Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Pru was dragging ass when she parked her truck at her house, and smiled when she saw Ryan’s truck was already parked there. She had been so busy the entire day that she didn’t see him after lunch. As she got out of the truck, she tried to think what she had in her refrigerator she could whip up for supper, but for the life of her, her mind was blank when she mentally opened the appliance in her mind.
“Cereal then,” she said as she climbed out of her truck and instead of going in the front door, she went around the side of the house and let herself in the back yard via the gate. She fed the chicks first, then called for the chickens and herded them so she could get them in their coop for the night. She knew herding them wasn’t the proper term, but she was too tired to think of the right word. After she had them all inside, she made sure they had food and water, then let herself out of the coop, then out of the yard. She looked up as she approached the back door and paused when she saw Ryan standing there staring down at her. She swallowed hard when the setting sun had him in shadow.
“Hey,” he said as she approached. “Chickens done?”
“Yeah, sorry I’m late. You’ll have to give me your phone number so I can call you. I got caught up with Peanut.”
“Who or what is that?”
“A horse,” she grinned at him. “She’s been fighting the bit lately.”
“What’s that?”
“The bit is what you put in their mouth so when you use the reins, they know what direction you want them to go in. Tom didn’t come today, he had an emergency elsewhere, but he said he’d be over next week.”
Ryan stepped back as she climbed the steps, then opened the door for her. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving, but I can’t remember if I have any food in the house or not.”
“You do. I came back here shortly after lunch, and I lay down for a bit. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Ryan, I’m not here to tell you what you can and can’t do. You’re a big boy, I’m sure if you know your body needs to be rebooted you know what to do.”
“Oh, well, anyway, I only lay down for an hour and I raided your kitchen after I got up. I hope you don’t mind, but I threw something together.”
“What?” Pru turned to him, then stepped inside the house. She paused, drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “What smells so good?”
“You had a pork roast in the refrigerator, and I found your crockpot. It was already thawed, so it didn’t take long for it to cook. It’s been cooking since two, and it’s after seven now. I have potatoes on the stove boiling. I thought pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and some sort of vegetable. Do you have any biscuits?”
“I think so.” She bent down in front of him and untied her boots, and it took everything Ryan had not to reach down and caress her perfect ass, but he restrained himself. He didn’t know if it was him, or what he had gone through, but he hadn’t been excited seeing a woman’s ass in a long, long time. He gave himself a mental slap before he followed her into the kitchen.
He grinned when she opened the refrigerator, and opened a crisper drawer. Not where he would have kept the roll of biscuits, but if it worked for her, who was he to question her. He took the package to her, then told her she had about twenty minutes before the meal would be ready. She thanked him and quickly left the room. A few minutes later, he closed his eyes, and hung his head when he heard the shower start. To distract himself from knowing she was naked behind that door, and that water was sliding down her body, he busied himself with getting the rest of the meal ready. When he looked for the vegetables, he frowned when he didn’t find what he wanted. Instead of the peas he was looking for, he opened a can of carrots instead. He looked up when he heard a noise and smiled at her.
“Do you like peas?” he asked and grinned wider when she gave a gagging sound. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“You’d be right. I know you don’t need to know this, or maybe you should, but Erin is the same way with green beans that I am with peas. I love green beans, but hate peas. She loves peas, but hates green beans.”
They worked together getting the meal on the table. While the meat was removed from the pot and put on a platter to rest, she made the gravy, and he mashed the potatoes. By the time they sat down to eat, they were laughing, and to Ryan, it felt like they had been together for months instead of less than twenty-four hours. After they filled their plates and started to eat, Ryan looked at her.
“Why would I need to know that Erin hates green beans? Isn’t that something Reid should know?”
“Yes, but we all need to know if anyone has any food allergies or dislikes.”
“Why?”
“Before you men started arriving, us women would meet at the main house once a month to have a dinner. We could take turns who would cook it. We all get together for a holiday meal, and that was when we brought a dish to pass. I’m sure we’ll have BBQs this summer, but since you guys arrived, we don’t really get together once a month anymore.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Yes and no.” She didn’t elaborate as she continued to eat, and Ryan decided to drop it for now. After he finished his first plate, he was loading up on seconds when a thought struck him.
“When will you make the deviled eggs? I’m assuming because it’s Easter Sunday in two days then we’ll all be at the main house?”
“Yes, and I’ll make them when I get out of work tomorrow. It’s my short day.”
