Kiss My Boots(15)
“He’s just worried about you, Q. So am I. It isn’t like you to pull away from us.”
“You know exactly what’s goin’ on with me right now, Leigh. You could have just told him what was happenin’.”
She exhales, the sound hitting my ears even over the noises blasting throughout the shop. “I don’t though, Q. You left the PieHole after that call with Tate and then nothin’. You left that night with a smile on your face after we pulled the moonshine out and talked about how you were glad he was comin’ back so you could show him what a, and I quote, ‘fine-ass bitch’ he missed out on. You’ve never been a good liar, Q, so far as I knew you’ve been workin’ on this grand plan of revenge and using your hot body to get it. It’s been three dadgum weeks since that night, and every time I see you, you brush off whatever’s up with you as nothin’ but work and lack of sleep. Three weeks, Q, and zip on the Tate situation. What gives?”
“That moonshine needs to be buried deep in the earth. It’s the devil’s brew, I tell you. It does nothin’ but make you turn into someone that does and says ridiculous things. When would I ever refer to anyone, let alone myself, as a fine-ass bitch, Leighton James?”
She tosses her head back, her blond locks dancing behind her back and over the delicate straps of her sundress. “You do it all the time, Q!”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever. All joking aside, I’ve just been workin’ through some stuff in my head. It has nothin’ to do with Maverick . . . or her. I really do want to have as much of Homer done as I can before Tate sets foot back in Pine Oak.”
“Since when can’t you work things out with me? I get wantin’ to have a head start on this truck stuff, but you aren’t even talkin’ about him comin’ back. You just say it’s nothin’ and then avoid everyone by keepin’ yourself at work all the dang time.”
She doesn’t say all that to make me feel bad. I can tell she’s just genuinely confused that I wouldn’t go straight to her like I normally do to blab on and on about everything and anything. I guess I haven’t been putting on as good of a show as I thought.
“I didn’t want to burden you, Leigh. You’ve got so much goin’ on with the wedding plans and Maverick’s new students arrivin’ on the ranch for the next quarter of trainin’,” I tell her honestly, referencing the fledgling training facility that my brother opened when he was forced to stop riding bulls due to his health—the same one that has now become the talk of the rodeo world. “I’m workin’ through it, I promise, and Clay helped set my head straight, so it wasn’t like I was festerin’ in a vat of crushed dreams or anything.”
Her eyes heat. “That’s bullshit, Quinn! First, I’m never too busy for you. I love you, and you know that. You’re my family, and when you’re upset, I feel that. Don’t shut me out. Second, I love your brother, but there ain’t no way on God’s green earth that Clay can set your head straight like I can.”
“Honestly, Leigh, if you want the truth, I just don’t know how to make sense of all this shit swirlin’ around in my brain,” I tell her on a sigh, pointing at myself with a wave of my hand. “Yeah, I might not have wanted to add to your stress, but I also just don’t know how to explain it all. Even to myself.”
She looks at me, nothing but compassion and understanding in her gaze. “You remember when your brother came back, Quinn? You remember how I was when your brother came back? I think I have a pretty good idea about swirlin’ minds. Come to dinner at the ranch tonight and freakin’ talk to us.”
Her words hit home, their aim true, and I move around my workstation while she gives me the time to get control of the floodgates of my turbulent emotions as they threaten to burst free. The shop is the last damn place I want to have this chat, because I know things are going to get overwhelming once they finally break the hold I have on them, and I’ll turn into a blubbering mess. I heave a sigh of acceptance out and give her a nod.
“I know Ret needs to go over the week’s parts order before I head out today. Let me finish up and holler at him, and then I’ll head out to your place.”
She smiles. “Good. I just know Maverick’s goin’ to want to see for his own eyes that you’re okay and not upset with him over whatever he’s built up in his head. For such a strong-willed man, he sure does turn into a big baby where his sister is concerned.” She winks.
“Help me work through my shit and I promise I’ll take care of the big brute. The last thing I want is him thinkin’ I’m upset with him for something he didn’t actually do.”