Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ru’s mouth tingled from the explosion of flavours. The bread was nothing like the sourdough he bought from the supermarket. This was way more substantial, way more chewy, with a crust that crackled when he bit into it.
“This is incredible.” He wiped a smear of butter from his chin. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a sandwich this good. Normally I buy from a place that charges the best part of a tenner for something half this size. Reckon I’ve been ripped off.”
“Make ‘em yourself, they’ll be cheaper and better.”
Ru grimaced. “I always mean to, but I forget because my mind’s forever racing from A to B to Z.
” Which was true, but not the whole story.
Bread had been banned from the flat, war declared on all that carb heavy goodness, forcing Ru to skulk around, secretly searching out his fix.
Not anymore, though. He took a huge, eager bite.
“Where do you get it?” he asked, as soon as he’d swallowed.
“Can’t imagine there’s a bakery around the corner. ”
“My nearest neighbour, Barbara, bakes. She’s got a small farm shop. Her farm’s about seven miles from here.”
Ru stopped chewing and stared up at Jake, his eyes wide. “Your nearest neighbour is seven miles away? God. Mine’s about seven meters, and that’s being generous. I swear I can hear him thinking half the time.”
“That’s cities for you. No space to breathe.”
“It can be like that, I suppose. A bit on the claustrophobic side. Sometimes there’s the need to just… escape.” Ru dropped his gaze back to his sandwich and carried on eating.
The large, hungry bites were replaced with smaller ones, almost nibbles.
His chewing slowed as his thoughts left the farm and returned to his small flat on the top floor of a Victorian conversion.
Clothes strewn everywhere, the bed unmade, books and magazines in teetering piles in his living room, everything as messy as his life, both of which he’d fled for a few days…
a few days which looked like turning into a whole lot longer.
“You eat meat, then? Thought you were going to say you didn’t, that you were a vegan or something. If that were the case, you were looking at slim pickings.”
“What? Vegan? No way. Carbs. I don’t really eat them. You know, bread and stuff.” Ru looked at the sandwich which was only a bite or two away from disappearing. “But I reckon I need to reconsider my life choices.”
No carbs, no sugar. Not his choice, not his rules, but it had been easier than the arguments he’d had no chance of winning. Ru stuffed the last of the sandwich in his mouth and chewed with vigour, savouring the tangy bread and the last of the peppery sausage.
“Thank you. That was really good.”
Jake didn’t answer. Instead he pushed himself up from the table, collecting the empty mugs. “More coffee?” It sounded like an order rather than a question.
“Please.”
Ru watched Jake as he made fresh drinks. Jake wasn’t, he decided, a mad axe murderer, but he was a grumpy sod. The man had every right to be, he’d been saddled with a clueless stranger he’d been forced into giving board and lodging to—
“I can pay for my keep,” Ru blurted out.
Jake turned and faced him, holding the cafetière; a frown wrinkled his brow. “That won’t be necessary. You found yourself in trouble and I was able to help. I don’t expect payment. I’ve got enough food to easily see me through the next six months, and I can’t see you making much of a dent in it.”
“But…”
Jake turned back to pouring their drinks. Ru bit down on his lip again. God alone knew what kind of mess he’d be in without Jake, but he refused to be any more of a burden than he already was. Jake put the coffee down in front of Ru before he took his place back at the table.
“If you won’t let me pay for my stay, there’s something else I can do for you.”
Jake went still. Nothing moved. A shutter came down over his face. His eyes, boring into Ru, turned cold.
Oh god, oh no… He thinks I’m…
Ru swallowed hard, finding only a thin squeak when he tried to speak, tried to explain. He sucked in a deep breath and forced the words out.
“That… came out wrong. What I mean is, I can help you. I could do the cooking or something. I—I feel like I should earn my keep. I wasn’t… erm… propositioning you.” Ru felt the burn of embarrassment sear his face. Please don’t throw me out…
Ru plonked his elbows on the table and let his head full forward into his hands, and groaned. If Jake really was some homophobic axe murderer, now would be the time for him to reveal his hand.
“Propositioning me, eh? Well, I suppose I’ve had worse offers.”
“Eh?” Ru peeked up through his fingers. Jake’s face was deadpan, but the hard stoniness in his eyes had softened. And was that a faint shadow of a smile? Ru let his hands fall away. No sign of an axe, either. “I’m really sorry—”
“Don’t be. Like you say, it came out wrong. If it makes you feel better, you can cook some of the meals if you want, but I don’t expect it.” Jake got up suddenly. “I’ve got to check the generator. Storm’s getting worse and I want to be prepared for any eventuality.”
“Er, yes. Okay.” Ru watched as Jake stomped towards the door leading to the utility room, Monty bounding after him. Before stepping outside, and without turning, Jake paused.
“You need to understand that you’re here because I’ve offered you help.
I’m not expecting payment, in any shape or form.
It’s up to you how you spend your time here, within reason.
You’ve got free run of the house with the following exceptions: my office, which is upstairs, second on the left, and my bedroom, which is next door.
They’re out of bounds. If you cross those very clear lines, you’ll be sleeping in the barn I found you in for the duration and you’ll be barred from the house. ”
Jake was gone before Ru could respond. He sat, rigid in his chair, in the sudden quiet of the kitchen, not sure what was louder, the fast hammer of his heart or the wind hammering the walls of the house. Ru sagged, as if taut wires that had been holding him up had snapped.
“God. How could I have been so stupid?”
Ru rubbed his temples. He hadn’t been propositioning Jake.
Absolutely not. After the shit storm his life had been for the last few months, entanglements, also known as liaisons, affairs, and quick and dirty bunk ups no matter how short and fleeting, were one hundred percent, absolutely, totally the last thing he wanted.
Even if a certain grump who just happened to have the greenest eyes Ru had ever seen and a set of rather impressive muscles, had said he’d had worse offers.