Chapter 9 #2
“Let me go check my computer.” He rose, and used one crutch as he thumped down the hall.
He was back in a few minutes with it, and sat at the table, moving his place setting to the side as he opened the machine.
As she cooked, she heard the light tapping of the keyboard, and didn’t turn around until he called her over to him.
She went over, stood next to him, and placed her hand on his shoulder, while she still held the spatula she’d used to turn the hamburger in the pan. “Is this up-to-date?” She looked at the screen and saw where they were located, and the storm went off to the east.
“Yes, as of five minutes ago. I’d say you were correct, the storm blew over, and we’ll be following it.”
“Is there anything coming from the west?” She leaned down for a closer look, and when she reached to touch the mouse pad, their fingers touched.
They both froze, then she jerked her hand back.
With saying a word, she straightened and allowed him to continue.
She stood there and wondered at the tingling that had gone up her arm at their touch.
“What?” she asked when he said her name.
“It’s clear behind us,” he said as he pointed again, and she nodded, without getting too close to him again.
Not that she wouldn’t mind it, but she didn’t want to start anything on the second day of meeting him, and especially not if they had to travel to her home in close proximity of one another for the next two days.
“Good,” she said, and went back to the stove. It took ten minutes to finish putting the meal on the table, and they settled down to eat. Neither of them spoke until they finished eating, and Shay was the first one to speak.
“I’m sorry.”
Faith lifted her head in confusion. “For what?”
“I said I’d buy you lunch, but you ended up cooking for the both of us.”
She leaned back in her seat with a slow smile. “How about this?”
“What?”
“Since we’re going to have to stop for at least one night, why don’t you buy dinner then?”
“I can do that, I can also buy us breakfast. Are you going to want to eat before we leave tomorrow?”
“Not unless you want to eat cold spaghetti. That’s basically all that’s left in your refrigerator.” She looked at him with a smirk. “Some time when we’re gone, we’re going to have to make a grocery list so we can stop on the way back here.”
“I agree, and we’ll probably stop in Fool’s Gold. I have a silly question.”
“What’s that?”
“Is there anything, anything at all that you can get in Kentucky that you won’t be able to get here?”
“Maybe,” she said. “I’ll double check when I get home.”
“Double check how?”
“Look up on the internet to see where it’s sold. I purchase it at Wal-Mart, but there isn’t one of those here.”
“Only up in Denver, three hours away.”
“Yeah, maybe we can stop there on our way out of town. Not that I do it often, and I might be able to find something similar here, but do they usually have deliveries this far out?”
Shay looked at with wide eyes. “No clue, I do know that the gas and electric company comes out here. Just because we’re on one property, it doesn’t mean we’re cut off from the rest of the world. I have seen UPS and FED EX deliver to the main house.” At her frown he smiled.
“The one where Ducky and Clem live. We drive past it when we enter and exit the ranch.”
“Ah, something to look into.”
“Yeah. I was only asking because I’ve seen you eat your two main meals of the day. I’m not saying anything bad. I enjoy watching a woman eat.”
“As long as I eat healthy, I’m good. One thing to know about me, when I go to a grocery store, I don’t indulge in cookies, chips, soda, and stuff like that. I may purchase some ice cream every once in a while, but not very often.”
“Do you ever eat cookies?”
“Sure, when I make them myself.”
“What’s the difference, and for the record, I don’t indulge in junk food either. Very rarely does the mood strike.”
She nodded, and started stacking their dirty dishes right there on the table. “The difference is that my cookies won’t have preservatives and added junk in them. Sometimes, if I make a cake, I replace the oil with applesauce.”
“Healthier versions.”
“Correct.” She stood and took the dishes to the sink. When she heard him stand, she looked at him with a shake of her head. “I got this, rest.”
Shay sat back down and watched as she worked. He enjoyed that her movements were with very little effort. What he observed was like poetry in motion. No extra movements to get the job done. He wondered what she would look like on the back of a horse, hunched over and flying down the track.
“Do you need anything?” Faith asked, and had to reach out and touch his arm to get his attention, he seemed lost in thought.
“What, no, why? Did you need anything?”
“Before I started the dishwasher, I wanted to take a shower.”
“Oh, go ahead. I’m sure you saw the bathroom attached to the bedroom. It’s okay to do both. I’ve never had any problems in the two weeks I’ve been here.”
“Have you taken a shower while the dishwasher ran?” she asked with a smirk, then laughed at his expression.
“I thought not.” Still laughing, she went down the hall to the spare bedroom.
Thirty minutes later, she came out, and headed to the kitchen.
Shay still sat there, and she turned on the dishwasher, and prepared the coffee pot for the next morning.
“Hey,” she said quietly as she joined him at the table. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just thinking.”
“About?”
He looked at her intently. “About what it would be like to watch you fly around the racetrack on the back of a horse.”
She smiled, reached for his laptop, and pulled it to her. After doing several things, she turned it back around. “You know Champ, right?”
“The horse in the barn?”
“Yes, what you’re about to watch is me riding his grandfather, in his first and only Triple Crown win.
” She had him look at the laptop, and reached around it to press the play button.
Instead of watching the race, she watched his face.
She enjoyed the expressions he exposed. Reserved all the way to awe.
When it was done, he looked up and stared at her.
“Wow, that was like poetry in motion. Why was that the only time he won the Triple Crown?”
Faith frowned, and shook her head. “I’m not putting you off, but it’s getting late, and we have a lot of traveling to do tomorrow. Why don’t we save this conversation for the drive?”
“I can wrap my head around that.”
“Do you need to take a shower?”
“Are you volunteering to help me?” he asked with a grin.
“No, but I am volunteering to stay up until you finish, and then take your pills.”
“Shit, I forgot about them. Thank you, I’ll open my bedroom door to let you know when I’m done.”
“Yell out if you need anything.”
He nodded and headed to his bedroom. It took him forty-five minutes to get everything done, and by the time he opened his door, he was exhausted. She was there within seconds of him calling out to her, with his pill bottle. “Come inside,” he said as he hobbled to his bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m exhausted, I think I’m going to hold off on the Oxy tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, but I will take two of those other pain pills.”
“Two, or just one?” He looked at the bottle she handed him, and sighed. “Yeah, maybe only one.”
She handed him the bottle and went out to get him a glass of water.
When she returned and handed it to him, then watched him as he took one of his pills.
She remained beside his bed until he settled in, and when he nodded to her, she slowly backed away.
“I’m going to leave both our doors open, in case you need me, call out. ”
“I should be fine, but thank you,” he settled in and in seconds he was sound asleep.
Faith stood there for a good five minutes watching him sleep, and ended up reaching out and moving the hair from his forehead.
She liked how silky it felt. Unable to do anything else, she slowly backed out of his room and went to her own, leaving both doors open in case he called out in the night.