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He smiled. “You must like mesquite trees and wheat pastures, then.”
She chuckled. “There certainly are a lot of mesquite trees, that’s for sure.”
Cal put his arm around her shoulders. “You ready to eat?”
She nodded. “Lead the way, cowboy.”
After they were seated, John led them in prayer.
“Now you pick you out a good steak, honey,” Cora said to Vic.
Vic admired the heaped platters of T-bone steaks, fried potatoes, and green beans. Cal had told her that his mother grew a wonderful garden, and Vic couldn’t wait to taste the fruits of her labor. “Thanks, Cora. I will.”
She forked a medium-sized piece of meat onto her plate and then passed the steaks over to Cal, who was seated next to her. John handed her the green beans, and she served herself an ample portion. The fried potatoes were crispy and looked delicious, and Vic happily added several spoonfuls to her plate.
As they all began to eat, Cora said, “I’m so glad you were able to get time off at the same time as Cal, Vic. That must be hard to do.”
Vic swallowed. “It happens more often than I originally thought it would. We make it work.”
Cal clasped her hand. “We FaceTime and text when we’re both out of town, so it’s hard, but we make the best of it.”
Vic smiled. “We sure do.”
John nodded as if he approved of them, and a wave of warmth swept through her. His parents were really sweet. But then, knowing their son, she hadn’t expected anything else.
She helped Cora with the dishes while Cal went out with his father on the porch to talk about how the ranch was doing.
Cora talked about her garden as she washed the dishes and Vic dried. By the time they were done, Vic had almost convinced herself that she wanted a garden of her own.
She walked outside onto the porch, and Cal got up. The sun had already gone down, and the sky shone orange and red on the horizon. “I’ll bring our suitcases in, honey. And then I’ll show you where we’re sleeping.”
John got up. “I’ll help.”
A few minutes later, Cal led her upstairs to the first bedroom on the right. She smiled as she took a good look around. “It doesn’t look like this has changed much since you were in high school.”
He grinned. “Hey, I took the girlie posters down.”
She picked up a roping trophy and gazed at it. “You were pretty good, huh?”
“I got that when I was a kid, but yeah, I was good. I hated giving it up when I went off to the Marines.” He reached out his hand, and she gave it to him. He smiled as he examined it. “I was so proud of this thing.” He set it carefully back on the shelf.
“The closet’s small, but there’s room for your clothes. The dresser’s mostly empty, so you can put some stuff in there, too.”
She opened her suitcase and began unpacking her clothes. As she put them away in the dresser, she looked in the mirror, frowning as the evening light hit the thin scar across her cheekbone. It was a permanent reminder of her helplessness that terrible day and of how Cal had rescued her.
She sighed and finished putting her clothes away, then hung up what was left.
Cal had put his suitcase on the floor by the window. She guessed that he’d be living out of it and felt a bit guilty. However, she knew that he wouldn’t change a thing about their arrangement if she protested.
When she’d finished, Cal came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Kissing her where her neck met her shoulders, he said, “Hey, beautiful, I’m glad you’re here.”
She put her arms around his. “So am I, honey. I love your parents. They’re such sweet people.”
“I can tell that they really like you too." He kissed her again. "There’s a bathroom up here at the end of the hall. Why don’t you use it to shower, and I’ll shower downstairs?
She nodded. “I’m exhausted. That sounds good.”
Forty-five minutes later, she walked back into the bedroom. Cal was already in bed, and she climbed in beside him. “I realized when I was in the shower that I didn’t even say goodnight to your parents. I hope they don’t think I’m rude.”
