Chapter 16

Iris really knew how to cook. She’d brought a slow cooker full of carnitas—shredded pork. She made corn tortillas for build-your-own tacos. Iris served them with refried beans, pico de gallo, salad, and Mexican street corn, topped with mayo, cheese, and a bit of cayenne pepper to give it a kick.

The weekend had been confusing for Austin. Lucy seemed to be avoiding him like he had COVID-19—not the wimpy strains, but the original badass one. Ruby set her eyes on Maverick, much to Travis’s disappointment. Iris, on the other hand, was a revelation; his dad had picked a winner. She was witty, took no BS, and cooked far better than Austin’s mom did. It took her two seconds to figure out what was going on with Ruby and Maverick and to effectively ruin any plans they were hatching.

His dad put him in charge of the hunters. They were moneyed oilmen from the Dallas area who rolled up in their fancy SUVs, including a Range Rover, a Mercedes, a Porsche, and a Lamborghini. All but one of them bragged about their big-game exploits and taking trophies worldwide.

Austin figured out that the other three all looked up to Bobby Bissell, the quiet one. He knew what he was doing and had come to hunt, not get drunk.

They’d been in the stands for about two hours when one of the idiots decided he needed to take a piss. Austin had come to the realization that their hunt was a bust about ten minutes in when the three who were getting drunk wouldn’t shut up. Any game would steer well clear of Tucker’s Meadow.

But when the loudest of the group found himself a tree to pee on, two boars charged from across the meadow.

“Fuck,” Bobby hissed.

The other two hunters whooped as they rose and began to bang away. The one on the ground pissed down his leg and screamed like a little girl.

Bobby took careful aim and shot, grazing the large female. Austin quickly recognized that he needed to help because the other two couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. Austin took the male, then turned to shoot the female. But Bobby zeroed in and brought her down less than twenty yards from Mr. Peepee Pants, as he became known.

Austin and Bobby climbed down to check their kills, while the other three stayed in the tree blinds.

“She has piglets,” Bobby said.

Austin sighed because that meant they should hunt them down. The piglets wouldn’t make it independently since they were still nursing.

Bobby got the guys down from the tree to help load the hogs onto the back of the four-wheelers. They would take them back to camp and have them dressed properly. Austin walked over to where the two hogs had emerged from the woods. It didn’t take him long to spot the eight piglets.

They were fast little bastards, but he’d been hunting rabbits with his twenty-two pistol for years. He dropped five before stopping to reload. The other three he had to track down to shoot. By the time he got back, Bobby had finished loading the hogs.

“How much do you want for the hog you shot?” one of them asked.

“How much cash do you have on hand?” Bobby asked, stepping in to help Austin with the negotiation.

“Would a thousand do it?” another asked, waving his money around.

“You guys can do better than that,” Bobby said.

In the end, one of them paid five thousand so he could claim he’d shot the male. They planned to take it back to one of their ranches and have a hog roast. Bobby explained it was a big deal to say they’d shot a trophy, even if it was a lie.

Once they got back and took the requisite pictures, Clay and Iris butchered the hogs. Watching that woman use a knife made Austin realize he never wanted to cross her. They packed the whole boar in ice for the trip back to Dallas, while Bobby wanted his sow cut into quarters. He would take it to a butcher back home who would cure the hams and package the rest for his freezer.

Iris became excited when she saw the piglets. She made pork enchiladas out of them the next day for lunch. Austin would weigh over 500 pounds if he kept eating her cooking.

Maverick and Luke were no-shows for tutoring. Tina had cornered them beforehand and asked to check their homework. When neither could produce it, she told them not to return until they’d done it.

Austin brought leftover enchiladas for lunch, so they spent the hour planning for that night’s practice photo shoot in Austin’s apartment while they ate.

Tina said she’d bring her parents’ digital camera that would also film video.

Then the topic changed to what they’d done that weekend. Tina hadn’t done much, but Austin needed advice.

“One future stepsister won’t talk to me, and the other’s chasing after Maverick. Should I leave it alone or find some way to talk to them?”

“Why won’t she talk to you?” Tina asked.

Welp, he’d stepped in it again.

“We hooked up—before I ever knew her mom and my dad were dating—and I don’t think she ever expected to see me again. Now that our parents are getting married, it’s super awkward.”

That seemed like a straightforward explanation, but it opened Pandora’s box. Austin ended up telling Tina everything. She was especially interested in the ‘tourists being like chum for the sharks’ analogy. Afterward, Austin would want to kick himself because he shouldn’t have mentioned Travis and Maverick were the ‘sharks.’

“So, you’re not a virgin?” Tina asked.

“Uhm, why do you ask?” Austin asked to buy time.

“I’m just clarifying that you mean what I think you meant when you said you ‘hooked up with Lucy.’”

“I shouldn’t really say, but hypothetically ... uhm ... let’s assume we’re on the same page.”

Tina huffed out a half laugh.

“That’s the best nonanswer a guy has ever given me. You sure you’re not a lawyer?” Tina teased.

“No, ma’am.”

“Okay. Let’s assume that you and Lucy ... uh ... hooked up. She wanted to see what it was like and figured you were a guy she’d never see again, so you were safe. Do I have it so far?” Tina asked.

“That sounds about right.”

“Now she finds out that the guy who took her virginity will be living under the same roof with her. Would it be reasonable for her to think that said guy might want a repeat performance?” Tina asked.

Austin thought about it.

“Or maybe the guy was so good that she’s the one who wanted another go,” Austin said.

“I give you points for saying that with a straight face,” Tina said, pushing her hair out of her eyes to better glare at him. “Can you understand how she might want to avoid you?”

“It’s not like I plan to force myself on her.”

“I would hope not. Austin, my best advice is to let Lucy come to you. She will when she realizes you don’t think she’s easy.”

“What about Ruby?” Austin asked.

“Stay out of it. If you warn Ruby about Maverick being a man-whore, she won’t want to hear it. All it’ll do is piss her off.”

“And her prying into what happened between Lucy and me?”

“Keep your mouth shut and let Lucy deal with her sister.”

That made sense to him. It was exactly the solution he’d come up with, but hearing it from someone he trusted helped him confirm it was the right course of action.

Austin pulled Tina’s head down with both hands so he could kiss her. That was the last thing on Tina’s mind a moment before, but Kelly said they had no chemistry. Now that Tina kissed him back without hesitation, Kelly was snapping rapid-fire pictures.

Tina had kissed him before when they’d practiced before the dance. At the time, they’d never kissed anyone, and Tina wanted to be ready in case Maverick tried to kiss her after the dance. Back then, Austin was tentative and sweet. His hesitancy made her feel in control.

But this time, he kissed her with a desire that nearly blew her mind wide open. She had no idea a kiss could affect her like that. In the back of her mind, she wondered where he’d learned to be so good. She surmised it didn’t all come from kissing Lucy when they hooked up.