All I See Is You

23. Sad Songs For Sad People

Chapter twenty-three

Sad Songs For Sad People

Quinn

T he next couple days were hectic to say the least. Between Georgette’s inconsistent tastes and trying to find vendors with availability for less than two weeks from now, this wedding was going to be so much harder than I expected. Usually I had months to plan, not weeks, but I’d get it done.

This wasn’t impossible. Just annoying. Mainly because Georgette was just so god awful. I’d finally settled on not having her and my dad come with me to meet with potential vendors, instead opting to just Facetime her or send her pictures of different things, because every single time I took her anywhere, without fail she stuck her foot in her mouth and made an enemy.

Honestly, the woman was truly horrible. Like, cookie-cutter villain horrible. The kind of awful that you couldn’t believe existed until you met her. On the surface, she looked sweet enough. A little shallow and vapid maybe, but the minute she opened her mouth her ignorance and just downright awfulness were vile. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what her parents were like to allow that sort of behavior.

Oh God, speaking of parents, I still needed to send out the invitations to them and everyone else, like, yesterday. Though that wasn’t entirely my fault, since she hadn’t gotten me the finalized list yet.

So far I’d gotten the food sorted, the flowers hopefully figured out—if Georgette didn’t change the theme again, and her and my dad had an in-home cake tasting later that evening that I wasn’t invited to, thankfully. Georgette’s eyes had glowed with mischief at the mention of how romantic it would be to eat the cake at home. In bed. Naked. Off each other. I’d stopped listening at that point. At least Dad had the decency to look embarrassed at that.

Between all of that, and Hux working late the last day and a half to cover the other hands’ responsibilities while they got ready for a rodeo in Bandera tonight, we’d hardly done anything nice together. But it was just as well, he’d been tense since the mention of Travis and the other hands competing.

I know a part of him wanted to do it. It was easy to see in the wistful set of his jaw, or hear it in the longing sound in his voice. I’d learned pretty quick, though, Hux was stubborn and prideful and he rarely liked to open up right away about something that upset him. He’d tell me eventually, or he’d get over it.

I wasn’t about to ask and ruin the good thing we had going.

And it was a really good thing, even though I knew it was a bit—okay, a lot—premature. But the past couple days had been a dream overall. Hux had come over every night since Tuesday. Whether he’d stayed once I’d fallen asleep or not, I’m not completely sure. When I woke up each morning, he was gone, but with the whole slew of chores he had to do, it wasn’t surprising.

Maybe tonight we’d get a chance to do more than cuddle on the couch for a couple hours before falling asleep. I knew the thought of the rodeo was weighing heavy on his mind. He could use a distraction.

A spark of guilt ignited in my chest. Whit was back out for the weekend, but I knew she planned to go watch Travis and the other hands at the rodeo. I doubted Hux would go. I shrugged off the thought. That was a future me problem. One I wasn’t going to worry about at the moment. Not as I navigated my way toward the arrivals area for the airport to pick up Whit.

“Hey girl!” she all but shouted as she opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat, tossing her jammed full backpack into the back.

“Hey!” I grinned, pulling away from the curb. “How was the flight?”

She waved me off. “Easy. I finally caught up in the book club book on the flight. Oh my god, girl! That mating bond kiss was—” She broke off, making a chef’s kiss gesture.

I laughed. “It was pretty epic.”

She eyed me heavily, a devious smirk on her lips. “And you’re telling me your little boy toy kissed you like that and you were going to leave him?” Her words shook with disbelief towards the end.

A giggle escaped me even as I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Whit to be so damn dramatic. “It was a momentary lapse of sanity, okay? We figured things out.”

“Good. You enjoying your time with him?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

I filled her in on any of the details I’d missed in our conversations over the last few days while we drove back to the ranch. “What about you? How’s work been, and are you excited to see Travis?”

“Work’s been the same as usual, busy, but I’d rather that than slow. I’m more so looking forward to going to our first rodeo and getting to check out dozens and dozens of hot cowboys!” The grin on her lips turned luminous.

