Page 27 of Colton’s Inferno

“I doubt that you’ve ever had a panic attack in your life.”

“Please, don’t judge.”

Lucy sipped her coffee. “You’re right. I shouldn’t make assumptions.” She took another drink. “I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology. But let me ask you another question. When did you eat last?”

Honestly, she couldn’t remember. Lunch, maybe. There certainly hadn’t been time for dinner, not with the carnival starting. “I had funnel cake at the fair.”

“You need something to eat.” He gave her wrist another squeeze. “Can I rummage in your fridge? I can pull something together.”

She should be the one making food for Aiden. He really had saved her life. But as the last of the panic attack faded, she was exhausted. “Sure.”

He rose from his seat and crossed the room, opening the refrigerator door. “Do you like bacon and eggs?” he asked. “You have both.”

She took another sip of coffee. The caffeine gave her fuel. “I can’t let you make me breakfast,” she said. “Besides, Grandpa Rusty went to feed the animals. I don’t know what time he left, but he’ll want something to eat when he gets home.”

“And your point is?” Aiden held a carton of eggs collected from their own chickens.

“My point is that I can’t have you cooking for us both.”

“I don’t mind.” He pulled a package of bacon from the fridge and set it on the counter.

“You might not mind,” she said. “But I do. Besides, if one of us is cooking for the other, it should be me making food for you.”

“How about this,” Aiden suggested. “We make breakfast together. I’ll stay until your grandfather shows up. After everything I found in the barn, I’d like to talk to him as well.”

Chapter 8

Living at the Five Steers Ranch, miles from anything, Lucy and her grandfather rarely had company. But it hadn’t always been like that. When she was younger, there was always an aunt or uncle in the kitchen. Cousins were always running around in the yard.

Then, one by one, they left. Some moved away. Others, like her brother, were gone for good. In her solitude, she’d forgotten how much she liked being in the kitchen with another person.

“You start the bacon,” she said, rising from her seat. She pulled an electric griddle from one of the cabinets and set it in front of Aiden. “I’ll make eggs and toast.”

“Sounds fair.”

Aiden placed several strips of bacon on the griddle while Lucy found the bread in a drawer. Within seconds, the salty scent of bacon filled the kitchen. She placed slices of bread into slots on the toaster. As the bread was being toasted, she turned on the gas burner and heated the pan for the eggs.

“I meant to ask earlier,” he said. “What happened to the Bryant Bros.? I was surprised to see that they’re completely gone.”

“It was the fire,” she said, folding the eggs as they cooked. “They packed up and left.”

“Is that okay with you?” he asked.

It was a very simple question with a very complicated answer. “I didn’t like having all the people and noise and commotion. But I was also counting on the money.”

Lucy turned off the stove. The bacon was ready at the same time as the toast and eggs. She opened one of the cabinets and found a serving bowl for the eggs. In another cabinet, she got platters for everything else.

“What time will your grandfather be back?” Aiden asked.

Lucy looked at the clock on the back of the stove. 6:48 a.m.

He’d been gone longer that she expected. “I’m not sure,” she said. In the distance, she could hear the rumbling engine of the old truck. “Actually, sounds like he’s back now.”

She placed three plates on the table and got out another mug for Grandpa Rusty. Just as she was putting forks next to the plates, the front door opened.

“Who’s driving the fancy car that’s parked over by the barn?” Rusty asked, yelling into the kitchen.