“What’s that mean?”
“It means I only work until noon. I’ll have to run into town after I get cleaned up, to pick up a few items.”
“Do you know what you need?”
“It’s all here,” she said as she tapped the side of her head, and it took everything Ryan had not to ask what was on her mental list. He continued to eat, and listened when she started on a different track of conversation.
“Sunday will be a skeleton crew doing the morning chores, then someone will stop back to let the horses back inside. We’ll try to keep the doors open so they can go back to their stalls on their own. Then come Monday, things will be different for a week.”
“Different how?”
“We’re going to have a family staying across the way. In one of the larger cabins. It’s just a mom, dad, and their son, Clinton.”
“Oh, may I ask why?”
“Thanksgiving weekend last year, Clinton was out riding his bike, like all eleven-year-olds do.”
“Yeah, I remember those days.”
“Okay, but someone was driving down their street looking for the main highway, he was off by several miles. The driver was drunk and he not only hit Clinton, but he ran him over, and dragged him for several yards. If someone hadn’t been outside, they never would have found him. Several men in their neighborhood ran after the guy, got him stopped, and had him on the ground and tied up until the police came.”
“Holy shit, what happened?”
“As a result of that, the guy is waiting to be sentenced, and Clinton lost a leg. Because these cabins are where we employees live, Erin had Jake Cogburn from Brotherhood Protectors do deep background checks on the people that will be staying here. Because of the Easter holiday, Clinton is off school next week. He’ll be here learning to ride a horse, and the physical therapist will be working with him and his parents.”
“Isn’t there someplace else they can stay?”
“Not yet. Clark’s working on the other side of the barn putting in several buildings. I’d tell you about them, but I can’t remember what they are for, or where they are going. All I know is that side will be for the public, while this side will stay private. Currently, any clients we have come in daily. They live close enough for that to happen. After the construction is done, we’ll have families staying from all over.”
“Clark did mention he was working on the second half of Erin’s dream,” Ryan said as he took the last biscuit and mopped up the gravy on his plate. He sighed in satisfaction, then sat back and studied her. “I remember being here years ago and this was only a nugget in her brain.”
“Was that after Operation Gold Rush?”
“What do you know about that?” Ryan tensed up and wondered if his friends had revealed any government secrets.
“Nothing much, only that Reid was shot in the leg, you rode camels, which were killed, and Clark butchered one of them. I heard the stories of how you guys got away. Nothing was ever mentioned about what the actual operation was about.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t want to have to kill my buddies for revealing secrets.”
“From what I’ve heard, they talk about those camels, a lot.”
Ryan chuckled. “It was a pretty intense mission, and those camels were the only funny part of what we went through.” He stood when she did and they cleaned up the dishes. As she quickly washed them, he put away the leftover food. When he was done, he went over to the box when the kittens started crying. He reached in and they attacked his finger when he stuck it out to them. He laughed, then looked up when Pru appeared by his side with a dish of food. She handed it to him, then sat beside him to watch as they attacked the dish.
“Remind me to put cat food on the list,” she said as she continued to watch the cats. When the solid black one was done, she reached in and began to rub a finger over the top of her head. When it began to purr, she picked it up and cuddled it to her chest. She looked at Ryan with a grin. “I think she likes me.”
“Yeah, so do I.” He had meant it like he was telling her he agreed the baby liked her, but he also liked her too. They spent the next hour playing with the kittens and when they tired, they put them back in their box and got up off the floor. Ryan had to hook a chair with his cane and use the seat to hoist himself off the floor, but he was successful.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Ryan said at one point. “But I toured your house. I like the simplicity of it. But I also noticed you don’t have a TV or a radio.”
“Yeah, I learned in the early days of my TBI, what used to be white noise to me made me crazier than normal. I couldn’t stand the sounds. When I moved here, I didn’t bother with anything. Sorry if you wanted to watch TV.”
“No, I’m fine with reading, or talking. Can I go grocery shopping with you tomorrow? I don’t want you to have to provide for me. I have plenty of money.” He scoffed and shook his head. “At least I do now.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ryan turned his wrist to look at his watch. “How long do you have?”
“I have a couple of hours before my usual bed time.”
“Let’s go relax in the living room, then.” Ryan stood and made his way there, it took a few minutes for them to settle. When they did, he looked at her. “Where do you want me to start?”
“At the beginning?” She scowled at his laugh.