Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
“Holy shit,” Laurie said as she stood next to her car and Duane. She looked at him in shock. “That’s Broken?”
“Yes, and there are more women working there than men. I want to warn you though.”
“About?”
“All the men and women are paired up. Not that you look like you’re here to hit on the men, I just thought I’d warn you.”
“Mr. Manchester, my sex life is so non-existent that I forget what sex is all about.” At his confused look, she sighed heavily. “I won’t be discussing this later tonight with everyone, because it’s too private, but let’s just say that when I learned I was pregnant, my husband moved out of my bed, and my bedroom. He said, and I quote, ‘I don’t fuck mothers’. For the next twenty-three years he cheated on me repeatedly.”
“Why did you stay?”
Laurie shrugged, then looked at him with a wide grin. “Because I was a petty bitch to my mother-in-law.” She shook her head and reached up to put her fingertips over his lips, and sighed at their softness. “That I can explain later. But know this.”
“What?”
“ I never cheated on him. That was proven in a court of law.”
“Was his infidelity proven in a court of law also?”
“Yes.” They left it at that and Duane turned to point out certain features of the ranch below them. After talking for five minutes, they climbed back into their vehicles and again, Laurie followed him down to the barn. They exited and Duane came to wait for her to exit. She left her purse there and didn’t feel the need to lock her car, so she shut the door and turned to him.
“Hi,” a woman said as she approached. “I’m Pru, are you Laurie, our weekend guest?”
“Yes.”
“Welcome, I’m going to get right to the point here, I see you have a bum knee, so that must be why you’re here. I have a challenge but you can’t see it.” She tapped the side of her head. “TBI. I have good days and bad, but I’m still a functioning member of society.”
“Hello, Pru, and thank you for telling me about your challenge.” She followed Pru and listened to what she had to say, and twenty minutes into the tour, she understood why Erin, Julie, and Duane had done what they’d done with their hands, she turned to Duane, who hadn’t left her side, but allowed Pru to do all the talking, and did the same thing. He only nodded and grinned at her.
In the course of the tour Laurie met all the women and several men, only then was she allowed to meet the horses. The first one she met was actually playing ball in the side pasture with a man. She walked up to the fence and watched, laughing when the horse refused to toss the ball back. The man came to the fence and held his hand out to her.
“Reid, I’m dating Erin. And this is Katie,” he said as he turned and laughed when he was hit in the chest with the ball. He turned to introduce the horse to Laurie and explained how he had come to be playing in the pasture with her.
“Do horses really get depressed?”
“Yes,” came a reply, and she turned to see a women standing tall and proud. “I’m Naomi. If you saw Erin, then she told you everyone here is former military.”
“Yes.”
“Not me, I was a former rodeo rider, I specialized in barrel racing. My sperm donor was an absolute asshole and did something to kill my horse while I was riding it. He convinced the doctor not to operate on me, and told me I would be paralyzed for the rest of my life. Until a year ago, I was in a wheelchair.”
“The sperm donor lied,” Laurie said as she nodded to Naomi’s legs.
“Yes, and there’s more to the story, but he’s sitting in jail waiting for his trial.”
“Good, at least you were able to catch him, my attacker is still at large.”
“Excuse me?” Duane asked in shock. “He’s not under lock and key for attacking you?”
“No, it’s a long story, and I’ll tell it later.”
“Okay,” Duane said, and seethed inside after learning what he did. He stayed at the fence with Reid as the women took Laurie inside the barn to introduce her to the horses.
“You okay?” Reid asked Duane.
“No, I can’t believe someone would do that to their wife. Sure, I worked undercover for the FBI and saw all types of depravity, but still what she endured is terrible.”
“I take it you like her?”
“What?” Duane reared back as if Reid had slapped him, as it registered what the other man said. He sighed heavily, “Yeah, and the more time I spend with her, the more I like her. But it will never work out.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She lives halfway across the country, owns and operates her own business. She wouldn’t want some washed-up guy like me.”
“First,” Reid said firmly, and actually punched Duane in the shoulder. “You are not washed up. You are retired. Big difference. In my eyes, washed up means you have nothing going for you. You have a lot. Second, maybe she’s of the age that she wants a change of scenery. You never know until you ask her.” Reid turned to look into the doorway the women disappeared to, then back to Duane with a smirk.
“What?”
“She’s only here for the weekend, right?”
“Yes, what about it?”
“Maybe after spending the time here, she’ll go back and decide that she wants to change her life by moving here. If she decides to do the program, it’s my understanding, because it’s none of my business, but it’s my understanding that the shortest program Erin and Naomi came up with is six weeks. I’ve seen the men get their girl in less time than that.”
“I don’t know.”
“Just think about it,” Reid said, and laughed when Katie slapped him in the back of the head with the ball. “I need to get back to playing with my girl.” They shared a laugh, and Duane slowly made his way into the barn. He stayed within five feet of Laurie during the entire tour, and then he took her over to the cabin she’d be spending the weekend in. Because he’d been staying there, it had been suggested that he move into the other cabin for the weekend. He had no problem with it, not wanting Laurie to feel uncomfortable. When he’d finally retired from the FBI he’d moved into the empty cabin because he didn’t want to intrude on the other couples. He also didn’t want to be a fifth wheel.
