Chapter 4
“ H ey, you’re not a vegetarian, are you?” he calls out from the kitchen. It’s been about twenty minutes since he sat me down in his living room with a glass of red wine. Just like your lips , he had said with a smile when he handed it to me. “Cause if you are, I’m not gonna be of much use to you.”
“Nope! I’m really into meat,” I called back.
An amused laugh is his response, and it takes me a moment to figure out what was so funny about what I said. I roll my eyes and chuckle—the childish mind of a teenage boy
trapped in the body of a man.
“Do you want some help?” I ask.
“Not right now, but thanks!” he replies.
You’re welcome , I think to myself. I take another sip of wine as I glance around the room.
It’s nothing spectacular—a few pictures hanging on the wall, none of which are people.
I find myself smiling at the fact that he likes to hang art in the place of family and decide that I’ll ask him about it later.
My eyes continue to wander before they rest on the mantle above the fireplace.
There’s a massive deer skull ordaining the wall directly above the fire.
Curiously, I continue to look around the room and notice the smaller skulls of other animals, which tells me that he’s an avid hunter.
Then again, in these parts, there’s not much one else can do with their time, and hunting can turn a good profit depending on if you go down to the trading posts.
Another thirty minutes of me sitting in the living room with a now empty glass of wine passes, before Lowell peeks his head in.
“Hungry?” he asks with a wide, friendly smile on his face.
“Famished,” I reply, getting to my feet and walking toward him.
He grins and takes the empty glass from me and I follow him through the kitchen and into a small dining room just beyond.
He sets the glass down at one end of the table and pulls my chair out for me.
I thank him as I sit down, and he refills my glass before walking back out of the room again.
“Alright, I hope you like it. If you don’t, you’re not required to eat anything, but I thought since we’re gonna have a long night ahead of us, you might want some fuel for your body,” he says with a chuckle as he re-enters the room and sets a large platter with two huge, glistening steaks on them in the center of the table. “Um, hold on. There’s more.”
I raise an eyebrow at him as he leaves the room again, and as I eye the steaks my stomach lets out a loud growl. When the hell was the last time I ate, anyway? Too many days couldn’t have passed because I would have just robbed someone instead of working for the money.
“Okay, this is it. If it’s not enough, let me know and I’ll make something else,” he says returning to the room and setting a large ceramic bowl full to the brim with mashed potatoes in them.
They smell like garlic and herb and I feel like a starving animal waiting for my master to tell me I can eat.
“Dig in,” he says as he settles into the seat at the opposite end of the table and smiles.
I don’t hesitate. I pick up my plate and knife, reach forward and stab the steak closest to me, dropping it onto my plate. Next, I grab the ceramic ladle that’s buried somewhere in mashed potato heaven and dump two scoops next to the steak before I lean back in my chair ready to devour my meal.
“Hey, Burgundy?” Lowell says suddenly. “Mind if we say grace first?”
My mouth is already wide open and the piece of steak I’ve cut myself is taunting me from the edge of my fork. I can taste the fucking thing from how close it is, but I decide that I can go ahead and wait five more minutes while he does his prayer mumbo jumbo.
I place my fork back down on the edge of the plate and fold my hands in front of me. A big smile spreads over his face as he does the same,
bows his head, and closes his eyes.
“Since you’re the guest of this house, I’d like you to say grace please,” he says quietly.
I roll my eyes and groan internally as I try my best to remember a prayer—any prayer—from my days at private school.
“Bless this food and the man that prepared it. May both be a rich source of nourishment,” I say, stumbling over my words.
Lowell chuckles, and when I open my eyes, I can see the amusement dancing on his face.
“Amen.”