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She tensed but made herself relax. “He figured out right away that being behind me on the horse made me nervous. He asked a lot of personal questions but quit when I didn’t answer. He also talked about the area and his ranch, rather than riding in silence, making me wonder what he was doing. And he told me what I was doing made his horse nervous.” Although the animal wasn’t drenched with sweat when they reached her house, and she had been.
Erin frowned. “So, he’s a smart, friendly guy, who also happens to be really tall and muscular because he throws hay bales around. Is he good looking?”
“Yes. Here, look for yourself.” Wiz pulled out her cell and brought up a society page.
Erin’s eyes went wide. “Whoa. This guy isn’t just a rancher. No rancher wears a suit like that.”
“No. He used to be a fossil fuels analyst on Wall Street. The blonde is a model he dated for a couple of years. Here’s a more recent picture.” She pulled up the page with Tom and Sam.
Erin sat up straight. “Hey, Sam’s been holding out on me.” Her volume rose. “She didn’t tell me she’d dated anybody this hot!”
Ryan returned, putting his hand out. “I gotta see that!”
Erin gave her phone to Ryan. His eyebrows rose. “Sam looks hot, and the dude, Tom, right? He is a pretty good-looking guy. They match.”
Exactly. “Yeah, they do. So why is he bugging me? I don’t do any of that stuff.” Wiz pointed at her phone. The thought of all those strangers made her shudder.
Erin took her phone back from Ryan, frowned at it, then returned it to Wiz. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out. Sam needs to spill. I can’t believe she didn’t tell me and Deb about this guy.”
With the fire going, Ryan sat at the far end of the couch. Erin scooted over, leaning up against him. He put his arm around her, and she slumped a bit to get under his arm. They were such a close couple. Wiz once believed that she had that kind of relationship, but she had been young and stupid.
Erin stared into the fire, then turned to Wiz. “You know, maybe he’s just trying to be neighborly. When you’re way out in the middle of nowhere, sometimes you need to rely on each other. For example, have you thought about who’s going to plow out your driveway this winter? And what you’re going to do if you get, say, three feet of snow? It does happen sometimes.”
“I’ve got a contract with a local company for cutting the grass in the horse-fenced area and for plowing in the winter. They were already contracted to plow the whole access road by the road association.”
Erin put her hand on Ryan’s thigh. “Good. But if we get three feet, the plow guys won’t be out here for a few days. Are you ready for that?”
“Of course. I’ve got food for a year and a 10,000-gallon cistern with fire-fighting water that I can purify for drinking water, plus I’ve got a generator and wind and solar power. I also have a snow machine in the garage, along with a four-wheel drive all-terrain vehicle, the kind that sits two people beside each other. I can survive just fine for six months by myself.”
They both stared at her, then laughed. Ryan shook his head. “Dang. You’re prepared for Armageddon, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” Doing otherwise was silly.
“Maybe they’re not so prepared. Maybe they’d need some help feeding livestock if their ranch hands couldn’t get there. Would you be willing to help them or any of the other neighbors? And what about during a wildfire? Any of the neighbors might need some help. I wouldn’t think you could just sit here and watch everybody else burn, right?” Erin arched her brows.
Shoot. Erin was right. She couldn’t watch the horses and cows starve or burn, or their owners. But the thought of being around any of those big, strong, armed men was terrifying. She gripped the arm rests, trying to stop her trembling.
Erin pulled away from Ryan. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Erin also saw too much. Wiz held up her hand, and Ryan pulled Erin back down.
She swallowed heavily and concentrated on her breathing, sitting with her discomfort rather than avoiding it like she’d prefer. She had to look at it the way Erin stated the problem, as neighbors helping neighbors in an emergency, not as individuals who might attack her. She’d done the research on all her neighbors, and they were good people. While she worked through her issues, Erin and Ryan stared at the fire and sipped their drinks. She was lucky to have such good friends.
She probably needed more, and the neighbors were the right people to start with, but she’d have to talk to her therapist about dealing with large, strong men. “You’re right. If there was a fire or a disaster, I would want to help. But I might not be able to if I don’t know what to do or who to call. And even worse, I might not be able to make myself do anything if I freeze up.”
Erin leaned forward. “Are you in therapy?”
“On-line. I have sessions with a therapist, and I’m active in a survivor’s forum.”
Erin relaxed into Ryan’s hold. “That’s really good. Better than I expected. I’ve had to bug Ryan to go, and he still ‘forgets’ on a regular basis unless I remember for him.” She leveled a sardonic look at Ryan, who frowned at her. “But he’s a guy, so it’s expected.” Ryan’s expression soured, while Erin smirked. “Is your therapist telling you it’s time to move forward?”
“Yes, she’s been saying that for a while. That’s one of the reasons I did the work on your place.” Leaving her house had been so hard, and stopping for fuel was worse. Fortunately, she’d gotten beyond that stage, but she still felt pitifully unprepared for public interaction.
Erin smiled. “And thank you again for doing that. But maybe it’s time to branch out just a little more. I’m sure you wouldn’t be comfortable going out, but would you like to meet a couple of my good friends? You’ve already met Sam, but I don’t think you’ve met Deb from the bakery. I could have them over to my house tomorrow night instead of us going out.”
Wiz considered Erin’s offer. Women would be easier, and she already trusted Sam to some extent. “Why don’t you invite them here? I think I could handle that.”
Erin and Ryan both grinned. “Excellent idea. We’ll just do pizza. I’ll bring all the stuff, you supply the place.”
