Page 26 of Eight Steps to Alpha

Chapter 9

By the timeElliot had finished the dishes, Fe was already dressed in her pajamas, and standing in the middle of the living room looking at the DVD’s. All the talk about his granddaddy had him thinking about home…and about his mama. He wiped his hands on a kitchen rag, promising to call her before more time slipped away, and walked into the living room to stand by Fe. She was deep in thought when he got there, reading the back covers of the movies, without looking up. She wore her old thread bare gray t-shirt and shorts that read “Still in Beta” across the butt.

“What doyou want to watch first?” she asked when she noticed him. “The Quiet man, or…”

He plopped down on a chair across from her, then proceeded to cross his feet on the coffee table. “I don’t care. You choose.”

She glanced down, her brow creased with concentration as she met his eyes. “You sure?”

He nodded. “You know best. It’s your plan after all.”

This morning, he’d woken up feeling off. At first, he thought he’d slept through his alarm, but a quick glance at the clock told him he still had fifteen minutes left of sleep. Sitting here now, however, he finally realized what it was. He’d missed Fe something fierce. He’d missed her smile, the way she always pressed him to tell her more, the little noises she made when she was enjoying his cooking.

She’d been working long hours all week. Leaving early, before they could have their morning coffee, coming home late, after he’d already gone to bed… But sitting here now, watching her read the back covers of the DVD’s, it was the best part of his whole week.

She glanced up at him then, narrowing her eyes. “How in the world did you make it to twenty-four years without watching a John Wayne film?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “How did a city girl end up lusting after cowboys?”

She cocked a brow, but picked up a DVD and walked over to the player. “They’re not all cowboy movies, Elliot. Besides, I have three brothers, remember?”

“You say that like it’s a logical answer.”

She laughed. “It is.”

“How so?”

She tilted her head to the side. “There are three things that are a given when you grow up with brothers.”

“Lay it on me” He sat forward in his seat.

“One”—she held up a finger—“you know more about morning wood than you ever cared to.”

“TMI.”

“Two,”—she added another finger—“you can play football better than most of the high school team.”

“Nice.”

“And three, you watch John Wayne movies.”

He raised his brows, more curious about her upbringing than ever before. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” She laughed. “That’s so.” She threw all the DVD’s back on the coffee table but one, and headed for the TV.

He watched as she slid the DVD into the player, then ran back to the couch where she burrowed herself under a mound of blankets. It was hardly seventy degrees, so the fact she used a blanket at all baffled the hell out of him, but he gave up trying to figure her out and settled in to watch the movie. The opening credits of the Quiet Man rolled across the screen, and he sat back in his seat.

The tumbling hills of Ireland, followed by green meadows, a flock of sheep in the distance, and John Wayne, being driven in a carriage by someone Elliot had never seen before. “And what am I supposed to be watching for exactly?” he asked, leaning forward to be sure not to miss anything.

Fe barely glanced up when answering. “John Wayne. He’s the ultimate man’s man,” she whispered.

“And…this is supposed to helphow?”

“Because…” She sighed. “He has swagger. Just watch.”

“Ahh… the infamous swagger.” He frowned.

Her lip turned in a lopsided grin, and she threw her pillow at his chest. “Just watch the movie, Elliot.”

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