Billionaire Mountain Man

I glanced down at my watch. It was inching towards seven now. I’d stayed a little later than I’d planned, but Lacey and I’d had so much fun running the horses through their exercises. I loved that she was teaching me something new. I’d ridden horses for so many years. It was rare to learn a new task. I didn’t race or anything like that, but I could care for a horse with my eyes closed and one hand trapped behind my back.

“Yeah, that sounds great,” I said.

“Okay. See you then.”

I hung up, bid Lacy goodnight, and strode out of the barn. Pete was sitting on the porch, a cool beer in his hand. I loved the nights we just sat on the porch, drinking and trading stories until we ran out of time to make a good meal. Those were the nights we threw a frozen pizza in the oven and ran back to his messy bedroom for a quickie while we waited on dinner. I hated to miss that tonight, but I was excited to catch up with Jack after spending so much time apart.

I ran up to press a kiss onto Pete’s salty lips. “Jack’s in town tonight. I’m gonna meet him at the diner.”

Pete grinned up at me. “Shucks, I had a frozen pizza picked out, too.”

I laughed. I hoped I’d never stop giggling at how damned silly he was. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Em,” he said.

I went to get my car started and drove away. I thought about how different my life had become in just a few short weeks and was grinning by the time I parked in my short driveway. I went in, peeled off my dirty work clothes, and jumped into the shower, scrubbing my skin and washing the horse smell out of my hair. I blow dried my hair and put on a nice dress. I was out the door and in my car again in twenty minutes flat. I didn’t trouble myself with makeup. I didn’t even own any besides chapstick, but Kasey said that didn’t count.

I drove through Round Rock to get to the Diner. We used to hang out here after school most days, just gossiping, sipping on milkshakes, and stealing each other’s fries. I pulled into an empty space and went inside. Jack was waiting at the booth in the corner. I smiled wide when I saw it was our usual booth.

He looked up, and the smile that broke out on his face was just as familiar as the booth. Nothing in this old place had changed much. Kasey didn’t like coming in here because she’d hung out at another place across town, so it was my first time back since high school.

I slid into the seat across from Jack. “Golly, this brings back memories,” I said, grinning.

He ran a hand through his short blond hair. He never could keep his fingers out of it. At least it was tidy now. Daddy used to joke about holding him down and shearing him the way you would a sheep. “I haven’t been back here in years.”

“Me neither.”

The waitress wandered over to take our drink orders. I didn’t even need to look at the menu. Nothing in Round Rock changed that much. I ordered a burger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake, extra thick.

Jack was grinning at me when I finished my order. “You haven’t changed one bit, Flowers.”

I laughed. “Let’s see you order!”

He did just what I’d done — ordered his old favorites. The chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, all of it drowning in gravy, and a strawberry shake.

r /> “Old habits die hard,” he said with a shrug.

“How’ve you been, Jack?” I asked, lifting my eyebrows. I leaned my elbows onto the table, still drinking in the sight of him. There’d been months at a time growing up that I didn’t go a single day without seeing Jack Terrance. Now, it’d been just about four years.

“I’ve been good, Em. Missing Round Rock some, but I loved going to school up in Dallas. It’s like a whole different world up there.” He whistled and shook his head, which reminded me of Pete.

“Dallas damn near swallowed you whole. Every time I came back to town, I swung by your house and ended up having dinner with your mama and daddy instead of you.” I didn’t add that I eventually just stopped going by after a while.

He laughed again, his dark eyes taking on a high shine. That reminded me of Pete, too. Damn, what didn’t nowadays?

“Didn’t you love Austin?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I liked it well enough. It’s no Round Rock.”

He had a damned deep laugh at that, and I joined him. Even way back in school, I knew this town would never be enough to hold Jack. He wanted bigger things while I was happy just where I was. Not that I minded Austin. It was lovely to visit, but that was about it.

The waitress brought over our milkshakes and waters first. I had to eat mine with a spoon it was so thick, but that was just fine by me.

“I never pictured you as a fireman,” I said, and spooned more milkshake into my mouth.

He grinned around his straw, not answering until he’d had a good long pull of that strawberry goodness. “Some guys from a local fire department came to speak at the college my freshman year. That got me thinking about it. I took extra classes over the summers and during the term so I could graduate a year early. As soon as I was done with class, I signed up. I had to go through training and shit, but I made it. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

“That’s good, Jack. I’m glad you’re happy.”