More Than Life, page 14
“And you know, the plates and bowls could actually be stacked on the shelves where they go and not on the counter.”
The muscle in his jaw was working, I could see how tight it was.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the mudroom by your back door is not where your boots and gear and—it’s not a closet, you get what I’m saying?”
He shot me a look and then barked at Lee and Blake to hurry the fuck up before he stormed out of the house.
“You might think about checking your fridge in case anything has come to life lately!” I called over to him as I leaned out of the way so Blake and Lee could follow him out the door. I was going to close it, when Lee put his hand on it so I couldn’t.
“Hart,” he whispered, his gaze, interestingly, on my mouth not my eyes. “I am so sorry for my weakness back then. I should have had the balls to tell you that—”
“Are you fuckin’ coming or not?” Morgan roared, taking out some of his irritation with me on Lee.
“Shit,” Lee choked out, opening his mouth to say more and then thinking better of it before turning to bolt after his boyfriend and my very surly ranch foreman.
When Morgan looked at me, I waved. I could see his scowl from where I was. The relief at having faced Lee Quantrell and living through it, coupled with normalcy being restored, was too much. Lee was Blake Wellesley’s burden now. I braced myself in the doorway and laughed until I cried, feeling better and lighter than I had in years.
Six
That night, Friday night, the snow came in with the wind and blanketed everything, not heavy like it would be in a couple of weeks, or as it had been earlier in the fall, which was so weird, but enough to be dangerous. And the wind was no joke, especially when it came down from the mountains with a vengeance. I called Price and told him I would drive into town instead, because he wouldn’t see much of the ranch in the dark anyway and my house was tiny.
“I was promised a sleepover,” he reminded me. “I’ll see the ranch in the morning, and honestly, that’s not the draw for me anyway.”
“Oh, no?” I asked, smiling as I tossed the salad.
“Not in the least,” Price assured me, and his interest, after seeing Lee earlier and knowing without question that I had, in fact, been replaced, was a bit of an ego boost. “Oh,” I said quickly, remembering. “Did I happen to mention that I’m a vegetarian?”
“No,” he said, chuckling.
“It’s funny because I’m a rancher, right?”
“Little bit, yeah.”
“Well, how are you with vegetarian lasagna?”
“It sounds great,” he assured me. “Shall I bring some wine?”
“That would be nice. Don’t bring dessert because I’ve got that covered.”
“You certainly do.”
I was silent and so was he.
“Too much?” he asked me after a few long seconds.
I made a noise.
“Sorry. I’m done being cheesy now.”
“Good to know,” I teased him.
“See you soon,” he said and hung up.
Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door. It was a surprise. Price must have been on the road when I reached him.
But it wasn’t Price, it was Morgan and three other people.
He was carrying a roasting pan with oven mitts, and the parade behind him had lots of other food. Since they were standing outside all bundled up, I stepped aside so they could all come in. Morgan walked directly to the kitchen, but the others stood there, clustered near me as I closed the door on the arctic blast that tried to follow them in.
“Hi,” the beautiful blond woman who I knew from her picture on the dating app—this was Darby Owens—rushed out, grimacing even as she tried to smile. “I’m so sorry that we’re barging in on you, but Morgan has no heat.”
I turned to look at my foreman who was shoving the roasting pan into my now preheating oven. “How is that possible?”
He turned to look at me before walking back over to the coat hooks that had been bolted into the wall near my front door. “The flue on my chimney is all messed up.”
Instead of questioning him further, I directed everyone to bring the food to the kitchen and then pointed back to the hooks by the front door where everyone could hang up their jackets and scarves and hats, and get out of their boots. All three of them moved fast, clomping across the floor and then returning quickly to tug off their layers before rushing to the fireplace. They all spread their fingers, warmed their hands, and then turned around and faced me as the flames in my oversized hearth thawed them out.
Morgan was last, having only to take off his heavy padded barn coat and Stetson, because that was all he’d put on, and hanging up both. He then turned to face me.
