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“That’s if I even end up staying.”
7
RYAN
Like a knife through my chest, her words stopped me mid-thought.
Not going to be there long. That was her intention. She wanted to fix it up and get the hell out of Dodge. Not that I could really blame her. Murdock wasn’t exactly the kind of place an attractive young woman would want to be. It was the exclusive home of retirees, transient cowboys, and people who fell into the quicksand of small-town living and never escaped. I was somewhere between all three of those kinds. I knew better than most that her plan to get in and get out quickly was probably for the best.
Still, I felt wildly disappointed, which I had no right to be. Until today, I didn’t even know this woman existed, and now I was getting sad thinking she wasn’t going to stick around.
“So,” she said, seeming to move on to the next subject as she forked her food, “have you always lived in Murdock? Other than when you were in the service? Is there any advice you can give me?”
“I have,” I said. “Though I spent a long time in the desert, the rest of my time was here. Born and raised, as it were. That said, I’ve only been back in town for six months.”
“Oh, that’s not that long at all,” she said. “Did you grow up in this house?”
“Yup,” I said.
“You might remember my grandparents then,” she said. “We might have even interacted back when I was little.”
“It’s possible,” I said. “I’d guess I’m a few years older than you, so I don’t think we would have played together much as little kids. I don’t figure you would have been into playing football and soldier.”
“Probably not,” she said with a little laugh. “I was more into baby dolls as I recall.”
“Still, we probably would have seen each other, maybe met each other. Small world. I do remember your grandparents, though,” I said. “They were nice people. Very sweet, always looking out for me. Especially after my dad left.”
“Oh,” she said. She wasn’t going to pry, and I wasn’t going to offer a ton of information. But I enjoyed talking to her.
“They checked up on me, I remember. And Mom. I knew they died while I was in the service, but I was still surprised by the state of the place when I moved back home. They always kept it up really well,” I said. “The yard being overgrown was not something your grandfather would have let happen.”
She laughed.
“Yeah, I remember he was a stickler for his yard,” she said. “Didn’t he have a riding lawnmower?”
“I believe so,” I said. “Might still, actually. There’s a shed back there that he would have put it in. Unless the last tenants sold it or something.”
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” she said.
The rest of dinner was a quiet, the initial conversation wearing off a bit as we got food in. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just the silence of two people who didn’t really know each other well and both happened to be pretty hungry. The sound of the rain pelting the windows helped break up the quiet, and added a nice, relaxing atmosphere to the dinner.
When we were all finished, I brought the dishes into the kitchen and rinsed them off, tossing them into the dishwasher. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I invited her into the living room, and she sat on the couch beside my easy chair. I didn’t want to crowd her or seem too familiar, so I took a seat in the chair, popping up the footrest and grabbing the remote.
“I don’t know about you, but rainy nights like this are perfect for bad TV,” I said.
“Agreed,” she said. “I’m probably going to go to sleep pretty soon, though, if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” I said. “I have extra sheets and blankets in the bottom drawer of the dresser in there if you need them.”
She thanked me, and we watched a clip show about people doing stupid things for a while as she began to doze. I could tell she wanted to stay up and be a good guest, but I felt bad for her. She was clearly exhausted, and even though it was barely eight in the evening, she looked like she was about to pass out.
Eventually, after her eyes closed for a few minutes a couple of times, she excused herself to bed, and I wished her good night. We hadn’t talked much once we got in the living room, but it was still nice just to have company. I forgot how lonely I was on a regular basis, having just gotten used to the solitude.
Eventually, I couldn’t fight the tiredness myself anymore and headed into the bedroom, flicking off the TV as I went and tossing the remote onto the couch. I kept the light over the sink on, as usual, so I could come get a glass of water if I wanted or see my way around if I woke up standing somewhere else in the house, coming out of a nightmare. I was hoping that I wouldn’t have one of those as I drifted off to sleep.
