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Wiz opened her mouth, but Tom set bowls of beef stew in front of her and Pete. Her stomach rumbled.
“We’ll discuss this again, count on it.” He thumped the table with his forefinger. “But it will be later. I’m starving.” Pete chuckled and picked up his spoon.
Tom returned with another bowl and a basket of rolls. “Water?”
Pete nodded. “That would be good, thanks. Wiz?”
“Yes, please. I can get it.” She breathed in and out steadily, letting her rumbling tummy take over from the anger.
“Nope, I’m already up.” Tom brought glasses for the three of them, then he sat down. They both bowed their heads, evidently in a silent prayer of thanksgiving.
She did the same. She wasn’t religious, but thankfulness was a good trait to cultivate. She spooned up stew. “Wow, this is really good.”
“Yep, we’re masters of the crockpot. We cook everything in that thing.” Pete jabbed his thumb over his shoulder.
“Winter, summer, doesn’t matter. It’s always good to come in off a long day of working to a hot meal.”
“But I still miss Elise’s cooking.” Pete sighed.
“Yeah, Mom was an awesome cook. And her menu was a good bit bigger than ours.”
“Fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, homemade bread, lasagna, mmm.” Both men looked wistful.
“I can make lasagna. It’s not hard.” Wiz took another spoonful.
“Really? You cook?” Tom seemed surprised.
Staying healthy was important, so she had to cook. And she didn’t go to restaurants, and delivery wasn’t available so far from town, so if she wanted a particular dish, she made it. “Not a lot, but there’s some things I know. Lasagna’s one of them. And pizza. I use Erin’s recipe. I eat a lot of salads.”
Tom pushed the basket to her. “The rolls are Deb’s. They’re almost as good as Mom’s.”
“Pretty near.” Pete took a bite of his.
She’d received so much from them already, a dinner was nothing. “I’ll make lasagna next week. I can bring it down and put it in the oven while we ride.”
“We’ll give you ground beef. We have lots and never enough recipes to use it all in. Rusty there, he never eats dog food, just beef.” Rusty’s tail thumped on the floor and Pete grinned.
She scraped the bowl, eating the last bite. But the room closed in, and sweat rolled down her back. Wiz jumped up, her chair scraping across the worn linoleum. “Okay. I should get going, I have work today.”
“Sure, Wiz.” Pete smiled fondly at her. “And since you’re family, you can just come on in anytime. The door is never locked unless we’re gone for a few days. Don’t even knock.”
She’d never be able to say the same. “Thanks. And thanks for dinner.”
“Sure. Come by anytime.” Pete raised his glass.
She took her dishes to the sink and almost turned to leave, but she couldn’t, even with both men sitting at the table with their backs to her. She walked sideways to the door, opened it, and put on her coat. At the exterior door, she surveyed, but no people were evident. Closing the door behind her, she trotted down the steps and strode up the road toward her house, turning to look at the road behind her until she reached the outer gate.
Entering the gates and her front door, she contrasted her show-ready secure house and the Borde home. And that was the difference. They had a home, while she had a house. She sighed and plodded upstairs to work.
Chapter 11
“Well, that went well.” Dad nodded, obviously proud of himself.
He should be. “Way better than I expected. She actually seemed fairly relaxed.” Tom rinsed dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
“Yes, and even though I offered, she didn’t search the entire house, just looked around the kitchen carefully and sat down. Didn’t even ask if the long guns were loaded.”
Tom snorted. “I’m sure she assumed they were.”