“Your chimney is broken?”
“Yeah,” he told me. “It’s not draftin’. I’ll get it looked at, don’t ya fret none.”
He was acting like it wasn’t a big deal that he could freeze to death in his house. “Of course I’m going to worry, are you kidding?”
He sighed heavily. “It’s a pain to wait for that guy to show up, so I’ve been puttin’ it off, but ya know, I’m used to the cold anyway, ya reckon?”
“So all you have in there now are those crappy space heaters.”
“They ain’t crappy; they’re just small is all.”
“I’ll have the repairman out here on Monday,” I promised him. “And meanwhile, since you don’t want people to freeze to death, why don’t you have dinner here?”
He tsked. “I am sorry to impose,” he said, glancing around. “Where’s whatshisname?”
“On his way,” I said, chuckling. “You want to introduce me?”
Hand on the small of my back, he steered me over to the others, and I met Darby in real life, and was then introduced to Miles and Christina. They had brought their own wine, but when I offered Miles a beer instead, he was excited to have that and thrilled to be offered several different choices. I poured Darby a glass of Riesling, and Christina preferred an Amaretto Sour. Since I had Disaronno in my cupboard, it was easy to make.
“Thank you so much,” she said, taking it from me, still sitting close to the fire. “And may I say that I just love your home. It’s charming and the open layout is great. My condo has all these tiny rooms. I wish I could knock out the walls like this.”
Charming equaled small, tiny, but I didn’t mind. Did I wish I had a separate office and bedroom, especially tonight when I would have company? Yes, I did. But I also usually slept on the couch in front of the fire, so the whole bedroom thing hadn’t been a concern up to now.
Walking to my kitchen, I called Price as I leaned on the counter.
“Almost there,” he said playfully. “You checking because you can hardly wait, or are you worried I drove into a ditch?”
“The first one,” I answered, liking the sound of him. “But more importantly, we have a hiccup, and I forgot to tell you something.”
“Give me the problem first.”
“It’s not a problem, just a change,” I said and went on to explain about Morgan’s chimney and his nearly frostbitten dinner guests and how, at least this way, he didn’t have to have lasagna. “You can have roast instead.”
“I want the lasagna, and will they leave after dinner?”
I chuckled. “I suspect so.”
“Well, I was still coming anyway, but now I’m hopeful again of getting laid.”
“Oh, so romantic.”
“You want romance? I can do that, but I just want you to know that I caught a whole lot of gold skin the other night, and I’m looking forward to seeing if you’re that color all over.”
I cleared my throat. “I am actually,” I revealed, murmuring my words. “I’ll show you.”
The noise he made was pained. “I’m almost there.”
“Be careful and don’t drive into any ditches,” I said playfully.
“I’ll be very care. Oh, I almost forgot, what was the other thing?”
“Oh, yeah, okay so when you get to the front of the ranch, the gate will be closed and you’ll see a medium-size Airstream trailer attached to a pickup truck. Just wait, don’t get out, whatever you do, and after a minute or two a woman will come out of the camper and walk over and ask what your business is on the ranch. Give her your name, which she has on her phone, and she’ll open the gate.”
“You have a guard?”
“In the winter we do, yes. She wasn’t here last night because her little sister’s a visiting soloist from San Francisco and was dancing in Cheyenne, so she went to go see her.”
“Wait,” he said, and I could hear the chuckle in his voice. “Your guard has a sister who’s a ballet dancer with the San Francisco Ballet?”
“A soloist. Yes.”
“Normally, in the winter she guards the front gate of the ranch, but not last night.”
“That’s correct,” I affirmed, unsure why we were going over this again.
“Because she had to go watch her sister.”
“Why are you having trouble with this?”
“I’m having trouble because what you’re saying makes no sense.”
“How so? Lots of people have all kinds of siblings who do all kinds of things.”
“Yes, but one is a guard and the other is a ballet dancer?”
