~*~
The sun rose, the smell of coffee filled the house, and the laughter of women woke Eric. It had been the first peaceful night’s sleep he’d had in a week.
He could hear the mooing of cattle. No cars had driven away in the night. No phones had rung either.
There had just been peace.
Eric took his time pulling on his clothes before he stumbled his way to the kitchen to Susan and Bethany. They both had their hair high on their heads in some kind of knot where hairs poked out. Their skin was glistened in sweat and their cheeks full of color.
“What have you gals been up to?” he asked as he pushed through to get a mug of coffee and take the first sip before anyone answered.
“I finally got her to do a full yoga workout,” Bethany beamed as she said it. “She needs to do more to keep her flexibility.”
He only grumbled in answer.
Susan leaned up against the counter. His favorite mug from a truck stop in Texas was wrapped between her hands.
“So how is this all going to work? I have class. I have a meeting with Lydia, in town, at a coffee shop,” she added as if there were no compromises. “I can still hear cattle, so I know you have a job to do. How do we go on with our lives?”
He took another sip of his coffee, burning his tongue in the process. He turned his gaze to his cousin. “What are you doing today?”
“As she’s my boss I guess I do what she needs me to do.”
“I’m going to call your brother Jake and have him look at Susan’s car. If anyone can fix it, it’s him.”
He watched as her face contorted into a controlled grin. “Fine.”
“Why don’t you drive her to class? When I know Jake is at the house, and only then, you can head over there.” He looked back at Susan. “What time are you meeting Lydia?”
“Three.”
“You’ll pick her up from class,” he instructed Bethany. “Both of you go to the meeting. We already know all about it. I’m not going to worry about any confidentiality crap. Then straight home.”
“Yes, Dad,” Susan smirked behind her cup.
“I don’t care if they wreck my cars,” he started his rant that burned through him. “I’m extremely pissed that they took my horse from me, my cattle, and ruined my business. But I would die if anything happened to either of you.”
Her eyes softened as she moved closer to him. “That’s why I love you.” She pressed her lips to his and then quickly backed away, rubbing them. “You need a shave.”
He needed a long hot shower too, to wash away the guilt he was feeling over not escorting them all over town.
But the truth was, he couldn’t hover over them forever. There was going to need to be a line drawn in the sand where they didn’t feel suffocated. It was hard, but he knew he needed to respect that or he’d be no better than her ex-husband.