Page 12 of Sheltering Lawson
Boots clopped on the stairs and the back door opened. Braxton came into the kitchen, and Ethan moved away from me. Even though I was relieved, I was also disappointed. He froze studying our faces. “You two look like something happened.”
Ethan explained, and Brax swore a blue streak. That was one thing about him. The “f” word seemed to be his go to word. Then he asked me several times if I was okay, more serious than I’d ever seen him. After that, there was no time for anything else. Customers were filing in, and people needed to be fed.
Later on in the day, I headed into the kitchen and heard Brax swearing softly. I looked into his office and he had his head in his hands.
“Brax?”
He raised his head and said, “I wish there was someone in this town who could do more than just add and subtract.”
I came into the room and got a little excited. “I have experience with numbers. It’s a bit slow, want me to take a look for you?”
“Gladly.” He rose and indicated I should have a seat. His phone rang, and he said, “Boone. My tripdar was going off. What’s up?”
He moved into the kitchen, still talking to his brother. I looked at the screen and groaned. Geez, was this man still living in the dark ages. I got a little frisson of joy as I got to work.
Thirty minutes later, Brax walked back into the office. When he came around the desk, I glanced up at him with an expectant look on my face. I explained to him exactly what I had done and how easy it would be for him to keep track of expenditures and income. Then I said, “And you really need to make sure your receipts are tallied every night and deposited in the safe so that some lowlife doesn’t come in here and steal you blind.”
He stood there for a moment and stared at me. “How about I pay you more and you take over the management of all…this?” When he named a figure, I swallowed hard. “It would be a salary and a permanent job. You’ll have to open a bank account and everything. What do you say?”
“I can’t. I hadn’t planned to stay, Brax.”
“This is just as good as a place as any and you have a good opportunity here. I’m serious. There’s no one here who can do this for me.” He upped the figure, and I was finding it difficult to breathe. Part of me was jumping at the chance and the other part of me, the scared part wanted to just get up and get out.
“C’mon, sugar. I won’t take no for an answer. He named another figure and threw in room and board. I held up my hand.
“Brax, stop,” I pleaded. I loved this work, had always loved numbers and organization. I had gone to school for accounting and had my masters in accounting. It was in my blood. Why couldn’t I just stay long enough to get him established? I didn’t have to stay forever. “All right. I’ll do it, but I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I can’t promise—”
“We’ll take it a day at a time. I’m grateful for your help, Lawson.” He pulled open the drawer. “Now you can take care of these.”
I looked at the mess in his drawer and instead of groaning like I know Brax would have done, I just felt giddy.
As the day wound down, I finished up what I was doing and turned off Brax’s computer. When I looked up, Ethan was in the doorway. “You have a minute?”
He had this look on his face that made me feel anxious.
I rose from the desk and he reached out and took my hand. Leading me out the back door and around to the back of Outlaws, we came to this charming ten paned windowed door. He went up the stairs and pushed it open.
There was a small gallery kitchen and I could smell the newness of the paint. The floor was dark, the cabinets were painted a dark blue and there was a white fridge, the window panes of the small window above the farmhouse sink painted in the same fresh white. He drew me in.
There was the cutest moon motif valance over the window with touches of the blue and white here and there.
The kitchen opened up into a big room, and I took in the wonderful cottage feel of the place. The space was open and airy, intimate at the same time, with nooks and alcoves that offered both a curl-up daydreaming window bench and space-saving built-in storage. There was nothing that I loved more than practical organization to minimize clutter. From the turquoise weathered paint to the planked feature wall and ceiling with white beams giving it a crisscross pattern, I immediately fell in love with the place. The screen that shielded the white cast iron bed with whimsical pillows and teal dresser, to the bayou pictures on the walls were so charming. The cozy furniture and antique coffee table made me smile. He then led me to the bathroom, the wainscoting on the walls, the old-fashioned tub and next to it a modern walk-in shower, the glass block window, and the cute pedestal sink.
“What is all this?” I asked. “Why are you showing me this?”
“This is the room Brax mentioned.”
I stood there for a moment taking in what he’d said. I hadn’t ever lived in such a simple, warm, sunny place. Opulence was what I was used to, but this was grander than a castle and lovingly restored. I knew immediately that every touch in here was because of Ethan. I wanted to run, and I wanted to stay. I was so torn.
I was wrecked by their generosity. Tears welled without me being able to stop them. I looked up at him dizzy, warmth flooding me. The kind I hadn’t felt since my father was alive. Biting my lip against the increasing fullness in my throat, I murmured, “Oh, Ethan, what have you done?”
“It was a group effort.”
I shook my head and turned toward him. “Maybe, but you were behind it all.” My vision blurred, tears slipped down my cheeks, touched beyond measure.
“I want you to feel safe, Lawson. This is shelter for you. Stay.”
My heart suddenly hammering, I gazed back at him, the clamor in my chest making it hard for me to think. He guessed. Maybe more than I wanted him to. Unsettled by that thought, I dragged my gaze away from his, needing to be absolutely honest with him. “I feel grounded here, safe,” I said huskily. “I don’t know what to say or how to react. This is so, so kind. But I can’t make any promises.”
