Chapter 16

Tess parked the ute and locked the door. Claire laughed and pointed. "Hey, it's Stevie's ute. Xander is with her. I wonder if they're coming for dinner, too."

Tess smiled and walked over to where Stevie had just pulled in. "Hey stranger! Funny running into you here."

"Tess! Are you here for dinner, too?" asked Stevie.

"Great minds think alike I guess," laughed Tess.

"I guess we should have carpooled, one of us could have had an extra drink or two." said Stevie.

They didn't need to ask each other. They all knew immediately that the four of them would be dining together. Xander and Claire got along very well. They were cousins and were close. Claire didn't have the passion for rodeo that Xander did, but she knew enough to follow what he was saying. She also knew enough to know how good Xander was at it. They both loved riding and they usually ended up talking about horses or comic books.

They walked in and found the pub to be more crowded than usual. There wasn't a table for four available, but the host said that he would have one available before too long. Xander and Claire saw a couple of other kids they knew from school and went to say hello. Stevie and Tess headed to the bar to get drinks.

"I'll have a glass of white wine and a schooner for my friend, please." Tess ordered.

"Ah, yes. I feel certain I earned this." Stevie said as she took a big sip of the beer.

"Rough day? I feel you." Tess responded.

"We unexpectedly mustered four hundred sheep. Xander did great, though, so that was nice to see. That's sort of why we're here. I wanted to give him a reward." said Stevie.

"That's why I'm here, too. Claire has been really stepping up. She mended a fence all on her own yesterday. She and I took Meggie and Katie on our chores today. She was extremely patient with helping them and dealing with their near constant bickering. I wanted to give her a treat." explained Tess.

Finn walked through the doors connecting the hotel rooms to the pub and he couldn't believe his eyes. Tess McLeod. There she was, sitting at the bar, drinking a glass of wine with another beautiful woman.

Finn thought about what he should do next. Should I talk to her or should I just ignore her? Just go say hello, you asshole. You know almost no one in this town. It wouldn't hurt to have a friendly hello with an attractive woman you've met before.

Finn crossed the bar and walked towards Tess and her friend. Right as he was about to approach her, the host came to them and said something. She and her friend stood up and walked away from the bar. They sat down at a table with six seats. The other woman walked over to a crowd of teenagers and said something to a young man. He and a girl walked back with the woman.

I know that girl. That's Claire, Tess's daughter, Finn realized. Am I interrupting an important dinner or something? Maybe I'll just go to the bar and eat like I had planned, he decided.

"Hey isn't that Mr. O'Hara?" Claire asked as she noticed Finn in the middle of the pub. She thought he was standing kind of it looked to her like he was deep in thought with a goofy grin on his face.

"Hi Mr. O'Hara! Nice to see you!" Claire greeted him.

"Hello Claire, Tess. I didn't expect to see you ladies here. I was just coming in to get some supper. I'm staying in one of the rooms here. Who are your friends?" replied Finn.

"This is my cousin, Xander. His father and my father were brothers, but his father died a long time ago. I don't remember him. This is his mom, Stevie. They live at Killarney, next door to us." said Claire.

Tess reminded herself to talk to Claire about oversharing.

"Nice to meet you Xander and Stevie. I'm Finn O'Hara. I met Claire and Tess yesterday while touring Drovers Run." he said.

"Did you?" said Stevie as she shot Tess a look that said "How did you meet a hot American guy on Drovers?"

"Finn is looking for organic beef and lamb suppliers. He turned up at Drovers yesterday for an impromptu station tour. We went on my morning chores together. He stayed for lunch to meet Jodi and Matt. Finn, this is actually, our minority shareholder. She was our overseer for many years and helped to make Drovers Run what it is today. She moved to Killarney a few years ago. Killarney was her late husband's property. Stevie is a fantastic farmer. She is also one of my closest friends in the whole world," Tess explained nervously.

Maybe I need to have a conversation with myself about oversharing, thought Tess, feeling embarrassed.

"Would you like to join us Mr. O'Hara?" Claire invited.

"That's okay, I'm just going to have a seat at the bar. I'd hate to intrude on your dinner." Finn politely declined.

"No way! You shouldn't eat alone when we're here. Please, there's plenty of room here." protested Claire

"Claire, let Mr. O'Hara eat his dinner in peace, please," Tess pleaded.

"Why should he eat alone? He's in a new country and he doesn't know anyone. He can eat with us." Claire insisted.

