Page 40 of Make Me Shiver (Oil Barrons 2)

“Good.” I’d miss spending the evening with her. After making her come in my motel room, I wanted to touch her all the time. I snuck light kisses here and there, usually when we were concealed by the pickup or in the barn. Somewhere that wasn’t so private that we’d move too fast, but also not quite public. I pressed my lips close to the edge of her hat. Her hair tickled my lips. “Can I call you when I’m done?”

She met my gaze from under the brim. “Yeah. Hope it goes well.”

I left with the sincerity of her words. She wanted me to get along with my family. But in her mind, did that mean I wouldn’t get along with her?

When I reached my motel room, I ran through the shower and put on a clean pair of jeans and one of the spare polo shirts I’d packed. Ignoring my nerves and wishing my wife was in the car with me, I drove using the directions Delaney had given me.

The countryside was the same. Rolling green hills. Fields full of corn, soybeans, sorghum, and sunflowers, their heads lowering as the sun sank in the sky. Black, brown, and white cows roaming the pastures.

I approached a farmyard with a giant red-and-white rectangular shop, a large matching old-style barn that looked plucked out of a poster, and two smaller shops. A white two-story farmhouse sat closest to the road. It was well maintained for its age, with a porch that ran from one end to the other. My mother would’ve loved an old house like that.

Delaney’s directions streamed through my brain.Go about a half-mile past Kira’s white house with her red-and-white matchy-matchy outbuilding, and the next house on your left is Holden’s place.

His house was indeed rustic and shit. Smaller than the large farmhouse of my aunt’s, he’d built a place resembling a cabin. Log frame with rock accents, it was cozy and inviting. The front door opened directly off the walk, and the roof rose to a peak that wasn’t a full two stories. It was a good size for a small family. I had asked if Holden had a girlfriend.

Holden is as commitment-phobic as Mr. Truitt, only he’s not a cheater. That would require a relationship.

Mr. Truitt was committed to making money. Perhaps it was the same with Holden. Keeping a cattle ranch and farm profitable wasn’t easy.

I pulled into an open spot in front of a smaller version of the barn at Aunt Kira’s place. The vehicles surrounding my sedan were all pickups. Different models, different colors, but they had one thing in common: they were expensive. Dad had driven an old pickup my entire life. Delaney drove an old pickup. Her dad had a newer truck, a salvage title he’d purchased and fixed up, but he drove a car that got better gas mileage when he commuted.

These pickups were dusty. They were used. But they were new, the kinds with all the bells and whistles. It should have put me at ease. If Wilson and his father drove pickups, this is what they’d choose. But the knot in my gut tightened. This first impression was that they were much different than my in-laws.

Holden stepped out of the house and crossed the yard, his gait relaxed. His worn jeans and faded green Mountain Dew T-shirt put me at ease. Wilson’s uptightness about style didn’t have a place here.

Holden grinned. “Hey. You found it.”

“Delaney helped.”

Holden’s expression flickered, and he glanced over my shoulder, his gaze sweeping over my vehicle.

I answered his unspoken question. “She couldn’t make it.”

Holden’s smirk wasn’t mean spirited. “I’m sure she’s heartbroken. Come on in.”

We didn’t get a chance to get close to the house. A lanky woman with a shrewd gaze and expertly dyed brown hair with blonde highlights came out. She had lighter eyes than Holden, but their resemblance was undeniable.

She stuck out her hand. “I’m Kira.”

“Nice to meet you.” I wasn’t prepared for her crushing grip. Kira was no nonsense. Like Cheryl, but more aggressive and less defensive.

Delaney had given me the rundown on everyone who would likely be here, but only after I prodded her.Kira’s been through a couple of long-term boyfriends, but she’s never gotten married. Holden has a different dad than Nora. Neither one is the man Kira’s currently dating.

Cameron came out and gave me a nod. He was followed by another man who resembled him; the guy in the pickup I had suspected was Uncle Bruce when I was mowing the ditches. He wasn’t as tall as Cameron, and his gaze wasn’t as calculating as his brother’s and sister’s. Solemn seemed to be his default expression. The open interest on his face and Aunt Kira’s ready introduction lowered my apprehension. Whatever had happened between them and my dad wasn’t spilling over to me.

“You must be Uncle Bruce.” I switched my outstretched hand to him, hoping he didn’t crush my bones like my aunt.

I wasn’t ready for the way his eyes misted over and he clasped my hands with both of his. “I really appreciate you coming here, Archer. It’s great to meet you.”

Hearing stories of a cousin who died was different than being on the fringes of it. I didn’t know how Uncle Bruce would’ve greeted me before, but he seemed delighted to add to his family after such a heartbreaking loss.

He clapped me on the back and steered me into the house. “I can’t wait to hear everything about Texas.” He leaned closer, his tone wry. “Everything Allan will let you tell us.”

I chuckled at the good-natured joke, but his words narrowed my suspicion that the issues that drove Dad away were solely between him and Uncle Cameron. In the house, two more aunts and my cousins were waiting. My cousins appeared to be adults, but the two girls looked like they were barely out of college.

“You won’t meet my oldest, Evander,” Bruce said, his hand still on my shoulder. “He’s in the Army, but he mentioned moving back home after his time is up.”

Evander’s almost as much of a mystery as your uncle. He’s a few years older than I am, but he and Derek were never super close. Evander was expected to work, and Derek got to do what he wanted. So, after graduation, Evander left and never returned. But the rumor is he might come back home.

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