AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t do this unless you are serious. It’s not funny.”
“What if I was serious?”
“We both know better. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late.”
Lena managed to walk away from him, not looking back as she heard his softly hissed curse word under his breath. Yanking on her jacket, she rushed out the front door and began pulling on her gloves, making a beeline for the chickens only to see Jill already there.
“Everything okay this morning?” she said brightly, waving. “I was worried about you.”
“I forgot to set my alarm,” Lena fibbed – and jumped as she heard a door slam from behind her.
Jill looked over her shoulder, and Lena turned to watch Jake marching angrily from the cabin, his breath appearing before him in the cold temperatures like smoke from a dragon that had been taunted to the point he was ready to explode in a fiery rage.
“Problems?”
“He’s not a morning person.”
“Or an afternoon one?”
“Nope,” Lena said simply, not giving an inch. If they would not consider rearranging the cabins, she was just going to have to deal with him, and maybe if they had another moment of politeness like last night, perhaps they could talk or have a real conversation.
“Have you heard any more from his friend who is supposed to be arriving?”
“I haven’t yet.”
“Ah.”
“Do you think that is what is bothering him? I know my husband said he was quite upset last night, and we both saw him storm off…”
“I think he’s got a lot on his mind.”
“Maybe it would do him good to talk to Gideon or my sweet Babe today?”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just a hunch…”
Lena watched him emerge from the barn, carrying an ax, as he disappeared into the forest line in the distance. She nervously swallowed, thinking of those bruises, his injuries, and how they had parted badly not moments ago.
“Let’s go inside,” Jill said quietly. “It’s chilly, and I think I have enough eggs. Maybe we’ll make some French toast since we might have some hungry guys this morning.”
Nodding, she followed her in – hearing the first hollow thuds of the ax hitting wood.I hope he doesn’t hurt himself, she thought morosely.
Almost an hour later, she was lifting the thick slabs of bacon off the baking sheet where they had cooked it in the oven, allowing them to also keep the French toast warm while everyone arrived. The table was laden with food, and Christina suggested having heavy whipping cream for the decadent breakfast since the cows were putting out so much more. She had made several bricks of butter yesterday, and they simply didn’t need more of it yet. Daphne was sauteing some diced apples and cinnamon, and everything was almost ready to go when they heard the first few men walk in the door.
“I thought we were going hunting today?”
“Tomorrow.”
“You hear that, Ortega – hunting tomorrow, not hacking wildly at some log that did nothing to you.”
Lena looked up as she entered the dining room, setting down a few cups of coffee before retreating again. Returning once more, she walked directly behind Jake and reached over him to put the coffee cup down in front of his plate, only to have him look up at her.
“Hey,” she said simply.
“Hi,” he uttered. “Thanks.”
“It’s cold out.”