Finn was starting to feel very uncomfortable. He quickly sat down in the empty chair next to Tess because he thought that would stop the scene that was developing.

"Thanks for the invitation. I'll join you." He said nervously as he grabbed a chair.

There was an awkward silence as everyone figured out what to do next. Fortunately, the waiter came and took their orders. This solved the awkward silence for a few minutes, but when the waiter left, it was back to awkward silence.

Eventually, it was Stevie who broke the silence. "So, Finn, where in the US are you from?"

"I most recently lived in Seattle, Washington, but I grew up in Wyoming," he answered.

"We haven't learned much US geography in school. I've heard of Seattle, but where is Wyoming?" Xander asked.

"It's kind of in the middle, but more towards the west. The Rocky Mountains run right through it. Are you familiar with Montana or Colorado? Montana is to the north and Colorado is to the south."

"I think I'd have to look at a map. What is it like? Is it glamorous like Hollywood?" Claire asked.

"It's actually sort of like here, but with the Rocky mountains to the west. The mountains are visible from many miles away and sort of loom over the plains to the east. Things are really spread out, so we have to drive a lot, just like you do here. It's a big time cattle country. It's also stunningly beautiful. I miss it sometimes." Finn smiled as he spoke of Wyoming.

"That sounds so lovely. Why would you ever leave?" Claire asked

"Well, it was time to go and see new places, I guess. I moved to Seattle for my job. It was a bit of an adjustment. I'm a country boy, and Seattle is a big city, so it took some getting used to. I did grow to really like it though. It was a good change at the time. I'm actually feeling more comfortable here than I did in Seattle, but Seattle did have some of the best coffee I've ever drank."

"Ah, yes! Starbucks was founded in Seattle, wasn't it?" Tess piped in. She always did love good coffee. It was one of the few things she truly missed about living in Melbourne.

"My mother is a bit crazy about her coffee. She absolutely loves it." Claire added

"I actually worked for Starbucks corporate before I took the job with Blue Apron. I got as much free coffee as I wanted." Finn admitted with a laugh. "All of the Starbucks employees did, so everyone was always super chipper."

"That sounds great. I do drink a lot of coffee. Do they have an Australian branch? Maybe I should give up the farm," Tess joked.

"I think my mom loves coffee more than anything. I bet she would love to go out for coffee with you." said Claire.

Tess shot Claire a look that screamed "STOP! What are you doing?"

The waiter brought all of their food, including the steak and the burger and the double fries for Xander.

Time to change the subject, Tess decided.

So, I've got to ask. How does a country boy from Cattle Country, USA not know how to ride a horse?" Tess asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. That was embarrassing. I do ride. I spent most of my life on a horse. Rodeo was even my favorite sport as a kid, although American football has since surpassed it," Finn confessed.

"Alright, a rodeo man!" Xander said "You should go riding with my mom. She was a rodeo star," said Xander.

"Mr. O'Hara is here to check out our farm, not going riding with your mother, Xander." Claire retorted.

"I bet my mom could beat your mom in a roping contest." Xander said.

"Obviously. Your mom was a professional rodeo rider. My mom is a way better cook, though." said Claire.

"Claire, settle down." Tess added.

"Xander, that's enough," Stevie interjected.

Let's try changing the subject again, thought Tess, but Xander didn't give her a chance.

"Did you ride rodeo?" Xander asked

"Umm, I did a bit when I was a young man, but I wasn't a professional or anything," said Finn.

Xander and Claire were proving to be very spirited and curious dinner companions, thought Finn.

"What was your best event?" Xander further probed

"I was pretty good at bronc riding. I did a bit of bull riding too." said Finn.

"That's brilliant! My mom won't let me do either of those events. She says it's too dangerous." Xander explained.

"It is dangerous! Think about what happened to my dad! You don't want that to happen to you. When I visited him, he was riding amongst the cattle everyday, but he was really hurting by the time he finished. My step-mom had to massage his leg and hip everyday when he came home from the estancia." Claire offered as a rebuttal.

"Just because your dad got hurt doesn't mean I will. My dad rode broncs and he never got hurt from it." said Xander

"Yeah, but my dad has a limp for the rest of his life from a bull. He's lucky he can still ride a horse at all." Claire replied. "It would be horrible to not be able to ride."

"Fine. I admit Bulls are dangerous, but there is no reason I can't get on the broncs." Xander pouted.

