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“Wow, this place looks awesome!” Ryan turned and twisted.
Erin did the same. “You’ve made it feel cozy even though it’s huge. Nice.”
“Thanks. A lot of that was hiring the right interior decorator.” She let them examine the cavernous, open-plan living area. Leather couches and chairs faced the big windows showcasing her view of the Bitterroot Mountains, while a gigantic screen, surrounded by smaller screens, was the focal point of her gaming area on the side of the house facing into the hillside. Native American rugs softened the slate floors, and baskets and pots provided a homey feel. “Come on back to the patio, and I’ll show you what I had done to the rest of the place.”
She pointed, then followed them past the natural rock double-sided fireplace rising to the roof, separating the living area from the dining area and kitchen, to the back door and out to the covered patio. “Ryan, there’s a fridge in the bar over there for the beer and a wine rack on top.”
Erin grinned. “This is super nice. Outclasses my little outdoor kitchen by a long shot.”
“I had to do something that fit the scale of the house. I’d rather have your house, with a few modifications, rather than this huge showplace, but all in all, it’s worked out pretty well.” She turned to Ryan, who stood by the fridge.
“This is really cool.” Ryan popped the top off a beer, putting it between his knees rather than trying to use his grasper on something large, round, and potentially slippery.
Wiz shrugged. She had nothing to do with the original construction and only gave her designers ideas, so she couldn’t take credit for any of it. She crossed the rest of the patio, stopping in front of the two-bedroom guest house. “I didn’t do much to the guest house, just had it painted and added more lighting and furnishings. The original owners said they built the guest house first, when they were just coming up here for a week or two at a time. They built the big place after they retired and moved here full-time, but it got too cold in the winter, and now they live in Arizona full-time.”
“Yuck. I can’t stand that place.” Ryan, hand in hand with Erin, walked to the guest house in front of her. One of the many reasons she liked them—they remembered to not lurk behind her, even in her own house.
Ryan opened the front door but didn’t go in. “Much better than it looked when we originally toured it last year.” Erin closed the door.
“I’ll show you the rest of the improvements after dinner if you want.” Wiz backed away, letting them precede her to the outdoor kitchen.
“That would be great.” Erin reclaimed Ryan’s real hand. “You’ve done a lot. It was way too formal before.”
Ryan bent around Erin. “Do you want me to grill?”
Another reason she liked Ryan—he stayed busy and away from her. “Sure. Thanks. Make sure you keep the wooden markers in the steaks though.”
“My pleasure.” He grinned. “You know, meat, fire, beer—that’s all it takes to make a man happy.”
“I wish that was true.” After she came back from her last deployment, she’d tried everything she was capable of, but nothing worked with Jeff. She was too damaged to give her former husband the attention he needed. Her therapists all told her that was his problem, not hers, but failing was hard.
Ryan’s smile turned upside down. “I’m sorry, Wiz.”
She held up both hands. “No, no. Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who broke the mood. I’m sorry.”
“I should have thought about my words.” He shrugged. “I was so happy to see you smile earlier. I’ve missed that.” He worked the grill controls.
Wiz turned to the oven, which she’d preheated, and slid the flatbread and the par-cooked veggies inside. They should be done at the same time as the steaks. “Erin, there’s a salad in the fridge with dressing if you’d like to pull that out.”
“Sure.” Once those tasks were done, she and Erin sat down, while Ryan stood at the grill, sipping his beer. “What have you been doing lately? Any more rescued ranchers?” Erin chuckled.
Wiz held back a shiver. “No, I’ve been mostly working. I have way too much work to do and more offers than I can possibly handle. I’ve had to turn a lot of people away.”
“I guess that’s a good problem to have, but it does put you in a bind as far as your company’s reputation, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. I’m not sure what to do. I want to keep working on specialty items only and not the basic programming people want from me. I’d like to turn some of my routine clients over to other companies.”
“Maybe you should consider licensing some of your software, kind of like a franchise or a subcontract?” Ryan opened the grill, stepping away from the smoke and steam.
The meaty, charred scent of seared steak made her mouth water. “I’ve thought about that, but then I’d get stuck with oversight, which means even less time for serious programming. Quality control isn’t my favorite thing to do either.”
“Hmm.” Erin sipped a glass of water. “Maybe you’ll just have to grow your company? Are there people you know from the Air Force you trust?”
Wiz let her nose wrinkle. “Maybe. I’ve kept in touch with some of my former co-workers, but most of them are either still in, or they work for one of the big companies, like Microsoft or Google. But I really don’t want to be more than a one-person company. I don’t want to be a boss. Even contracting other people makes me a boss.”
“So, you need to find a business person to run that side, a manager you can trust. That’s going to be tough.” Erin tapped her bottle and stared into the distance. “Wish I knew someone with the right skills, but I don’t.”
Wiz nodded her head, glumly. They’d confirmed everything she’d already considered, but it was good to know she wasn’t just being pessimistic.
