Chapter 6 #2
“Good evenin’, Mrs. Kelly. Heather’s got dinner waitin’,” Micah called out.
“Mrs. Kelly, I’m in,” one of the security guards said from his spot on a hay bale where he’d been most of the evening.
“Me, too!” another yelled.
“Kitt, any of these guys staying with us tonight? Do I need to get some rooms ready?” Mrs. Kelly asked her stepson.
“No, ma’am. Mike’s got it all taken care of.” Kitt quickly pulled his work gloves off his hands. He used the short arm of his T-shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“You sure, Mike, they can stay at the house if you need.”
“Nah, we got it,” Mike said with a grin on his face. It was clear the whole team knew each other well, and Austin stood back watching the familiar camaraderie they shared. They were all good friends. He missed having real friends.
“And I suppose this is our new neighbor.” Mrs. Kelly finally turned her attention to Austin.
“I’m Austin.” He nodded, walking to her with his hand stuck out. It felt wrong to try and dodge her, and since she was a Kelly, he figured it was possible she might be bound by the terms of the land sale contract.
“I know who you are. Surely, the old biddies of this town haven’t missed this.” She grinned at Austin.
“It’s on the DL, Lily. No one knows. It’s that part in the contract we all thought was so dumb.
You can’t tell anyone,” Kitt said. It was the first time he made any sort of reference to Austin being anywhere on the property all day long.
Up until that moment, Kitt hadn’t acknowledged him.
Hell, Kitt hadn’t even looked Austin’s way, not one single time.
Still hadn’t. He spoke as he wrote on the clipboard in his hands.
“So, I can’t say anything either. Well, dang! I never get to have the news first at church on Sunday!” Mrs. Kelly said, and they all chuckled at her fake chagrin.
“Are you comin’ to dinner, Mr. Grainger?” she asked over her shoulder while turning back to the barn’s front doors.
“Please call me Austin, and I don’t want to intrude. I can get something here.”
“You aren’t. I’ll see you all in fifteen minutes.”
With that, she was gone.
“I can get something to eat here, I don’t want to put her out.” Austin turned to Mike, and then Kitt. His muscles ached and throbbed; the idea of doing anything more than having a long hot soak and hours of sleep didn’t appeal to him at all.
“Nah, she cooks for us all the time. She likes to feed us. It’s really okay. You should come,” Mike said. Kitt resumed ignoring him as he worked something on his clipboard.
A few minutes later, Micah and his boys took off.
Mike and Austin checked all the gates, and shut everything down, making sure they were locked tight.
By the time they were done, Kitt was already riding off toward his house.
Austin watched him and realized the only benefit of going to dinner at the Kelly ranch just rode off in the opposite direction without a backward glance.
“You wanna ride?” Austin asked Mike, finally giving in to the catch he felt in his leg. He moved with a distinct limp as the cramp took hold.
“Sure. You did real good today.” Mike switched direction from his pickup to Austin’s brand new Silverado. It arrived today, driven by one of his hidden security guards who sure didn’t stick around to lend a hand.
“I don’t know. I let a couple get through. You guys have it all down, nothing gets past you,” Austin said, climbing in the driver’s side. He gave a solid wince as he sat in the seat. His back muscles spasmed, and he felt like such a pansy about it all.
“It’s not the first time we’ve done somethin’ like this.” Mike easily climbed in and slammed the door closed several seconds before Austin even reached out to close his. It amazed him how hard these guys worked every single day.
“I guess not, but Rusty and Brent…wow. Micah has to be proud.”
“Yeah, they’re a good family, great kids. They have seven of them. Four girls, three boys. Those girls give Micah a run,” Mike explained before letting out a yawn. “I’m tired.”
“Tired? Thank God! I was beginning to think I must seriously be a lightweight. Every muscle in my body’s on fire.” Austin grimaced and tried to position himself so that all his body weight didn’t lie on the parts that ached the most. He winced, not succeeding in his attempts, and Mike chuckled.
“Yeah, you never get used to it. My body’s sore too. It’s just a part of it. Besides, it’s what you pay me to do. I never expected you to be out there all day today.” Mike gave Austin a sideways glance.
“I loved it. It’s been forever since I put in a hard day’s work. It grounds you. Everyone should have to do this kind of thing once in their life.” Austin let his own yawn free.
It took them about ten minutes to get to Kitt’s stepmom’s house.
