“No, no, you’re not the first. The first large load haul, but not the first haul.”
“Cause that makes me feel loads better,” I bit out.
“Truitt, accidents happen. You know this, we get thrown obstacles in life all the time. You have an amazing crew there, Ricky tells me these guys are amazing. It will get there safely.”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “You’re right. As usual, you’re right. Okay, is there anyway I can meet with them before the transport? Even if by video call.”
“I’ve already scheduled a time for them to come by today. They’ll be here at five.”
“Five? That’s not going to work for me, I have a date tonight.”
I was met by silence on the phone and a shocked expression from Renee. Who then smiled and mouthed, a date?
With a smile, I nodded.
“Lynn?” I asked as Renee shook her head in wonder.
“You done killed her with that kind of news,” Renee said with a chuckle.
Lynn cleared her throat. “I’m not dead, I was simply caught off guard. You normally share your…um…appointments with me.”
“This isn’t an appointment, Lynn. It’s personal.”
“Well, your date is at a bad time. Can you change it?”
I didn’t even have to think twice. I grew up with a father who constantly put work before his family. Hell, he still did. Sure, he loved us, and we knew it, but it would have been nice for him to show up to our games, class parties, and plays, things that meant something to us. But he felt that his work was more important. And my mother, hell, she was never even in town half the time. I was not about to start off my relationship with Saryn and Liliana by putting work first.
“No, I can’t. Let’s just say from this point on, after five during the week I’ll be on call for emergencies only. No more meetings.”
“I see. Well, do I know her?”
“You know her momma. Evie Night.”
“Saryn! You’ve got a date with Saryn!”
I pulled my cell phone away from my ear. “Shout it out to the world, Ms. Townsend.”
I heard her chuckle and watched as Renee leaned in a bit closer as if she couldn’t already hear the conversation.
“Let me see if I can move it up by a few hours. I’ll call you back. Keep your phone on you.”
“Thank you, Lynn, I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Truitt.”
The phone went black as my secretary disconnected our call. Renee stood there with a shit-eating grin on her face.
I pointed to her. “Not a word to anyone. We’re going slow. This is our first date and I don’t want the whole town gossiping about it.”
She mocked surprise. “You’re worried ’bout me? You might have given that little speech to Ms. Townsend. She’s probably on her little Facebook group message board right now informing them all that Boerne’s most eligible bachelor is off the market.”
I shook my head and walked away. It was going to be a long-ass day.
Saryn
I BUZZED AROUND the grocery store with my list in my hand. Liliana sat in the car, her eyes taking in the new book my mother had given her this morning.
The morning had been spent frantically cleaning my house, which wasn’t even dirty. Or at least that was what Lucy had kept saying. I’d called her last night on the way home to tell her about the date with Truitt. I didn’t know who else to call, and Lucy was the first person to pop up in my mind.
Lucy was still back at the ranch helping my mother make some weird pie made of rhubarb. That didn’t even sound appealing, but if it kept my mother busy and out of my business I was okay with it.
“Momma?”
I glanced down to Liliana.
“Can we goes to da park today?”
“Oh, sweet girl, that sounds like fun, but Mommy has to buy food for dinner tonight.” I leaned down and whispered, “Mr. Truitt is coming over to have dinner with us.”
My daughter’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. “Twuitt!”
I nodded. “Yes, so we have to hurry and buy all the yummy food so we can go home and cook it for him.” And make sure I have at least three hours to figure out what I’m going to wear to a casual dinner at my house that is not going to lead to anything. No way was I going to sleep with Truitt with my daughter in the same house. At least I kept telling myself that. Lord knew what would happen when she went to bed, though.
My phone buzzed, and I reached into my purse and answered it without even looking.
“Hello?”
“Hey, how’s it going?”
It felt like a buzz of energy raced straight from the phone and into my body. It was Truitt.
“Hi. It’s going good. Liliana and I are at the grocery store getting everything for dinner tonight. I hope you like eggplant parmesan with homemade pasta and my grandmother’s secret breading.”