Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
“Yeah, he’s okay now, but he’ll have to tell you what’s going on. There’s some shit that we’ve been dealing with.” Ryan stood on the outside of the pen as she entered and when she came out, she had a basket in her hands and handed it through the door to him. He looked down and grinned when he saw at least three dozen eggs inside.
“Damn.”
“Yeah, and I only have a dozen hens.” She grinned as she went about her business and when she was almost done, she told him to take them into the house and place them on the counter. Ryan did, and by the time he reached the counter, she was right behind him. She quickly put the eggs in a different basket, and walked away with the original one.
“I’ll take this out when I get home from work when I let them inside and feed them again.” She returned and stood there in the center of her kitchen looking around.
“What?”
“I’m done with my chores, now I need to get to the barn. I’m not pressuring you, but what are you going to do?”
“Go with you,” he said with finality that she only nodded.
“Okay, but you’re dealing with your buddies. I have a feeling they’re going to yell at me for allowing you to get out of bed. I won’t deal with their shit.”
“Deal,” he said as he looked around. “Where are the keys to my truck?”
“In the ignition. As I said, we live on Riceman property. If there are any strangers here, they don’t belong. You can drive separately, or you can ride with me.”
“How long will you be there?”
“I work until six tonight.”
“I’m not saying it will happen, but maybe I should drive myself in case I need to come back here and rest. I don’t plan on starting work soon. At least not for another couple of weeks.”
“Yeah, Erin’s going to probably want you to get clearance from a doctor before putting you on the payroll.”
“Does she come to this ranch often?”
“Not as much as she likes. She’s very busy with Erin’s Way, and her on-line business. Now is the busiest time of year, and we might not see the men around Broken, that’s what we call it.”
“Why wouldn’t they be here?”
“Because it’s the start of foaling season, and it’s all hands on deck over there.” They stepped out the front door and paused at the top of the steps. The sun was just beginning to lighten the sky to the east. Ryan drew in another deep breath and let it out slowly. He opened his eyes and stared in wonder.
“Yeah, it’s like our own little community. Reid lives with Erin at the main house over at Erin’s Way, and this is the rest of us. Naomi and Clark live closest to us.” She pointed to the cabin to the left of them, then she started pointing to the others and stating who lived in them.
“And those?” Ryan used his cane to point to the two largest cabins across the way.
“Those are the ones that single people live in. There are four bedrooms each with their own bath. Right now, the only person living in them is the physical therapist for Naomi. They’re gone for the holiday weekend, but should be back sometime next weekend.”
“What’s wrong with this Naomi person, and what holiday?”
“Me, and Easter,” came a female voice from behind them, and Ryan liked that Pru reached out and put a hand on his chest to prevent him from face planting when he turned too fast to see who was talking.
“What are you doing up?” Clark demanded as soon as he left the cabin, and came up behind Naomi. Ryan watched as he waited for her to walk slowly with her crutches down the ramp, then over to a truck.
“I’ll see you at the barn,” Naomi said as she closed the door, then pulled out.
Pru looked at Ryan. “I should be going too, I’ll see you over there?” At his look, she leaned in to whisper. “You got this, he might have been your boss at one time, but here on Broken, we’re all equal. If you want to get technical about anything, Naomi’s the boss at Broken, and Erin’s the boss of everyone.” She stepped back, then turned a glare onto the other man. “Be nice.” She climbed into her truck and followed the smaller red one.
Ryan watched the two women leave, and as Clark joined him at the base of the ramp, several other vehicles started to drive by, and half of them stopped to jump out and yell at him.
“I’m fine,” Ryan said with a sigh. “I refuse to lie abed and wallow in self-pity. Besides, I don’t think I should be lying on my back and risking the chance of getting an infection in my wounds. As long as they’re covered, I should be good.” He made sure he made eye contact with them, before he continued, “I won’t be doing any work, but I want to enjoy the outdoors. After going through what I did, I hate being cooped up inside.” Those words had the men backing away a few steps, and he knew then that they wouldn’t harass him as much.
“Can you drive?” Denver asked.
“Yes, Pru and I decided to go separately in case I do need to lie down and rest. She or anyone else won’t have to leave work to cater to me. I can bring myself back here.”
They agreed to follow him to the barn, and before the left, Clark told him to follow the others while he brought up the rear. Ryan had to stop when he went up on the rise and saw the barn laid out before them. He looked over when Clark pulled his truck up beside him. They both rolled their windows down and Ryan shook his head. “Wow.”
“Yeah, and this is all Erin’s doing. It was her brain child and Naomi brought it this far. I’m working on the rest of her vision. If you need to take a break, I’ll show you the plans. They are in Naomi’s office.”
“Okay,” Ryan said as he continued to sit there and look at the gigantic barn before him. He smiled when horses started coming out of one of the doors. He put his truck in gear and followed the others down to park where Lloyd pointed for him to park. He noted there was a set of boards down and frowned.
“We put these down for Naomi. They worked great when she was in her chair. I figured with your cane, you don’t want to be walking in the mud and muck.”
“Not really,” Ryan answered and looked around with wide eyes. He followed the others inside, and the men all took turns giving him a tour and telling him about how they did things at The Broken Wheel Ranch. It was a lot to take in and his mind was about to shut down with all the information. It was almost three hours before he saw Pru again.
Ryan walked into the room the men had told him was the break room, and when he did, the first person he saw was Pru. He waited until she turned back from the refrigerator and smiled when she looked up at him.
“Hey,” he said as he slowly made his way over to the counter that held the coffee pot. He fixed himself a cup, then joined her.
