Page 39 of The Cowboy's Cabaret

Dahlia and I have shared beds a few times since we fall asleep hanging out all the time now, but a man can dream.

Dahlia texts me the next day, saying Daphne isn’t able to come to the show. Apparently, she’s kidnapping Daphne for the day to try and suffocate her with love, her words exactly. It’s Sunday and I’m moving leisurely as I try to rid myself of the cartoon hearts surrounding my head, but it’s no use. As soon as I walk in the main house, everyone is on me.

“Wes, how’s your lady friend? She coming back?” Aunt Lorraine winks at me.

“Dahlia’s good. She’s back home now. She has a life outside of me.”

“Could have fooled me,” Jasper grouches, taking his coffee heading out the back door.

“Ignore him, he’s a sour puss.”

“Sour puss. Sour puss. Uncle Sour Puss.” Emmett is bouncing down the stairs chanting, while Liam is wrapped around his mom. Amber looks tired—not in the passive aggressive, you look tired kinda shitty way, but mentally tired. The exhaustion of life is weighing heavy on her and I would bet it all that stupid fuck Dale isn’t doing anything to lessen the burden on her.

“Emmett, quit it now,” Amber hisses. “Liam baby, go wash up with Grandma and we’ll sit together for breakfast.” His big green eyes are pleading with his mom and Amber sighs before bending down to kiss his forehead, whispering to him. Whatever she says works, because little Liam peels himself off his mom and heads over to his grandma’s waiting arms.

Amber is more closed off lately, especially when Dale is lurking like the fucking plague. She knows how we feel about him, and I hate how it keeps her distant.

From what she’s told us, Emmett and Liam really don’t like Dale and Liam especially, is scared of him. She promised us up and down he doesn’t lay a hand on the kids, but you can do a lot of damage with words too.

I high five Emmett as he passes me and I’m grateful he is a little more open. I’m sure he struggles too, I sure as shit did. Even with what was happening at home, I still tried to clown around and act normal at school. Emmett’s the oldest and I have to imagine he feels pressure to keep it light for his brother’s sake, despite them being so close in age. Amber comes up behind Emmett and scoops him into a big hug, leaving a loud kiss on the top of his, making him squeal with glee.

We sit around the table eating the egg casserole Lorraine made and Jasper comes back to take his seat next to Stone.

“Son,” Stone says.

“Hi Dad.” Jasper, dips his chin, a man of few words. “Wes, you want to head out soon?”

I nod in agreement and drain the remainder of my coffee. I hug Amber and Lorraine, ruffle Liam and Emmett’s hair and follow my feisty cousin out to the orchard.

Thankfully there’s a comfortable breeze today. Jasper is silent, which isn’t surprising. We work side by side into the early afternoon, first on the orchard then with the horses.

Lunch comes and goes, Liam and Emmett tagging along with Amber to drop us big ass ham sandwiches I gratefully scarf down. Amber says she’s taking the boys to the stables for a bit to walk the horses and spend some time in the paddock.

I look to Jasper. “I’m gonna be out a bit this weekend, down in Philly. I’ll be back Sunday though.”

I knew Jasper was going to give me shit, but I’m still annoyed when he huffs a, “sure whatever” in my direction.

At one point,I’m wondering if time is actually moving backwards—it’s moving so slow. I’m exaggerating, but I’m eagerto hang out with Dahlia again. My barely controlled crush is bordering on obsession and while I love my texts with her throughout the day, being in her orbit is much better. Jasper remains aloof and crabby throughout the week, but he mostly keeps to himself.

Mid-week, I offer to spend the afternoon with Liam and Emmett so Amber can have some time to herself, and she happily takes me up on it. The boys and I pile up a plate of PBJs and sit crosslegged in my living room. Liam is staring at my tattoos, as I often catch him doing, when I have an idea.

“Liam buddy, you want some tattoos of your own?” His little smile perks up showing his missing front tooth and he looks to Emmett who nods.

“Okay, Uncle Wes.” I jump up and head to my room to grab some markers. Thankfully, I keep a lot of art supplies here and I have non-toxic kiddie markers for the boys.

Emmett has a mouth full of sandwich when he yells out, “I want one too, I’m gonna look like a badass.”

“Slow your roll there, E. What are you a grizzled old man, cursing like that? Your mom will put me in timeout if I’m letting you boys swear.” His little giggle is adorable and I relish in it. The pair are always so sweet—Amber’s their mom, so of course they are. “You can get tatted too, but no F-bombs, alright?” Emmett starts cracking up and eventually Liam is chuckling too.

I lay out my “supplies” on the kitchen table—markers and paper for the stencils. I even hunt down some plastic wrap to put on their ink after, so it’s the real deal. “Liam, what are you thinking for your first tattoo?” Ever the mama’s boy, he asks for something for his mom. I tell him I have an idea and sketch up a traditional style MOM heart tattoo.

“You’re going to have to sit really still, okay? Hopefully it won’t hurt too much.” I wink at him to remind him the markers won’t actually hurt. “You’re a tough guy, so you’ll be all good.Ready?” He nods and we get to work on his upper bicep. I make a big show of wiping fake sweat off my brow and shooting the shit with Emmett.

When all is said and done and the tattoo is dry, I bring Liam to the mirror to show off his new ink. “Sick tat, man. Who’s next?” Liam is jumping up and down and I’m fucking filled with joy to see him show any kind of positive emotion. Lately, he’s been sad and with his shit head sperm donor, it’s not hard to guess why.

Emmett asks for a face tattoo and I tell him I won’t do a job stopper until he’s at least eight. We settle on his name over his belly button in a cool font. “Emmett, you’re sitting like a rock man. You sure this is your first tattoo?”

He’s acting all big and bad. “I rode my motorcycle here. Maybe I’ll play some cards later, gamble big.” Catching me off guard, I’m curious where he’s heard that.