37
J ake checked in with Lurch, making sure there were no last-minute changes to the plans for tonight, a big farewell bonfire. The guys were leaving tomorrow, though the plan wasn’t for them to leave early, as they planned on making the same stops on the way back as they’d made on the way up. Not how Jake would have planned the trip if it were up to him. But it wasn’t so he kept his mouth shut.
After finishing with Lurch, he went to Malice and Ghost, who were getting ready to make a trip into town for supplies. He made sure their list was right and added a few last minute items after he’d checked the kitchen this morning and see what they were low on, then talked to Kerry, who would take over the overseeing of meals once London was gone, though she wouldn’t be cooking most of the time. It had been decided they would keep the prospects cooking, at least for dinner. The rest they’d work out with trial and error.
Now he was finished for a while, he wanted to see Lynnie and maybe get another cup of coffee. It was late enough she was probably up, so he went to the clearing where everyone had been gathering over the last couple of weeks and found that sure enough, she was up, and so was Iceman. They both sat at a table, but she had her back to her cousin, and she looked more than a little pissed off. He took a deep breath, braced himself to play referee between the two of them and approached.
“Who pissed in your cheerios this morning?” he asked as he bent and placed a kiss on top of her head.
Iceman started to say something, but she held up a hand in his direction.
“I don’t want to hear from you right now. Give me a minute or ten, then maybe you can talk to me again without eating your teeth.” She turned to look at Jake, her eyes narrowed, and he suspected he was about to be tested, the question was, what was going to be tested, his understanding or his patience?
“You and I have already talked about me not leaving the ranch without checking with you, and taking someone with me. But if I wanted to take a walk. Say walk out across the pasture and into the field beyond, maybe where we went riding yesterday, maybe not. What would you say?”
Jake blinked. Was this what she was pissed at Iceman over? Surely it had to be more?
“I’d say go for it. If you want to go farther than within sight of the home site,” he circled one finger in the air, indicating the buildings around them, “then I’d ask that you let someone, I’d prefer me, but any of the guys would do, know where you were going and when you planned to be back. I’d be happier if you’d let someone go with you, but I know you’re not used to that and might want some solitude. I’d also ask that you take a weapon with you, as protection against any aggressive wildlife or to signal for help should something happen. I don’t want to restrict you, Lynnie. I know you’re your own person and I respect that, but I do want to make sure you’re safe until we can get this reward taken care of.”
“Thank you.” She gave him a pleased smile before turning to Iceman. “See, I don’t need a babysitter all the time. You’re the only one who seems to think I’m too stupid to shower on my own.”
“I never said that.”
She glared back at him.
Jake fought the urge to roll his eyes at the way they bickered like siblings. “Can I trust the two of you not to kill each other while I get some coffee, then we can see what we want to do with the rest of the day.”
“I’m good as long as someone’s not treating me like a child.” Heather turned her back to Iceman and smiled up at Jake.
“We’re good. Go get your coffee,” Iceman said.
Jake looked back and forth between the two of them for a moment, as if he was unsure he could trust the two of them alone. Then, shaking his head and once he was sure they couldn’t see him do it, rolled his eyes, as he went to get coffee. If he was going to have to deal with this kind of bickering, he was going to need the caffeine.
Twenty minutes later, both Iceman and Lynnie were calmer and no longer making threats. Though Jake wasn’t sure if it was because of anything he’d done or that they’d both eaten and gotten a little caffeine into their systems. For all he knew it was a combination of both. Not that it mattered. What mattered was they were no longer acting like they were ready to tear each other’s heads off.
“So what do we want to do today?” he asked, not for the first time.
“I know I’m hiding, but whatever we decide on, I’d prefer not to leave the ranch,” Lynnie said, letting her head hang for a moment. “Give me a day or three to come to terms with a reward on my head, then I’ll be ready to face the world again, but I’m just not there yet.”
“Hiding for a few days isn’t a bad thing.” Iceman reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “It gives you time to prepare, to be ready in case there is trouble.” He turned his attention to Jake. “I don’t care what we do, but I’ve got to leave this afternoon. I’ve taken as much time off work as I can for a while, barring an emergency.”
“No problem.” He thought for a moment. He didn’t like how defeated Lynnie looked when she said she was hiding. How could he help her feel more in control, or at least prepared in case one of the Sons, or someone looking to cash in on that reward, came after her?
“How big’s that pistol of yours?” He briefly tightened the arm he’d hooked over her shoulder so she would know he was talking to her.
Lynnie frowned. “It’s a .45. Why?”
“Cause I know what we’re going to do today.” He turned his attention to Iceman. “You have a weapon? And how much ammo do you have with you?”
“I do, but I’ve only got a box of 9mm rounds with me.”
“I’m sure I can find some if we want more. Let’s go get some practice in.”
“We can do that here?” Lynnie sounded a little hesitant, as if she wanted to go but didn’t want to get her hopes up.
“We can. We have a range set up a few miles in. Let me go talk to Lurch, rustle us up some ammo and figure out what vehicle we’ll take. You two need to go get your weapons, if you’re not already carrying them, plus any ammo or gear you’ll want.” He knew Lynnie wasn’t. She kept hers next to the bed or had since she’d parked the trailer. What he didn’t know was whether or not Iceman was carrying, or just had it in his vehicle. Not that it mattered. He checked his watch. “Give me 20 minutes and we’ll meet back up here.” He waited to get nods from them both before swinging his legs over the bench seat and taking off to get shit done.