Acting Happy (Texas Desires #2) (3 page)

“Yeah, agreed. I needed this,” Ty said, grinning at Connor over Cole’s shoulder. “Hey, man.”

Connor smiled, which was always a little weird, and headed their way at a more casual pace. Stoic might be the best word to describe him, but Ty wasn’t entirely sure of that since he hardly spoke. His tendency toward quietness grew more pronounced with each year he stayed enlisted in the armed forces. He’d chosen career military, rising through the ranks.

Ty thumbed his second shoe on before grabbing his lone duffle bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Cole lifted his ball cap to scrub a hand over his head before absently putting it back in place. “We drove all night.”

When Connor got within reach, Ty took his outstretched hand before he drew Connor in for a much more relaxed hug. Actually, it was probably more of a shoulder bump, but it meant the same thing.

“Good to see you, man,” Ty said.

“Yep, you look more Hollywood every time I see you,” Connor said, and Ty knew that was an attempt to tease him about his pampered life.

“We all can’t pull off the buzz cut,” he said, grinning at the guys. “How was the drive?”

“Picked him up at DFW airport and drove straight through,” Cole called out as he went to the back of his truck, pulled out three bags, and tossed two to Connor.

“You guys tired?” Ty asked.

“Nah, not too bad. We took turns sleepin’,” Cole said, following Ty to the front porch. “You agree?”

“Yup,” Connor said, trailing behind.

“Cool, drop your shit in whichever room you want. Do what you need to do. I’m gonna take a quick shower. I got in last night. I need some breakfast, and we need to make a beer run. Can’t have my budding alcoholics running out of beer like we did last year. My assistant told me there’s a store in town,” Ty said, walking through the front door, holding it open until Cole got through.

“What about coffee?” Cole asked.

“Full pot in the kitchen. You know where it is. Help yourself to whatever’s in there,” Ty said, as he picked up his scattered dirty clothes and headed toward his bathroom.

For a place tucked so far out of the way from anywhere, the Stanton Café and Steakhouse was packed with patrons. Ruggedly dressed wilderness junkies sitting side by side, taking every available space at the four eight-foot tables that made up the dining area. The restaurant had zero formality. The chairs were the standard metal fold-out deals, rolls of paper towels sat in the middle of the table at about every other chair and the plates were a hard plastic—absolutely no fear of breakage.

Ty and his buddies had found the only available space, sitting at the very end, the farthest away from the door, right up against the wall. Ty got the seat at the foot of the table, Cole to his left, Connor to his right. From this angle, he could see the whole dining room and every time he moved, his chair scrapped against the back wall. The deep indention in the sheetrock proved it to be a regular occurrence.

This whole eating experience might actually be one of the top five reasons why Ty loved this part of the world. He’d been parked at the table for at least thirty minutes and no one seemed to recognize him or treat him any differently than any other person in the place. He couldn’t see anyone purposefully eavesdropping or discreetly snapping pictures. Yes, he had worn his baseball cap and dark sunglasses, and his thick beard was growing in nicely, but if any of these people thought he looked familiar, they never said a word.

Ty shoveled the last bite of food inside his mouth. Only a small piece of bacon remained. The grits were gone, the overly buttered toast had only bread crumbs to prove it had ever existed, and now, the scrambled eggs were history. Tossing the bacon in his mouth, Ty pushed away his plate while not yet entirely full. Apparently relaxation and good home-cooking made him hungrier than normal. “So Reed’s settled down?”

“Yep. And she’s pregnant,” Cole added while Ty eyed Cole’s plate and decided that, out of the three of them, Cole was the smart one. He’d ordered the breakfast sampler and still had some strategically uneaten food pushed off to the side. Since they were like brothers, Ty knew Cole saved certain bites to savor at the end of the meal. Cole liked to eat and seriously planned his food at every meal, but as any good sibling might do, Ty made a stealthy, unexpected move and reached over to spear the last sausage link left on Cole’s plate.

“Hey!” Cole shouted. Ty quickly shoved the whole link inside his mouth when he saw Cole’s fork rising to fight for the piece. The anger that flashed over Cole’s face made Ty sit back as far as he could. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that his buddy would execute a throat punch to get his sausage link back. Connor just snickered as Ty chewed quickly then reached for the glass of water. He had to swallow this meat before he choked to death trying to keep from laughing at his victory.

Ty took a drink of the iced water, swallowed, and took another drink before he spoke, trying to stay on the subject of the remarkable turn of events in Reed Prescott’s life. He also eyed a piece of biscuit and gravy left on Cole’s plate. If he could divert attention and move quick enough to get that food on his fork and to his mouth, he might succeed in getting that bite too. “Reed as a dad is kind of weird. You guys like her?”

