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In the city she’d gone out a lot, and eaten frozen dinners even more, but at least she could make a basic breakfast. That simple skill might keep her out of trouble for awhile.
Fifteen minutes later, she gritted her teeth and rang the bell, then she finished up the eggs and brought the food out to the table. The eggs had been a little strange—red spots in them. Was that normal? She was afraid she’d look foolish for asking so she’d just cooked them up.
If she hadn’t been so hungry herself, she didn’t think she’d have the will to demean herself in this way.
She’d already fixed her plate with a biscuit and strawberry jam, some eggs, bacon, and orange juice. She wasn’t about to touch that milk. It probably wasn’t even pasteurized. She was already eating when the men arrived. If she was going to slave and cook for them, she’d fucking eat whenever she damn well felt like it. Unless Luke gave her that scary look again and ordered her not to.
“Will tells me you’ve met him,” Luke said as the guys came up. “These other two are Jake and Robert.” He didn’t seem put off by her eating. If anything, he seemed impressed by her healthy appetite.
“Ma’am,” they said with a nod, tipping their hats. Robert was about Luke’s age and tall with a deep tan and sun-streaked blond hair. Jake had dark hair like Luke’s, but blue eyes, in place of Luke’s inscrutable dark brown.
This was surreal.
“Is this everybody? I set six places. There were six chairs.”
“Trish always thought the table looked uneven with five chairs,” Robert said.
Luke’s face darkened.
“Uh, sorry, let’s eat.”
“Where’s the maple syrup?” one of the guys asked.
Veronica looked up. “I-I didn’t know. There aren’t any pancakes or waffles.”
“Ya made biscuits,” Will said. “This is Vermont. Maple syrup with breakfast may as well be a state law.”
“I’ll get it,” Luke said, scooting his chair back. “Finish your breakfast, Ronnie.”
The men mostly ignored her during breakfast, instead talking about things she couldn’t begin to fathom, speaking about machinery and tools she’d never heard of and what needed to be done before dark. She quietly observed them to see who might prove to be an ally. Who could get her off Hell Ranch?
Even as she thought it, she wasn’t believing it. Despite the Neanderthal treatment, this place wasn’t hell—at least not yet. The sun was shining and a breeze was blowing. When she finished eating, while the guys were talking, she watched the clouds as they lazily rolled by in the enormous sky. Part of her wanted to lay in the grass under it, but it probably wasn’t on Luke’s list of things for her to do today.
“Ronnie, we’ll have lunch about three thirty. Just soup and sandwiches is fine. It doesn’t have to be anything big since we’re eating breakfast so late,” Luke said. There was no condemnation there, just a statement.
“Sure,dear,” she said, sarcastically. He was, after all, speaking to her as if she were his little farm wife who lived to do her part with the laundry and the baking.
Everyone dropped their forks.
“Sir,” Luke said.
“Nobody else here calls yousir.”
“That’s because nobody else here is my piece of ass.”
“I’m not your piece of anything.” She turned to the others. “He has me here against his will. You’re all accessories to kidnapping. Kidnapping is a felony. You’re all going to prison when you get caught.” She spoke slowly, careful to enunciate for the lower IQs in the audience.
“She’s feisty. Good job,” Jake said.
They all went back to eating and Luke raised an eyebrow at her. “Sure,sir,” he said, not about to let it go.
“I’m not saying that.”
“Who wants to see Ronnie get her ass blistered?”
The guys looked up, lecherous expressions on their faces.
“Sure,sir.”.