My grip on the steering wheel tightened, guilt bubbling up in my chest as I turned my gaze toward the road. “About that…” My words fell away as I braved a look at Whit.

Her brown eyes shone with confusion.

Blowing out a breath, I said, “I can’t go. I can’t ask that of Hux.”

“Oh—” Her face fell the slightest bit. “Yeah, no that makes sense. I probably wouldn’t want to go either if I were him.” A smile lit up her features—one of Whit’s super powers, her perpetual cheerfulness. “How about y’all come out with us after?”

“‘I’ll ask. That would be fun!” I added. But to be honest, the thought of a quiet night with Hux sounded nice. Maybe dinner and a movie? I don’t know, something low-key and relaxing. But I’d ask anyway just in case.

B y the time we got back to my dad’s ranch it was early afternoon.

“Did you want to hang out for a bit, maybe tan by the pool before you go to the rodeo, or do you need to get ready?” I asked. “Also, how are you even getting there?” She didn’t have a car, so—

Whit tossed her backpack onto my bed and laid beside it. “Travis is gonna pick me up in like forty five minutes.”

I plopped down next to her. “How about tomorrow we do breakfast or lunch or something just us two? I need me some Whit time.”

She laughed and rolled over to face me on the bed. “Aw, you missing me? Hux isn't as good a roomie, is he?”

I laughed and shoved at her teasingly. “He’s only stayed the night. I’d hardly call him a roomie.”

“But do you want him to be?” She quirked her eyebrows, that familiar mischievous smile lighting up her face.

“Whit! It’s been like less than a week! I can’t just have him move in.”

She shrugged. “You and I moved in together after a day.”

“It’s not the same. You and I were never sleeping together. I’m afraid to make things awkward. I think this is a good thing.”

“So you think you’ll stay?” she asked, no hint of sadness in her voice.

Whit saw the positive in every situation. A forever optimist. But not the annoying kind who, like, reassured you that everything happened for a reason when you were down on your luck. She was just too upbeat and carefree and spontaneous to really be down for long. I could always depend on her to see things on the bright side. So it was no surprise that the prospect of me moving here wouldn’t be a problem. She’d just see it as an excuse to visit all the time. Or uproot her life on a whim and start a salon here or something. Who knew with Whit.

I blew out a breath and turned onto my back, settling my eyes on the ceiling and not her expectant gaze. “I honestly can’t even think about it right now. It gives me anxiety.”

“Why?” Whit scoffed.

“Because, what if I decide to move here and make the wrong decision? What if my dad ends up selling the ranch at some point and I’m out of a job? What if Hux and I don’t work out? What if—”

“What if you end up making amazing connections and finding your dream job? What if you fall in love with that gorgeous cowboy? What if you end up getting to run your dad’s ranch? What if, what if, what if, Quinn. You don’t know unless you try.”

I rolled over and forced my lips down into a pout. “You’re supposed to be the voice of reason, Whit. The one who tells me I’m being crazy.”

She giggled and sat up. “Being reasonable is overrated. I’d much rather take a chance than stay in my comfort zone.”

“Even if there’s the potential of failure?”

“We learn more from our failures than we do from our success,” she said with a shrug.

I rolled my eyes even as my lips curved up into a soft smile. “Where’d you get that from, a fortune cookie?”

She stuck her tongue out at me, before scrunching up her nose and grinning. “Actually, yes, I did.”

“Of course, you did.”

But deep down I knew she was right. What was that saying, there was no reward without risk, or something like that? Besides, I'd just turned twenty-three a few months ago. Most twenty-three year olds didn’t have their lives together. Hell, one could argue Dad was in his fifties and still didn’t have his shit figured out, so why was I being so ridiculously hard on myself? Life was wild and crazy and filled with so many twists and turns it was impossible to try and keep control of it all.

Maybe I should take a page from Whit’s book and just learn to enjoy the ride.