Cole’s eyes narrowed on Ty before he looked down at his remaining food. He then draped an arm around the top of his plate to protect what was his. “Order more if you’re still hungry.”

“Answer the question, douche,” Ty said, still focused on the food.

“Sure, she’s fine. Didn’t get that gold-digger vibe from her,” Cole said.

“She’s pretty and sweet,” Connor added. He’d shoved his plate out of the way, resting his elbows on the table as he drank from his coffee mug.

“I got the email Linda sent,” Ty said, taking another drink of the water. Though Linda was Braden Bryant’s mother, in that small town Texas way, she acted as a mom to them all. The Bryants had adopted Reed when they were all young, bringing him into their circle, making his new girlfriend and upcoming baby a prideful topic to be spread around the family. “He seems happy. I’m just surprised. I never thought he’d ever settle down.”

“He’s whipped, but she kind of seems so too,” Connor added. Through the distraction of Reed’s love life, Cole had quickly finished his plate, mopping up that last little bit of biscuit and gravy. Damn.

“Well, if she’s good for him, he needs that. The guy pushes too hard,” Ty added as the waitress moved to their side of the table and laid the check down then cleared away the dishes.

“You guy’s need anything else?” she asked.

“No, we’re good. The local store’s close by, right?” Ty asked, still watching her for any signs of recognition.

“Yep, about a block or so down,” she said and turned away.

Score! He smiled and then sighed at his confirmed incognito status.

Cole waited for the waitress’s retreat and looked around to see who was in hearing distance before he quietly added his two cents, “You push yourself too hard. You’re always on the TV or in a movie. I don’t know how you keep up. You never answer the damn phone. How many movies did you make last year?”

Ty didn’t respond to that question as he rose, pulling his wallet from his back pocket, dropping a couple of twenties on the table. The guys had never really understood his industry. Out of all of them, Reed was the only one that didn’t give him grief about his packed schedule and that was only because he worked so damn much himself. Instead of answering the question, he stuck with the standard response he always gave his buddies as he went for the front door. “You know, I gotta strike while the iron’s hot. At any point, I’ll be irrelevant, and it’ll all be over.”

“Yeah, that answer doesn’t hold much weight anymore.”

Ty pushed open the diner’s front door and stared up at the sunny blue sky with a sprinkling of white billowy clouds for as far as the eye could see.

Cole walked through the open doorway and patted Ty’s chest as he passed. “I think this iron’s smokin’ hot because you’ve been sayin’ those same words for the last seven years and nothin’s cooled off. Besides, Linda came over to the house a few nights ago. She wants me to tell you to answer the phone and slow down or she’s comin’ to New York.”

“Oh lord,” Ty said, chuckling. Linda Bryant was as Southern as any country-folk stereotype used in a movie. She wrote the book on cooking comfort food, raising a pack of children, and staying all up in their business to make sure they followed a proper lifestyle. He couldn’t imagine Linda finding too much good if she came lurking around his life.

“Mom says you’re datin’ some model. She showed me her picture on the internet. If it’s true, does she have a sister?” Cole asked, but didn’t wait for his answer as he moved toward the Jeep, rounding to the backseat. With the hard-top off, his buddies had no use for doors. Cole grabbed the roll bar and hoisted himself inside. As he settled in the seat, he added, “She said she’s one of them Victoria’s Secret models. She ever wear those wings?”

“You’re dumb,” Connor added, rounding the hood, going for the passenger side. Ty laughed a little at the exchange, and he honestly had no idea what online tabloid might pair him with anyone—male or female, but no, he wasn’t dating anyone. The whole acting community was way too ambitious to date. Monogamy was laughable. They straight-up fucked. Either before, during, or after business, and generally, if he got lucky, he got some twice during any exchange.

“Okay, that’s not the first time I’ve heard I’m dumb, so I’m guessin’ that might be true, but does she?” Cole asked again. Ty got behind the wheel and laughed solidly now. Man, Cole was something else. He never stopped. The guy had so much confidence that nothing ever slowed him down. Cole and Connor were the best of friends and they were so funny together. Connor was Cole’s straight man. Better than any comedy duo he’d ever seen. “Also, that diamond bra. I saw that on YouTube. She wear that?” Cole asked, anchoring both forearms on roll bar, leaning into the front seat.

“He serious?” Ty asked, shoving the key in the ignition, turning to Connor for confirmation.

“Yup, think so,” Connor confirmed after looking back at Cole. The rare grin spread, and the guy laughed a little.

