his nephews. He hugged them all back.
"We've been waiting to eat until ya got home, Uncle Stetson." Todd said.
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"Have you? I guess I'd better get washed up then." He sent the kids back to the dining room and headed to the bathroom to wash up. He was greeted in the dining room by Austin's goofiest smile.
"So I hear you were buying some baling twine?" his older brother goaded.
"I didn't figure y'all would wait for me. Let's pray." His father said the prayer before everyone dug in. He thought his brother would let it go but he should have known better.
"So...how was Heather anyway?" Austin asked.
"Fantastic. I happened to catch her on her lunch break."
"How convenient." he teased.
"Did I miss something?" Kyle sounded annoyed.
"Of course you did, Ky. You missed me." Stetson joked. Kyle didn't seem all that amused. His father, however, was even colder than Stetson's brother.
"If you're gonna go get yourself killed, I don't see a point in trying to form a relationship with Heather." Hank said coolly.
"Oh pawpaw! Thunder won't hurt daddy! He's the nicest ever." He wished Shay hadn't said a word. He didn't want her to bear the brunt of his anger.
"Who? Who's Thunder?" he asked.
"Well, his name was Trojan. I renamed him." she explained dramatically. Hank shot him a furious glare.
"You took her to see that devil?" he raged.
"Can we talk about this another time, dad?"
"We'll talk about it now." The challenge in his father's eyes was unmistakable. He was so tired of fighting with his father. He just wanted a peaceful dinner for once.
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"Yes, I took her to see him." he answered quietly. He wasn't about to make this a screaming match.
"Are you da? Do you realize what kind of danger you were putting your own child in?" he asked in a tone that suggested Stetson wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.
"We were careful." Stetson said.
"There is no careful with that beast!" Shay shot him an apologetic look. He sent her a little smile to say it was okay. He didn't even make a comeback for his father's wrath. He was starting to realize it might be better to say nothing at all. "You are a fool to mess with him yourself. But to put your own daughter in harm's way-" He scoffed and shook his head. "Maybe you were right when you said you weren't that good of a father." His words cut the air like the crack of a bullwhip. Austin was completely white. Every kid at the table was staring at their grandfather with bulged eyes. His mother was watching him. And as for Kyle, even he looked shocked at the venomous words. His brother's wives did their best to continue eating as if nothing had happened. He looked up into his father's eyes. And he saw the same disappointment that had been there for as long as he could remember.
"Maybe you're right, dad." he said in a so voice. His father looked surprised to hear that kind of reaction. "If y'all will excuse me." He got up without meeting anybody's gaze and headed outside. He sat on the front steps and watched cars drive on the highway in the distance. One of the cow dogs came and plopped down next to him.
"Hey, ol' pal." Sully, as Aiden had named the blue heeler years earlier, whined as Stetson scratched behind his ears. Stetson let his thoughts roam. He thought about his childhood, his life with Lisa, coming home, and the present. Twenty-five, almost twenty-six, years flashed through his mind. Lots of good memories. A couple bad ones. Life lesson aer life lesson. And how much did he still need to learn? Plenty. He heard the door shut quietly. Austin came down and sat on the other side of Sully.
"You okay, man?" The fact that he had come out to check on him made Stetson's day just s little better.
"Eh. I've been better." Austin nodded and leaned his elbows on his knees.
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"There anything I can do?" he asked.
"Austin, I don't think anybody can do anything for this. It's too late now." Austin sighed.
"You aren't a bad father, Stet." Stetson just looked at him with a sorrowful expression. "Dad just gets wound up sometimes. You can't let it get to you."
"Austin. I know you mean the best but I think we both know I'm the only one in the family that dad's ever verbally backhanded that hard. And there were times growing up when you guys deserved it too." His older brother didn't deny it.
"Are you planning on helping move some cows today?" The change of subject got Stetson's mind off the problem-for now.
"Am I invited? Or do you think dad's gonna have me load hay?" Stetson prompted sarcastically. Austin chuckled.
"We don't have any current need for it so I'd say you're safe." he said.
"Good. In that case, I will. Just let me run in and tell Shay goodbye."
"Alright. But just so you know, you just proved my point about not being a bad father!" he called aer Stetson. He walked into the kitchen and the chatter halted awkwardly. The men were getting ready to go to work and the women were clearing the table. He walked over and gave Shay a hug and a kiss on the forehead.
"I'll see you tonight, alright, sweety?" he whispered in her ear. She hugged him tightly.
"Love you, daddy."
"Love you, angel." He walked into the kitchen and embraced his mother.
"I never said sorry the other day." he said. Jill hugged him back.
"All is forgiven." she said. He pulled back.
"See ya, tonight, momma." Her eyes were shining with concern but she nodded.
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"Be safe, Stetson." He tipped his hat in acknowledgment.
"Yes, ma'am!"
The boys loaded up in Hank's truck so the women could have the cars to drive home. Kyle rode shotgun and Stetson and Austin took the back seats. By the time they reached the barn, the tension in the truck had thickened to the consistency of molasses in winter. Stetson was glad the trip was over. He saddled Ranger with the speed of a guy who'd been doing it since he was tall enough to, and headed out to the pasture with the other men of the family. Austin stuck to his side like glue. For the first time in years, he felt like he had an ally, besides his mother, in his father's household.