“She’s not just a guard; she owns her own security company.”
“But she guards your gate.”
“In the winter, yes, and I pay her a small fortune to do it because it’s important for the safety of the guests.”
“Why only in winter?”
“In the spring, summer, even into fall, we’re all outside all the time, and our dogs are out, and the guys ride until late at night, so I don’t worry about strangers on the ranch. But in the winter when we’re all inside, and the gate being so far away and the drive in so long, I just feel more comfortable knowing Lily’s out front.”
“Makes sense. Okay so, I get to the gate and wait, and she’ll come out?”
“Yeah. Her name is Lily Crowfoot and you can’t miss her. She’s about five-two, long black hair that she normally wears in a thick braid, so like I said, just—”
“Really?” he scoffed. “I need to stop for this woman?”
I snorted. “If you know what’s good for you,” I assured him. “Because it’s not just her, it’s her and four of the biggest, scariest German shepherds you’ve ever seen in your life.”
“Yeah, but if I’m in my car—”
“I once saw her flick open this baton she carries, break a car window, and the dog was in there and dragged the guy back out through that same window in seconds.”
“Are you—”
“Seconds!” I repeated. “I’m not even kidding. It was the scariest thing I ever saw, and I was once chased by a grizzly bear.”
“You were chased by a bear?”
“Yeah, but that’s not the point of—”
“Jesus, Hart, what happened?”
“It’s not—”
“How did you get away?”
This was why I normally never used the bear story to make a point; things always veered off in the wrong direction. “Morgan and Ryder came racing across the meadow and scared the crap out of it. You’ve never seen a bear run that fast.”
“Ryder’s another guy on your ranch?”
“No, Ryder is Morgan’s horse,” I said warmly, thinking of the sable stallion with his dark brown mane and tail that was easily the most beautiful horse on the ranch.
He cleared his throat. “Morgan has a horse that will charge a bear?”
“Morgan has a horse that worships him and trusts him with his life, so if Morgan makes a decision to ride off the side of a cliff, Ryder will do that as fast as he can.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, it is. I mean, the horse is great,” I agreed, “Morgan’s great too, but seriously, you have not seen amazing until you’ve seen one of Lily’s dogs drag a man out of a car window kicking and screaming. It’s insane. She doesn’t carry a gun, just that baton and a switchblade, and she’s teeny-tiny, but I’m telling you, she’s terrifying. So seriously, stop at the damn gate.”
“I most certainly will,” he said, laughing before he hung up on me.
I was still smiling as I turned to find a scowling Morgan. “What?”
“That guy’s still coming?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said, making a face. “Why wouldn’t he? I’m a hot property, man.”
“Is that right?”
“Hell yes,” I informed him, almost crowing. “And once you guys all leave at some point, then the adults can have some alone time.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared at me. It was weird but I couldn’t read him, and that was normally never a problem.
“Are you all right?” I asked, all the frivolity draining from my voice.
“’Course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Okay,” I said, arranging the charcuterie, the prosciutto, salami, sopressata, and other meats along with cheese, mustard, fig confit and olives and pickles on the board. “Take this out there to your guests.”
“Your guests too,” he reminded me, and when I looked up, he smiled and as usual, my breath caught.
It was stupid, but sometime in the second year, when I’d gone from noticing Morgan was handsome to counting on him as my rock, I had started seeing all the different parts of him. And like the previous night when he was half carrying me out of the hotel lounge, whenever I let my guard down and didn’t remind myself he was my best friend, I had a trembling reaction to him as a man.
The stupid shirt he was wearing wasn’t helping anything. He had on a light brown dress shirt that hugged his arms, so every flex of muscle was obvious. His jeans were molded to his legs, the silver belt buckle was wide, and as soon as your eye went there, they went lower, so I was careful to always keep my gaze at chest level. Of course, that too was not great, because there was a lot to admire in the firm pectorals. At least his black hat was off, hanging on his peg by the door that no one else ever used but him. Something about his hat, the way he looked at me from under the brim, eyes hooded, with a sliver of a smile, the curl of his carved lips and the wicked dimple, could render me mute. It was better that the hat was where it normally was, safely put up, but still, for a moment, I clutched at the counter and focused on the mahogany Saltillo tile on my kitchen floor.