“Can I help with anything?” Laurie asked a couple of hours later when she saw Duane doing something in the kitchen. She had seen her cabin, but went to the other one when she was bored.
“Do you cook?”
“Yes.”
“Can you make deviled eggs?”
“Of course.”
“Then take the eggs in the blue basket and have at it.” Duane pointed and Laurie turned to stare in shock.
“Where the hell did you get all those eggs? Have you seen the price of them lately? Not that it’s any of my business, but just how much of a retirement fund do you have in order to be able to purchase all these eggs?”
Duane laughed as he looked up from rubbing spices on some chicken, getting it ready for the BBQ. “Pru raises two type of chicken, layers and meat.” At her look he further explained and saw her understanding.
“We’re like a commune, but not. We’re just people that work here and making a life outside of work. However, we do a lot of things, and things are in the works to help us out more.”
“How?”
“You saw the cabins Scott is overseeing being built?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Ann, Manny’s girlfriend suggested we put in a communal garden.”
“I miss that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not the communal part, but I miss having a garden. After Lorissa left for college, I stopped having a garden. I can see where one would work here. You can grow what you want, can it, preserve it, and you’ll have full shelves that in comparison to store bought items, it would be healthier and tastier. Plus, if done right, it would last longer.”
“Correct, and Pru came up with an idea a few months back. Erin liked the idea and was able to run with it.”
“May I ask what it is?” she asked as she washed the eggs and got them into a pan. As she turned the burner on beneath the pot, she leaned against the counter to stare at the handsome man.
“First, Pru shares her meat chickens and eggs with everyone. She only asks for the price to replace them, which isn’t much. Erin also has cows that she raises for beef, but only a few dozen.”
“Basically for personal use?”
“Yes, and she asks that we help pay for processing fees and we can fill our freezers with beef.”
“Where’s your freezer?”
“I actually stay in the cabin you’re in, but moved in here for the weekend to give you privacy. Eventually, when all the construction is done, we will all have a cabin like the others. I don’t think Erin thought her idea would get as big as it has.”
“Oh, wow, I didn’t mean to kick you out.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s only for the weekend, and if you return, the bunktels over at Broken Two should be completed by then. Or at least one of them.”
Laurie grinned as she put her fingers to her temples and extended her hands in the mind blown gesture. Duane shared her laugh. “What else did Pru suggest?”
“Oh, when Ann mentioned the garden, Ducky mentioned canning, and Pru suggested we build a building that had a walk-in cooler like a restaurant would have. She also suggest a freezer at the same time. Instead of everyone going grocery shopping once a week, we could use that pantry and if we purchase extra on our weekly trips, we share with the others.”
“Damn, I like that idea. It’s a commune, but not of the religious fanatic way. Just a lot of people saving money, preserving food, and trying to survive.”
“Exactly. Manny is overseeing the construction to that. Oh, Scott and Julie live in this cabin, along with Manny and Ann.”
“I met Julie, right?”
“Yes, she’s Erin’s assistant. Ann works over at New Double.” Duane had been looking at her when he said that, then washed his hands, covered the chicken, placed it in the refrigerator, and took Laurie’s hands to settle her at the table. He took the next twenty minutes to explain what New Double was and all Laurie could do was shake her head.
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, and she’s not done planning.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“A couple months ago, she purchased the property across the road. She didn’t want to see developers come in. Though she doesn’t have plans at this time, or that she’s told anyone about, it’s there if she needs it.”
“Wow.” Laurie shook her head, then stood from where she’d been leaning on the counter when the timer went off, indicating the eggs had boiled long enough. As she turned to look for the pot holders, she bumped into Duane’s chest and stumbled at the shock of having him so close.
“Easy, I was just going to carry the hot pan to the sink for you.” He looked down at her, and she looked at him. It seemed like an invisible thread pulled them together and with their lips only centimeters apart, the door opened and they jerked apart. Because they both jerked so hard, Laurie lost her footing and Duane reached out and wrapped his arms around her to keep her steady. That was the position they were found in.
“Whoa,” Scott laughed when he bumped into the back of Manny as he tried to enter the cabin. He ended up pushing his best friend out of the way, and gently nudged Ann to the side. Scott stopped in his tracks when he saw Duane in the kitchen with his arms wrapped around a beautiful woman. He grinned as he stepped forward with his hand extended.
“Hi, I’m Scott.” His statement brought everyone out of their shock, and the next few seconds were a whirlwind of activity as Manny and Ann entered, Duane and Laurie broke apart, and then Duane grabbed the hot pot to pour the water in the sink while Laurie got a tray of ice from the freezer to transfer the hot eggs into after she added on top of the ice. With that done, she turned and looked at the three people staring at her.
“Laurie, this is Manny Sanchez, Ann Oakley, and my brother-in-law, Scott Gould.”
“You’re married?” She looked at him in shocked dismay thinking the kiss they almost shared was him cheating on his wife.