It was called the main house, and it sat right off the road.
The driveway was already full of cars, and as Austin pulled to the back of the drive, he saw a large patio filled with picnic tables.
His men were already there, helping themselves to food, and Mrs. Kelly hovered over everyone, making sure they had everything they needed. Austin followed Mike to the house.
“Kitt’s got two sisters. One’s away at college, the other’s seventeen. Let me make sure she isn’t here,” Mike said at the bottom of the step before heading up to the porch. He was back a minute later. “Mrs. Kelly sent her to her room, come in.”
“I don’t want her to have to stay in her room.” Austin immediately tried to retreat.
“No, trust me, she wants to stay in her room. I make her come out and socialize, but she absolutely doesn’t want to,” Mrs. Kelly said from behind Mike. “Come on in and fix your plate.”
It took him a minute to comply. He hated the idea of the girl being sent to her room, but abandoned all thought of it as he spotted the large pot of homemade spaghetti, green beans, and garlic Texas toast. The food looked delicious and smelled exquisite. She’d made enough to feed a small army.
“Thank you for all this. I need to pay you for feeding all my men,” Austin said, standing at the back door taking it all in.
“No, absolutely not! I know what it’s like to get to a new place, get everything set up. Mike and I planned this.” She shook her head at him as she began to dish out loads of pasta and sauce.
“It looks incredible.” Austin watched as she piled on the green beans and several pieces of thick, buttered toast. Austin took his full plate from her and followed Mike back out on the porch.
They took seats out of the direct light on the porch.
A nice breeze blew and electric bug zappers hung in every corner.
He was given a beer, but wasn’t treated any differently than anyone else.
Mrs. Kelly monitored everyone, making sure plates and glasses stayed full.
This whole world of blending in, just being another hand, was extraordinary.
It allowed Austin the opportunity to sit back and relax.
He ate a quiet meal without being the center of attention.
A four-wheeler appeared from the dark, its headlights getting brighter the closer it came to the main house.
Austin made out Kitt when it was a few hundred feet away.
He watched Kitt drive all the way up, and kept on watching even as he parked and walked up the porch.
Kitt had showered and wore cargo walking shorts, flip-flops, and a T-shirt.
His hair was windblown dry and slightly disarrayed, and for the first time since Austin laid eyes on Kitt, he looked young and easygoing, not the hardened cowboy Austin had grown accustomed to.
He liked this side of Kitt. Hell, he liked all sides of Kitt.
“Kitt! Mom won’t let me get my belly button pierced!” A voice bellowed from above their heads. “Talk to her! Tell her everyone’s doin’ it.”
Kitt took a couple of steps back off the porch and looked up. “Bryanne, you know I’m not gonna do that. Get your head back in that window and do your homework.”
“Gawd, Kitt! You act like you’re ninety!” The window slammed shut and it took a second, but everyone chuckled at the exchange.
Kitt resumed walking up the steps, brought his head back down and his gaze landed on Austin as a smile spread across his lips.
The sight caused Austin to stop his fork midway to his mouth and just stare.
Kitt’s firm square jaw and strong chin all eased when those full lips smiled, and that was definitely another first.
“Smells good,” Kitt muttered, coming to stand in front of his stepmother. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek as she met him at the back door with a plate full of food.
“I made you a plate, but don’t get used to it, young man!” she teased with a wink.
“Never! And you didn’t have to do that, but thank you.
” He took the plate and utensils she offered.
Kitt pivoted on his heel looking around.
He spotted Mike and began to walk toward their table.
His eyes collided again with Austin’s, and at the last minute, he took a seat at another table with his back to Austin.
“Mike, you want seconds?” Mrs. Kelly asked with the pot in her hand, already scooping seconds on his plate before he could answer.
“Yes, ma’am! I love your homemade spaghetti.” He smiled and dug straight in.
“Mr. Grainger?” She didn’t just automatically fill his plate but paused, waiting for him to answer.
“Please call me Austin, and I think I’m done. I haven’t worked this hard in years.” Austin patted his belly. Funny, since Kitt walked up, all the aches and pains in his body seemed to have magically disappeared.
“How about another beer?” she offered.
“I’ll get it.” He rose from his seat, and just like that, the magic disappeared. A pain-filled groan escaped his lips, and they all laughed. He even got a sideways glance from Kitt, showing him that beautiful smile again.