Thankfully, there was a knock on the front door, and I was going to answer it, but Morgan was there faster.
“Hello again,” he greeted Price with a smile that was not friendly and told him where to hang his coat. He took the two bottles of wine from the man and instead of passing them back like he was supposed to, he walked to the kitchen and put them both down on the counter. “This one’s a dessert wine. Ya see that?”
“Go talk to your guests,” I ordered under my breath.
But he didn’t. Instead, he gestured to the others, so Price had no choice but to walk over to the fire and join my guests, now eating charcuterie from the board on the coffee table. I joined them quickly, stepping in close to Price as Morgan made the introductions.
“If it’s not too personal, Hart,” Darby said, smiling at me, eyes gleaming, “may I ask what happened to your face?”
“I had a dustup last night,” I explained, making it sound much more benign than it was. “But it’s all sorted out now.”
“Well, it looks like it hurts,” Christina chimed in. “Maybe you should be drinking too.”
“That’s a great idea,” I agreed, turning for the kitchen. “Price, care to join me?”
He was right behind me, and when I turned, he crowded me, hands on my hips. “People or no people, I’m thrilled to be here,” he assured me, staring into my eyes. “Now open the wine and let it breathe before dinner.”
Open the wine. Such a simple task.
To divert him, I asked what he’d like to drink, and he said he’d love some Scotch and water, if I had any. It took a few minutes to locate his alcohol of choice, but I eventually came up with it. After I poured him his drink, I told him to join the others and I would be right there.
“You have to come with me since you’re the main draw,” he said, his gaze all over me before he was back to staring into my eyes. “And just a quick thing, but I’ve never met anyone with actual green-green eyes before.”
“No?”
“It’s like jade I saw in a museum once,” he told me, stepping in close, inhaling me. “Is that just you or is there something else in here that smells woodsy and clean?”
“It’s me,” I told him, knowing it was the soap that another of my guys, Enoch Yazzie, brought me whenever he visited his grandmother in Cody. She made a whole line of beauty care products and always sent him home with sweet clover and wild herb soap for me, as well as vanilla and amber shampoo and a bergamot-infused conditioner that people were forever trying to get a whiff of. She appreciated me taking in her grandson. I always told her it was my pleasure.
“He’s a great guy,” I insisted as I held her hand as we’d walked in the long grass down by the meadow the last time she visited.
“For you he is good, because you see his heart,” she intoned, giving me a kind smile. “It’s best he stays here with you. I like him here and not home with his cousins.”
The rest of his family, except he and his grandmother, lived on the Wind River Reservation. I didn’t ask why they left; it was none of my business. All I knew was that Morgan brought him to the ranch with his horse, Bad Idea, and he started out a bit nervous and worried, but after six months, about the time we learned why the horse was named Bad Idea—biter, instigator, all-around pain in the ass—Enoch changed, stopped jumping at his own shadow, and came out of his shell. He was a natural leader and could be counted on to reel the others in at times, especially Colley and Crew when tempers flew, away from the ranch. At the moment he was in Torrington with another wrangler, Joey Vargas, picking out some new dogs for the ranch. Morgan liked border collies, so that’s what they were getting, four new puppies that needed to be trained up before spring. We had lost two to old age over the last year, another, Briole, to a bride who fell in love with him and he her. It was crazy. She took our dog! And one who went with Caleb Peterson, who left the ranch to go into business with his brother in Abilene. He’d begged me to let him take Dancer with him, and much to Morgan’s disapproval, I let him. The dumb dog slept on the man’s bunk every night. What was I supposed to do?
