Josh smiled and slapped me on the back. “You couldn’t have picked a better spot on the ranch to build y’all’s house. Nicely done, bro. ”
I smiled as I looked around. Our tree, the same tree where it’d all started, was going to be in the back yard of our new house.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want it to be anywhere else. My dad is pushing the hell out of me to get this house done. He’s tired of living with Gramps and Grams. To be honest, I think that’s why they are traveling so much. ” I said with a laugh.
“Where are they now?”
“Las Vegas!” I said with a chuckle.
My drill instructor father had turned into a carefree wild and crazy man ever since his heart attack last year.
“What brings you out here?” I asked.
“Jeff, needed some help taking care of some things, and I think a few of those mares are ready to pop. With Ari so close to the due date, he just wanted an extra hand around. I knew about a month ago, so I stopped taking in new orders, and my dad is covering for me. I sure needed the break from work. ”
I laughed and shook my head. “You know Jeff is going to work your ass to the bone, and I might call on you as well. ”
“Bring it, dude. The more work the better. You know I love it out here, and this shit is relaxing for me. Besides, I needed out of the city. If it wasn’t for Lynda, I think I would move out this way. I love Fredericksburg. I really think I could easily move the business out there and still be close enough to Austin to do work there. ”
“Damn, dude, that would be awesome to have you closer. ”
“Yeah, if only Lynda wanted the same thing I wanted, I’d be set. ”
“How are things with y’all?”
Josh shrugged his shoulders.
“Have you seen Heather since Ari and Jeff’s wedding?” I asked.
“No, I heard some shit though that bothered me. ”
Fuck. I knew where he was going with this. Ellie and Ari had tried to talk to Heather, but they couldn’t seem to get through to her. Heather had turned to going out and partying all the time, so much that even Amanda was worried about it.
“What did you hear?”
“Just that she’s been partying a lot. Do you remember Smitty from UT?”
“Yeah, I remember Smitty. ”
“He said she goes out every weekend. Do you know if any of that’s true?”
“I hate to say this, but yeah, Ellie and Ari have been really worried about her. She seems to go after her school shit hard all week, and then ever Friday and Saturday night, she goes out and drinks with a few friends from school. When Ellie tried to talk to her about it, she said it’s the only way she could forget for a while. ”
“Forget what?”
“Dude, that’s the million dollar question. ”
Just then, I heard my truck driving up. I smiled when I saw Ellie jump out.
She ran over and hugged Josh. “It’s so great to see you. ”
“Ellie, you look beautiful. Country air seems to agree with you rather well,” Josh said as he spun Ellie around.
“Josh, you can’t stay away for so long like that. ”
“Josh is talking about moving out toward Fredericksburg maybe. ”
“No kidding. Heather just interviewed with the elementary school out there. Did you know that?”