“You are dumb.” Ty started the Jeep and began to back out, changing the subject. “I’ve already seen more people than I wanted to for the whole trip.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” Cole said, somewhat put out, and Ty stopped the vehicle halfway out of the parking spot, looking back at Cole, then over at Connor who seemed to want to know the answer to Cole’s question too.

“Okay, well, here’s the truth. I think the woman your mom might’ve showed you, well, she struggles at keeping her clothes on. Google that shit, and you tell me if you think she wears it.”

“Dammit! I should’ve been an actor,” Cole said, dropping dramatically into the backseat, whipping the baseball cap off his head to hit against his knee. Ty followed Cole’s lead, taking the bill of his cap and pushing it to the back of his head so it wouldn’t blow off when he drove. “I have to work entirely too hard to get anyone’s clothes off.”

“Yeah. That’s one thing I can say. There isn’t a shortage of pussy in the movie biz,” Ty called out while backing the Jeep out, laughing a little as he poured salt in the open wound of Cole’s life.

“Huh,” Connor added, proving he’d been vested in the conversation. He was the one that Ty always hated bragging in front of. The guy could be banging it every night for all he knew, but he just had a feeling God and country were a real deal for Connor. He envisioned dark covert operations in the middle of the desert were daily occurrences.

“I ain’t seen new pussy since we started junior high,” Cole called out. Ty looked over his shoulder into in the backseat and chuckled again. He suspected that was probably true. Cole’s excitement dwindled as he sat there pouting.

“That’s because you never leave that town we grew up in,” he yelled out, turning onto the county road, heading toward the store.

“And when I do, it’s to come here. To the fuckin’ wilderness with a bunch of fuckin’ dudes.” Cole straightened in the backseat, pushing his ball cap down low over his forehead, tucking his arms tightly across his chest. Ty gave a hearty laugh as he glanced in the rearview mirror. Not much quieted the overly animated Cole Willis. Connor hit him in the arm and hooked a thumbed toward the back to make sure he’d witnessed Cole’s scowl. They looked at each other and busted out laughing a little harder. Cole pouting couldn’t have been any more entertaining had he tried.

~~~

The bells attached to the swinging doors rattled relentlessly at the Stanton Station Depot, the only retail grocery store in twenty miles of anything. A late in the season warm snap brought travelers from all over the country to the Smoky Mountains for one last end-of-summer camping trip. The general rule, whoever made it this far was more than likely a seasoned camper, and if not, well, they usually spent a lot of money in Kenzie’s parents store to help ease the burden of the extreme wilderness.

Kenzie Stanton had grown up in this store. On a whim, her hippie-at-heart, newlywed parents made the decision to move across country to this small community of barely a few hundred locals. They’d used their life savings to buy this property from an elderly couple who had been just too old to continue.

By Kenzie’s best estimation, the place was a dump. Her parents lovingly referred to Stanton Station Depot as a grocery, drug, and retail store. She called it a tricked-up convenience store with a meat counter and some hiking gear. None of the employees were younger than sixty, and as far as she could tell, just like with the house they still lived in, nothing had been updated in all these years.

With her hands full of canned goods, Kenzie blew at the long bangs that had slipped free of her ponytail to hang in her face. A small trickle of sweat built enough steam to slide down her spine at the same time a deep, frustrated sigh escaped. There had been a reason she hadn’t been back to this place in all these years. Funny how life worked. Those same reasons were what ultimately drove her back to the security of her parents’ home when things had taken such an ugly turn for her.

“McKenzie, honey, we need you on the register,” her mom called out. She rose off her knees where she’d been stocking canned goods on an almost empty shelf. The back-breaking work had her rolling the strained muscles in her neck and shoulders. She pushed at the few loose strands of her hair and used her forearm to wipe at the sweat on her brow. As a college graduate, it had been years since she’d put in this many hours of true manual labor. But whatever, she’d sleep easily tonight and that was worth any price.

“William, can you finish this for me when you’re done?” she asked on her way to the register as she passed by one of the elderly staffers her mom hired as a do-anything-that-needs-to-be-done kind of guy.

“Sure thing,” he muttered, never looking up. He moved slower than molasses, but didn’t stop until the job was complete.

“Johnny-Ray, you remember Kenzie, don’t you?” Her mother’s steadfast determination to set her up with any willing man never faded, and in a community that made it abundantly clear they considered her damaged goods, it seemed a genuinely sweet gesture, if not a little annoying. Kenzie rounded the corner, plastered a fake smile on her face as she spotted a line at least ten deep at the registers.

“Mom, you should have called me up here sooner,” she said, ignoring her mother’s sunny smile and the man who stood in front of her.