“Hey, I forgot to pack you a lunch, I’m sorry, but do you want half of this?”
“What is it?”
“A ham and cheese sub sandwich. I made it last night before we went out.”
“Only if you want to share.”
“This would take me three days to eat.” She opened it, then jumped to her feet to get him a plate and napkin. When she returned, she put half on the plate and passed it over. Neither said a word as they ate.
“How are you holding up?” Pru finally asked after she satisfied her hunger.
Ryan waited until he swallowed his mouthful before he answered. “I hate to admit this, but I’m ready for a nap. And I’m not saying that because my body is tired. If you know what I mean.”
“Not really, you’ll have to explain.” She tapped the side of her head and shrugged.
“What’s that mean?”
“What?”
“You tapping the side of your head. I’ve noticed you do that quite a lot.”
“Tell me what you meant, and I might tell you what I did.”
Ryan studied her as they continued to eat, and when he finished his half of the sandwich, he wiped his mouth, leaned his crossed arms on the table and studied her. “I’m brain tired. All the guys took me around to different parts of the barn and explained what everything was and how they did things. Though I am physically tired too, but not as much as my brain because of all the new information I’m being bombarded with.”
“Oh, I can understand that.” Pru finished her own meal, and leaned back in her chair where she studied him as she cradled her cup of coffee to her chest. “If no one’s told you yet, I might as well come clean. You’re going to find out anyway.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means that I’m not always right in the head.” She tapped the side of her head again.
“Prudora Tibbs! You stop that right now!” came a cry from the doorway, and Ryan turned to see the woman with the missing arm enter. He scowled between the two of them.
“Opal,” she said as she approached and held out her hand. They shook, and she went to get her lunch from the refrigerator, then quickly joined them. “I’m dating Denver.”
“Oh, okay, but what was the comment you made about Pru?”
“Pru likes to make out that she’s not right in the head,” Opal said as she opened her container, saw what was inside, then rose to go to the microwave. “Sorry, Denver packed our lunches this morning. Anyway, none of us know all of Pru’s story.”
“Story?” Ryan looked between the two women and saw no malice or animosity between the two of them. He did see friendship though.
“We all have one, so do you. How we became challenged.” She lifted her stump and waved it in the air. “That’s what Erin calls us, we’re challenged. Just because we had something go wrong while in the military, and they got rid of us, that doesn’t mean that we are put out to pasture. We still have a lot of life left in us. The general public and the military might have tossed us to the side, but Erin didn’t.” She withdrew her meal from the machine, and came back to the table.
“So, what’s your story?” Ryan asked as he turned to Pru.
“I’ll tell you in good time. But for now, I say I’m not all there…” again she tapped the side of her head. “Because some days I talk a mile a minute, without really saying anything. There are other times when I stand there and stare off into space, and there’s nothing there.” She tapped her temple again.
“Why?”
“After my ordeal, I was diagnosed with TBI. It’s a step above mild. I think I’ve come a long way since being here.”
“You have,” Opal said as she began eating.
“How long have you been here?”
“Two years.” She sighed heavily and sat up. Ryan could tell by her actions that she was going to leave them to go back to work. “If you’re going to continue staying at my cabin, you’re going to have to know that I don’t sleep much. The nightmares are a fucking bitch. Sorry for swearing, but I’m sure you understand. I keep busy as much as I can. That’s one of the reasons I got the chickens. Gives me something to do.” She gathered both her and Ryan’s plates, then carried them over to the trash. “I’ll be in the tack room if anyone needs me. If you want to go home and rest, the door is unlocked.” She started to walk out, then turned to Opal, snapping her fingers.
“I’m bringing deviled eggs to Sunday’s dinner.”
“What’s Sunday’s dinner?” Opal looked at her friend in confusion.
“Easter Sunday.”
“Shit, I forgot all about that.”
Pru left, leaving Ryan and Opal sitting there.
“Is she always so intense?”
“Yes, but we love her. One of the things she didn’t tell you was that whatever happened to her, she is forever saying that when she had her head injury which resulted in her TBI, she says the filter from her brain to her mouth was damaged because it’s not there anymore. Pru is a wonderful woman, and some days she’s normal like you just saw, others she’s either extremely scatterbrained, and sometimes she’s overexcited. You never know what day you’ll get with her.”
“Is she on any medication?”
“No, that’s why she was discharged from the Air Force, there’s nothing they can do. Just do me one favor, please.”
“What’s that?”
“On the days Pru becomes scatterbrained, I mean she can’t even remember to put on a pair of socks with her boots, she wants to hit herself in the head to knock some sense into herself. Her words. She would never do it, but during those days she thinks if she can ring her bell again, it would straighten out what’s wrong with her.”
“Doesn’t work that way,” Ryan mumbled as he looked at the doorway where Pru had walked out. He turned back around when Opal started to giggle.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just that if Pru is going to the tack room, then she’s going to clean it. I have never, ever in my entire life seen such gleaming tack. It’s like she’s back in boot camp and has to spit shine every piece of metal she sees.”
“Should I be worried about her?”
“Nope, just keep an eye on her, and note anything unusual. Oh, and for god’s sake, if you go someplace together and you ask for a list, and she taps her head saying she’s got it? She doesn’t, you’re going to have to make a list. One of us women always helps her go through her cupboards before we go shopping so she doesn’t have a dozen of something, and nothing of something else.”
“Got it,” Ryan said as he finished his coffee. Before he could get up to go find Pru, the men started to enter, and he grinned when Reid came in and sat a hamburger in front of him. He greedily opened it to eat, regardless of just polishing off half of a sub just minutes before. After all he had at least fifty pounds to gain back.