Page 29 of Lone Star Longing
“Because I ran into Con at the hardware store and he said a group of y’all go out there on Sundays and play washers.”
“I haven’t been in months, but yeah, we used to do that, especially after Hailey first opened. It was a nice place to hang out.”
“Not any more?”
She opened the freezer to load the containers in a neat stack. “And Jesse wasn't really a fan of hanging out with my old high school friends.”
“Why not?”
“I guess he felt like he didn't really know them since he hadn’t gone to school here. I could understand that.”
“So did you hang out with his friends?” Jesse didn't sound like a very nice guy, in Beck’s opinion. Kind of a dick, to be honest.
“No, we just kept to ourselves, mostly.”
“That can get old.”
“I was okay with it. I’m not the most social being on the planet. I was kind of a loner in high school, you know, until the accident. Then we all kind of bonded. Still, sometimes being with them makes me sad, especially Con.”
Beck thought about what Con had said about her liking to take care of people. “Yeah, it changed him for sure. He’s not the same guy I knew in high school.”
“No, and that makes me sad, too, what he lost. Not just Claudia, but him. What he lost of himself.”
“He never went to college after all?”
“I think he did some online courses, but no, he never left town. Britt did, and never came back.”
“Are his parents still around?” When she cast him a sideways glance, he shrugged. “I didn't know how to ask him without being blunt, so I thought I’d ask you.”
“They are still around. His mom—you wouldn't recognize her, she’s gained so much weight. His dad—I don't know how Con can bear it, his dad is so hard on him.”
“He was always hard on him. I mean, I can see how it would be worse, but he always expected a lot of Con. I wonder why he stays.”
“Lots of reasons. He loves his horses. He loves his mom. And he feels responsible for Claudia.”
“No one could have known something like that would happen. I mean, we felt responsible, too, because if you hadn’t been coming to get us...and then there’s the guilt that we didn't have to fight for our lives the way you did. But you can’t live like that.”
“No, of course not. It was a freak accident. That’s all it was. But it changed everything, for some more than others.”
“I didn't mean to take you down this road when I asked,” he said after a few minutes of silence.
“No, I know.”
“I just thought it might be fun to go hang out at The Wheel House, you know, since there isn’t a ton to do here. And it seems to me like you work all the time, like maybe you’d like to get out and have fun. Eat some wings, have a few laughs, listen to some music. Not a date,” he added quickly, his hands up in front of him when she opened her mouth, pretty sure she was going to protest. “Just a group of friends.”
“Maybe I will. I’ll see what my dad has going on, then I might show up. I can always be the designated driver.”
He smiled when she smiled, a smile that lit up her whole face, transformed her, really.
He didn't really remember her from high school. In fact, it had taken him a few days to realize she was the girl he’d pulled from the water that day. The girl who had shivered in his truck. The girl he found out later had saved her friend, though she’d insisted that her friend had saved her first.
He remembered how tough she’d been defending Mrs. Driscoll, the bus driver, when the town accused her of driving through a low water crossing. Lacey had insisted Mrs. Driscoll hadn’t gotten that far, that the road had washed out before the bus reached it.
He knew Austin, Mrs. Driscoll’s son, was grateful for Lacey’s support while he mourned his mother. Beck kind of thought the two of them would end up together.
He was kind of glad they hadn’t.
Beck picked up the load of towels Lacey had been about to carry down the hall.
