Page 11 of No Place Like Home
Summer sat up tall and opened her mouth, ready to say something I’m sure would have been a bite at Bryson, but I shook my head, laid my hand on hers, and she backed off. “I know, Bryson. I burned a lot of bridges over the years, but I’m ready to repair things. I’m not that immature eighteen-year-old anymore.”
He and I stared at each other, and his harsh gaze finally softened, then he focused on the label of his beer bottle.
I continued. “I have an interview with a company that has offices in both Texas and Nashville the week after the wedding.” I shrugged. “I’m hoping they offer a job in their Nashville office.”
“I think that’s awesome, man,” Trevor said. “It’ll be great to have you home.”
Chapter 6
Summer
Tonya and Diane left soon after we toasted Rowan with a free round of drinks. Thank God. I loved them both, but Tonya—she’s loud, and always takes over the conversation.
“Alright, y’all,” Rowan said, “it’s been great being here, but I’m beat and have had more than my limit of alcohol. I’ve gotta get home. If I beat Summer, I get the bed and she’ll be on the couch.”
I snapped my head toward him. “Bullshit. We’ve already discussed this. That bedroom’s mine. The couch is all yours, buddy.”
Kora laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, Rowan, it’s a comfortable couch. And, again, if you don’t like it, you can always go to your mother’s. She would love to have you.”
“True,” Rowan agreed. “But I’m not ready for that tonight.”
Trevor stood. “Well, y’all didn’t drive here, not that either of you’d be in any shape to drive home, so I’ll take you. You can fight out who gets the couch on the way.” He started toward the bar. “Just give me a minute to check on things and I’ll meet you outside at my truck.”
It wasn’t long until we were pulling into the driveway of Kora’s little ranch house.
“Thanks, Trev.” Rowan reached for the door handle but didn’t open it. “Want to come in and get a coffee? It’s still early.”
“No thanks, man. I’m going to get home. Five a.m. comes early.”
“You still taking care of your grandpa’s cows?”
“Yep. Sure am. I’ll see you soon. Stop by sometime.”
“Sure will, man.”
I pushed on Rowan’s shoulder. I’d had too much to drink and really needed a cup of coffee. “Can you open the door and get out already? Y’all two can talk later. It’s not like you’re going anywhere anytime soon.”
“Okay, Summer.” Rowan chuckled as he opened the door. “Thanks again, Trev. I’ll call you.”
I left Rowan at the truck as he and Trevor said their goodbyes. You’d think it’d been forever since they’d talked. Well, maybe it had been. Whatever.
I unlocked the door. The tequila and random other drinks I had were getting to me and my head was a bit fuzzy. I put a coffee pod in the Keurig.
When I heard the kitchen door close, I asked, “Row, want a cup?”
“I’d love one. Make sure it’s strong.”
“You got it.” My cup finished brewing and I put another pod in the Keurig and got the half-and-half and sugar while Rowan found popcorn and threw a bag in the microwave. Once coffee was made and popcorn popped, we got comfortable on the couch, the bowl between us. We sat together silently, sipping coffee and munching on popcorn. My head calmed a bit as the caffeine, salt, carbs, and fake butter hit my stomach and filled my veins.
I watched Rowan turn on the television and search for something on one of the streaming services. His face was a bit flushed from the alcohol, but he looked good. Happy.
“Damn, Row, you’re making a mess.” I picked up popcorn that fell on the couch and tossed it in my mouth. “You might have gotten older, and I’m sure a bit stronger, but your popcorn eating habits haven’t changed at all. You’re still a slob.”
“Not true.” His eyes never left the television. “We used to eat popcorn with Coke. Now it’s coffee.” He lifted his mug. “My habits have changed.”
I thought about what he said. We used to eat popcorn and drink Coke just about every Saturday afternoon on his parents’ couch. It was our thing. Sometimes we’d even go to the movies just for the popcorn, drenched in movie theater butter. “Popcorn’s better with Coke than coffee.”
“Yeah, but coffee’s now a necessity.” He gestured to the TV. “Check it out.”The Conjuringwas on. “Brings back memories. This movie scared the shit out of you when we saw it in the theater.”
