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There was a long, drawn-out, uncomfortable silence and then, “Well thank fuck.”
I snorted. “Is that why you’re so hostile toward me? Because of her?”
“Ellen has gone out of her way to make my life a living hell since I could remember,” she answered. “She went to college with us. Had to drop out of the program because of her grades. But she heard that I get accommodations on tests and stuff due to my”—she gestured at herself— “shit, and she got mad because she wanted those accommodations, too. She started working at the vet clinic halfway through college, and then I had to deal with her after she got kicked out because of her grades. And let’s just say, she never lets anyone escape without knowing what kind of person I am.”
“And what is that?” I rumbled, angry all of a sudden at a person that I’d never had a problem with before, all because of hearing what she’d done to Matilda.
My voice sounded dangerous, and I could tell that she heard the underlying tone to it, too, because she flinched.
“It’s culturally unacceptable to repeat the words she uses,” she admitted. “Let’s just say, Aspie, or Asperger’s isn’t what she said.”
I had a feeling I knew what word she was trying to work her way around.
“I haven’t noticed that from her,” I admitted. “That’s not to say that I haven’t noticed that she’s quite difficult to be around. I just assumed that was her personality.”
“Well, from what I understand, she’s a good worker,” Matilda admitted, sounding much nicer about it than I would’ve been had the roles been reversed. “I’m not asking you to fire her. FYI.”
I knew she wasn’t.
I got more comfortable on the boards, then took another heaping bite of beans and weenies.
“I haven’t had something like this since I was in first grade and was forced to find my own food,” I reminisced. “I got more adept at cooking as the years went by, but this definitely was one of those things that I always fell back on. Though, saying that, I can’t even tell you the last time that I had it.”
“They’re good,” she agreed. “And they have a good blend of ingredients that are semigood for you, filling, and don’t cost an arm and a leg.”
I had a feeling that it was more the latter reasons she was eating them, and not the former.
I’d make sure to buy her double the amount of food she needed tomorrow to make up for it. This time, getting more eclectic foods, like mac and cheese or something.
I finished my first bowl, then went into my second as I said, “Not that I’m denying you staying here or anything, but I really do have an extra room you can use.”
She shrugged. “I’ve camped a lot in this van. Since nobody that I know likes to do it, I spent a whole lot of my time doing it on my own. I take a trip hiking every year. Last year I went to Mount Rainier and Zion National Park. This year, I plan on going to Yellowstone. Let’s just say, this van has seen more sleeps in it than most people can say about their beds in their homes.” She paused. “More than you’ve slept in your rental.”
My lips quirked up at that. “Touché.”
But still, the thought of her being out here all alone with no one to protect her…
If she was going to be stubborn and live here, then I was going to make sure that I protected her however I could.
Tomorrow, I would contact KD about getting some surveillance cameras set up. I would write it off as a precaution for the jobsite, seeing as there were other places being hit around town by opportunistic thieves.
She’d be upset, but it would help me keep her safe. Since she was stubborn and likely would be doing what she wanted, despite what I thought about it all.
Full of beans and weenies, I handed the bowl back to her as I said, “I’d offer to wash it, but then there’s no telling when you’d get it back.”
She took it with a small smile.
One that I’d never seen directed my way before.
I liked it. I liked it a lot.
“Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
I grinned, then sighed before leaning back all the way on the wood.
I loved being outside.
I loved even more that I was outside, smelling the hint of sawdust and pine.
I’d missed the smell. As in, I’d dreamed about having it back.
It was amazing the things that you missed when you didn’t have access to them anymore. Who the hell knew that I’d be thinking about the smell of sawdust on the inside?
“How did your meeting with your family go last week?” she asked, breaking the silence.
I allowed my head to loll to the side so I could see her where I’d stretched out on the stack of wood.