"Xander. This is over. We are not talking about you riding broncs or bulls or about your Uncle Nick's injury. It's too dangerous for you. I will not allow it. Full stop." Stevie asserted, trying to prevent things from getting any further out of hand.

"Um, well, actually, that's why Tess had to drive me around Drovers Run yesterday. I hurt my back Bronc riding when I was nineteen. Most of the time it's okay, but sometimes it flares up and I get painful back spasms. I'd been having back spasms from sitting on the flight to Australia for so long. It's finally started to feel better today," Finn confessed.

"Oh! I'm sorry for calling you out for not riding yesterday. I thought you didn't know how," Tess confessed, sporting a very dark blush across her cheeks.

"It was embarrassing for me and I know it held you up on your chores. I apologize for that." Finn said, noticing how cute Tess looked when she blushed.

Tess felt like a total jerk. She wanted to lighten the mood, as she felt that things were getting very heated in the conversation. Time for a joke, she thought.

"Well you can make it up to me with the Blue Apron contract," Tess said, regretting the joke attempt the moment it came out of her mouth.

Finn stiffened up as he realized that his infatuation with Tess had distracted him from the fact that he was dining with a potential business associate, and that both of their decisions could have serious consequences to his professional success. He wasn't sure how to react.

"I'm sorry. That was out of line. I was trying to make a joke and failed. I know you need to review several choices," Tess apologized.

Damn it, Tess! What are you doing? She thought to herself.

"If you're a rodeo fan, you should come with us to the Fisher district junior rodeo championships next Friday. I'm competing in all of the roping events. You could sit in the stands and watch it with my mom," Xander said.

"I'm sure Mr. O'Hara is too busy to go to a kid's rodeo. He should come and tour the ranch with my mom. He didn't get the full tour because he was stuck in the ute. She could take him around on horseback this time," Claire argued.

"Claire! That's enough! Mr. O'Hara will make his own decisions about what to do with his time. He likely has several station tours and meetings that will occupy him." Tess asserted.

"So Finn, how long are you staying in Australia for?" Stevie piped in, recognizing the trouble they were having.

"Actually, I'm expecting it to be permanent. Once all of our suppliers are all settled, I'll be overseeing the Australian meats procurement division of the company. I requested this assignment because I wanted to move here to Australia. I really like it here so far," said Finn.

"Great. You'll be staying around here! My mom can show you around town," Xander jumped in.

"Won't you miss your family back in the States?" Claire asked

"Well, it's really just me. I don't have a wife or any kids. I have a sister back in Wyoming. She lives on our family's ranch with her husband. It's called Fox Den. They have two kids, but they're all grown now. I still keep in touch regularly, but that's all the family I've got."

"Do you use facetime with your sister? That's what my dad and I use to talk to each other. I facetime with my brother Harrison too. He lives in Melbourne with his mom. He has a boyfriend named Jacob. Facetime is great. I met Jacob on it. It's not as good as the real thing, but it's better than just a phone call. Harrison has a heart condition. He inherited it from our dad, but I didn't. He has to take a tablet everyday for his heart, and he isn't allowed to play contact sports. I'm glad I know Harrison and get to talk to him regularly. That's more than Mom and Aunt Jodi got as kids. They didn't even know each other or that they were sisters until my mom was old and married." Claire blurted out.

Finn had gone from a little uncomfortable to agonizingly uncomfortable at the dinner. He was ready to leave before things got anymore awkward. He stuffed the last two bites of his steak into his mouth and chewed rapidly. "Well, look at the time! Thank you guys for letting me join you. I'm going to head back to my room now. I've got a full day tomorrow. I hope you have a good rest of your night," Finn said as he quickly stood up.

Finn stopped by the host's table and paid his bill on his way out.

Both Stevie and Tess were mortified by the events that had just unfolded. Tess hadn't expected to have to go over proper dining out behavior with Claire. She was even mad at herself for mentioning the contract and giving him a hard time about not riding. They gathered up their things, paid their bill, and hustled out to their cars.

"What the hell was that, Xander? Why were you so weird to Mr. O'Hara?" asked Stevie as they got in the car.

"Because he was cool and I want you to be happy. He seemed like your type."

"What? I don't understand." replied Stevie.

"Don't worry about it, Mom. I'm just going to nap on the drive home, I'm tired from the muster today."

Xander turned to his side looking away from his mom and didn't say another word.

"Claire? What on earth got into you? You've never acted like that before, " asked Tess once they were back in their car.

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm tired. I'm going to sleep." was all Claire said.