Page 74 of Lone Star Longing
Chapter Eighteen
AS A RULE, BROKEN WHEELdidn't do much to celebrate Independence Day. Flags were hung up and down Main Street, the hardware store and diner had someone paint crude flags in the windows in chalk paint, and write patriotic sayings, but there weren’t enough people for a parade. Most people who thought about it drove out to Kimmel to buy fireworks to set them off, but even that wasn't all that common.
This year, though, the Fourth coincided with Millie Drexler’s eightieth birthday and family reunion, so the town was a little more festive than usual. Lacey’s dad, Tony Davila, had suggested the town go buy a bunch of fireworks from the stand in Kimmel and set them off in the park. He also suggested they have picnics in the park ahead of the fireworks, everyone bringing their own food. Maybe if they’d planned ahead, they could have done a potluck, but as it was, everyone brought their own food, and some of the kids from the elementary school set up a lemonade stand.
Now, the park in Broken Wheel was not what most people would think of as a park. It was an empty stretch of land across the street from the hardware store, with a couple of trees and a couple of picnic tables and open grills, and very little grass, since it hadn’t rained in some time, and no one had thought to water the grass they had put down when they decided to make the area a park.
Beck thought he’d take his mother. They’d take some camp chairs and he’d even pick up some of the pie the diner was selling, some of the prepared picnic meals the grocery store was selling. That way no one had to put any effort into the plan.
As he drove his mom into town, he looked at the temperature gauge and remembered why Broken Wheel usually didn't have a Fourth of July celebration. At almost six in the evening, the temperature hovered near a hundred.
But it was a dry heat, and when the sun went down, the air temperature would cool.
He had just gotten his mom situated when he heard his name, and he turned just in time to see Britt launch herself at him. He staggered a bit, catching her around the waist as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, buried her face in his neck.
“Hey, Britt, it’s good to see you,” he said into her soft blonde hair, returning her hug a minute before extracting himself. “I heard you were in town.”
“I didn't hear the same about you. I thought you were off seeing the big wide world.”
“I’m taking a small break from that, for a while.” He cast his eyes toward his mother, who was ignoring them. Well, acting like she was ignoring them. He knew his mother better than that. “You in town for long? Have you seen anyone else?”
“I kind of hoped to see some people.” She looked around the growing crowd. Well, not crowd because nothing was ever crowded in Broken Wheel.
“You look great.” Her blonde hair was long and shiny, her blue eyes rimmed with just enough makeup to accent them. She didn't look any older than she had when she was cheering on the sidelines of the Kimmel football games. “What is it you’re doing now? I heard you’re some kind of a party planner or something?”
“Yeah, I’m an event coordinator at Houston. It keeps me busy.”
“You always were pretty organized, I guess.”
“That has come in handy. You look great.” She tapped his bicep. “You’re not in the pit, or whatever, changing tires or any of that?”
“No, I make adjustments with my brain, get someone else to take care of the brawn. You look great, too. City living suits you.”
Something passed over her face that he couldn't identify. “Yeah, it sure is different from living here.”
“Are you in town long?”
“Just for the holiday weekend. Grandma wanted all her kids here for her big birthday, so I’ll be heading back Sunday after the festivities.”
“Long drive.”
“Other side of the planet,” she said with a sigh, looking around. “I don't remember ever having a Fourth of July celebration in town.”
“No, we haven’t. Lacey’s dad thought that since we were going to have more people, we should just centralize our firework collections and have one big show in the middle of town.”
“Well, that’s fun. I think it’s a good idea.”
“Yeah, we’ll see. So what else is going on in your life? You get married or anything?”
She took a step back, looking away and waving a dismissive hand. “No, no. Way too busy for a social life.”
“I hear that.”
She gave him a long look. “I don't really keep up with anyone anymore, and you’re the first person I’ve seen since I came back. How is everyone else doing?”
He knew she meant Con, and he debated over telling her that Con had no intention of coming tonight. So he started listing everyone else. “Javi is working for Highway Patrol, Poppy is a teacher, Ginny is working at the diner, Sofia at the hotel, Lacey is doing home health and is pregnant. Con is still at the ranch.”
“His dad is there, too, though, still?”
