Chapter Eight #2
“Salvation Anew,” Hope and Harry said at once.
The women looked at each other and giggled. Rory couldn’t help but grin in response, though he didn’t know what was so funny.
“We better be careful,” Harry whispered. “That sounded too much like a summoning.” She smiled and leaned toward Rory. “At best, they’re a cluster of religious fanatics who moved to Last Chance Creek to make everyone’s life hell on earth.”
That must’ve been the organization Cash had mentioned to Nick. Intrigued, Rory placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in the curve of his cupped palm. “And at worst?”
Harry had just taken a sip of water, so Hope fielded his question. “A cult of religious fanatics who’ve moved to Last Chance Creek to indoctrinate us all into their way of thinking.”
“And is it working?”
“Fuck no,” Hope replied with fervor.
Harry’s expression wasn’t as adamant. “Some have fallen prey to them.” The women shared a brief glance, but Rory could tell they’d silently communicated a lot in so little time.
Harry met his gaze once more and told her about Finley’s ex-boyfriend, Keegan, a confused guy who’d turned to Salvation Anew for answers.
“Poor guy,” Rory said. He’d known lots of people who’d struggled with their sexuality.
Some remained firmly in the closet, only coming out when the loneliness became too strong.
Others lived a complete lie, pretending to be someone they weren’t.
Most found their footing in the sunlight, even if the journey wasn’t an easy one.
Rory was fortunate his parents were open-minded in that regard.
Nicky had come out as bi in college, paving the way for Rory to come out in middle school.
It had been one of the last big conversations he’d had with his mom before cancer claimed her.
“What’s the deal with the Super Soaker?”
Thank goodness he didn’t take a sip while Hope answered. He might’ve choked to death when she recounted the afternoon when she’d chased them from her shop with the water gun. “I found one of them spewing hate at my son on the sidewalk and blasted him too.”
“Don’t leave out the best part, Mama.”
Hope groaned and covered her face with her hands. Rory hadn’t known her long, but the gesture seemed out of character for her. She dropped her hands to her lap and smiled meekly. “Finley had brought Kieran to meet me. I got so excited that my finger slipped, and I blasted him with water too.”
Rory laughed as he pictured the incident. “I bet he wasn’t mad.”
Hope smiled and shook her head. “We just laughed and laughed at the ridiculousness.”
“Then Mama proceeded to get Kieran out of his shirt.” Harry waggled her brows and coaxed another smile from Rory.
Hope swatted her daughter playfully. “And into a dry shirt from my yoga studio.”
“A real cougar, this one,” Harry said, hooking her thumb in Hope’s direction.
“Keep it up and I’ll put a curse on you.”
Harry rolled her eyes. “The cult leader thinks Mom is a witch. That’s why they harassed her in the store. They think she’s selling spells to unsuspecting people.”
“I guaran-damn-tee those assholes could benefit from using some of my lubes or lotions. No one is more miserable than sexually oppressed people.” The words came out a little louder than Hope probably intended.
“Mom,” Harry whispered, looking around to see who might’ve overheard.
Rory was utterly charmed by Hope and reached for her hand across the table. “Your children are lucky to have a mother with so much warmth and humor.”
Hope batted her eyelashes. “You charmer.”
Harry groaned. “Don’t encourage her, Rory.” She playfully whacked her mom’s arm with the menu. “And turn loose of Ivan’s man.”
Ivan’s man. Rory knew damn well he needed to correct her or at least recalibrate his own thoughts before they triggered feelings that would cause him a lot of heartache.
They weren’t destined to be together. They weren’t in love.
Rory and Ivan were horny as hell for one another, and they planned to fuck each other out of their systems. Plain and simple in concept but a folly if ever he’d heard one.
Rory couldn’t even think of himself as Ivan’s man when they were alone, tangled up in each other.
Those would be the moments when Rory needed to keep a tight grip on reality and not let himself get swept out to sea on a tide of pleasure.
“I’m my own man, thank you very much,” he said saucily. He too grabbed a menu from behind the condiment rack but didn’t whack anyone with it. “What’s good to eat here?”
“Everything,” Harry said with a sigh. “Makes it hard to choose.”
Rory glanced up and caught Hope watching him with a twinkle in her eye that said she saw right through him.
Maybe that uptight, sexually repressed cult leader was onto something.
Maybe Hope had special powers, though Rory suspected she’d use them for good.
He was even more convinced of it when she packed a bag full of lube, massage oil, and samples from her new line of men’s products and refused his cash.
Rory couldn’t wait to test them all out, especially the Butt Stuff, with Ivan.
Their time together might be limited, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy it down to the last drop of lube.
Rory’s first stop once they got back to the ranch would be the large kitchen to bake cookies for poker night.
If he stayed busy enough, maybe he’d stop hearing the echo of Harry’s words in his head. Ivan’s man.
When they left the shop, Rory noticed the group of protesters had grown considerably, and his thoughts took a drastic turn.
As disturbing as the scene was on its own merit, the oddly dressed cluster wasn’t responsible for the icy fingers of dread marching up his spine.
A solitary reporter stood off to the side with her cameraman.
They spoke animatedly as if preparing to go live.
Rory knew the score. Attention-seeking groups like Salvation Anew often drew one journalist’s attention in the beginning, usually a newbie looking for their break.
The subject would like the attention they garnered and would amp up their activity to draw more attention and feed their insatiable ego.
One journalist would quickly multiply into three, and the stakes and antics would only rise.
Before long, a media frenzy would unfold.
That pretty brunette checking her makeup in a compact mirror just might hold the fate of the little town in her palm.
Rory didn’t think anyone would recognize him under the cap and sunglasses, but he kept his gaze averted as he and Harry put some distance between themselves and the chaos.
Staying busy on the ranch wasn’t an issue, and he and Harry made a dangerous duo.
They cooked and baked for hours, only stopping to hydrate and maybe sample each new baked good that came out of the oven.
He was grateful Nick had brought him to Redemption Ridge.
No matter the duration of his stay, Rory knew the ranch would change him for the better.
That sexy conqueror with the sweet tooth wasn’t the only reason, but he sure as hell was the biggest one.
Of course, that thought steered the rest of his thoughts off the rails until Harry playfully swatted him with an oven mitt when he didn’t hear the timer go off for Ivan’s cookies.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I was thinking about my next steps.”
Harry snorted. “I just bet you were.”
He could deny it and claim he was only thinking about baking, but it wasn’t worth expending the energy. He needed to save that for the marathon sex he wanted to have with Ivan. Rory grabbed a cookie from the cooling rack and shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”
Harry giggled and handed him two more cookies. “Pretty sure you’re going to need all the fuel you can get.”