Emerging from behind Ivan was a smaller, more Italian-looking version of him. PJ was also dressed lumberjack style, just a much higher-end lumberjack than the ragged jeans and plaid jacket Ivan wore.
“So you’re the infamous Jaden I’ve heard so much about.” PJ stripped off his heavy jacket.
Jaden rose to properly greet Ivan’s older brother. Now prepared for what was about to happen, she opened her arms and PJ engulfed her in what she was affectionately calling the “Rusilko Bear Hug.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” she replied, shivering at his hands against her back. Even through her sweater he felt noticeably cold.
“I hope you’re ready for some bird.” PJ motioned to the deep fryer outside. “You picked a good time to come. Holidays in this house are fantastic.”
Jaden couldn’t help but grin. “Yep, I can’t wait!”
“Good, because—”
“First she has to pass the test,” Ivan interrupted.
“What test?” Jaden asked nervously. Knowing Ivan, it was something completely off the wall.
She looked around, confused. All three Rusilko men glanced at each other and began to laugh.
“Oh yeah, the test. You got ammo downstairs?” John asked.
“Enough, I hope. She’s a greenhorn.” Ivan looked at her and winked. “But I’m sure she’ll do just fine.”
Finally catching the gist of their plan, Jaden’s heart beat faster. She’d never fired a gun, let alone held one. Wiping her sweaty palms along the legs of her jeans, Jaden swallowed her fear, and with a new-found confidence, she replied, “Greenhorn, huh? I’ll show you who’s a greenhorn.”
“That a girl,” John boomed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Looking to his son, he said again, “I think this one’s a keeper.”
“Is that a challenge, Ms. Thorne?” Ivan asked with a grin.
“Of course it’s a challenge. You don’t really think I’m going to let you show me up in front of your family, do you?”
“You’re on.” A sly smirk crept across his face. “But you’ll have to dress warmer than that. Follow me. I have some clothes that should fit you.”
Jaden followed him through the house, detouring past her room and taking a set of stairs to the basement. He paused as they reached the bottom. Turning to look over his shoulder, a look of worry crossed his face. “I should’ve asked this before, but by any chance are you against hunting?”
“I’m not really against it,” Jaden said. “I’ve just never considered trying it. But as you’ve taught me, there’s a first time for everything.”
Seeming satisfied, Ivan nodded and led her farther into the basement. As they turned the corner, she could see why he’d looked so worried only seconds before. The room they now stood in resembled a museum of natural history. Animals and fish of varying shapes, sizes, and species decorated the every inch of the walls that surrounded them. The glassy eyes of wild boars, bears, and buffalo stared back at her. Completing the ensemble of animals was a hammerhead shark that spanned the entire length of one wall.
Nervously, Ivan started to explain. “Some people don’t like fishing and hunting, but they don’t understand that hunters and fishers are huge supporters of conservation.”
“Baby, you don’t have to sell me on this. Hunting isn’t a bad thing if done properly and responsibly. My dad has told me horror stories about poachers he’s caught in the park, and it’s people like that who give hunters a bad name.”
Ivan smiled, his eyes full of relief. “Okay then. On to our wardrobe selection.”
Ivan pulled open a huge armoire, and Jaden could see it was full of heavy cammo clothing. “Hmm, sexy.”
“Baby girl, you could make a chastity belt look sexy,” Ivan teased as he dug in the closet and fished out a jacket and pants for her.
Taking the items, she began to put them on. “What about the guns?”
“You worry about keeping your sexy little ass warm, and let me worry about the rest. I’ll have you from greenhorn to markswoman in no time flat.” Ivan grabbed another cammo outfit from the closet and slipped it on.
Jaden noticed Ivan staring at her with a sexy, mischievous glimmer in his eye as she pulled on the last of her ensemble. “Does this turn you on, Dr. Ivan?” she asked, swaying her hips. “Does seeing a girl in cammo gear make you hard?”
Jaden smiled as she watched a series of emotions flash across his face: lust, frustration, disappointment, and finally resigned amusement. With his family upstairs, he had no opportunity to rip her clothes off and take her hard and fast like he’d done the day before. She shivered just thinking about it.
“Now you’re really gonna get it,” Ivan said, grabbing Jaden by the ass and pulling her to him before crushing his lips to hers and biting them a little.
“I hope so,” she said breathlessly as she pulled back and started toward the stairs, swaying her hips once again.
They returned to the kitchen where the entire family greeted her with a round of applause. Enjoying the moment, Jaden did a three-sixty, modeling the oversized brown-and-green outfit, and ended with a curtsy.
Noticing that only Ivan, John, and Elise had donned their camouflage, Jaden asked, “Are you two not coming with us?”
Leaning lazily against the counter, PJ looked as if he could fall asleep on the spot. “I’m still recovering from the drive this morning. I think I’d better sit this one out.”
“I wasn’t born with John’s hunting enthusiasm,” Marie added. “I’ll stay behind and start supper.”
“So are we all ready to go?” John asked, taking a goofball stance and squeezing Jaden’s shoulder.
“Only if you are,” Jaden replied with as much confidence as she could gather.
The four cammo warriors then bustled through the front door and into the cold, crisp November morning. Puffs of steam rose up through the air every time Jaden exhaled, but the cold against her exposed skin was a welcome reprieve from the overheated feeling the snowsuit created.
“Whew,” Jaden breathed, catching Ivan’s eye.
“You’ll thank me later,” he promised as he hurried past her with an armful of gear. Following closely on his heels, Gia pranced around happily as the men loaded the gear into the back of yet another Jeep.
Grabbing Jaden by the hand, Elise dragged her toward the Jeep. “Come with me. You and I can sit in the front and chat. The men can sit in the back with that idiot dog of theirs.”
Stifling a laugh, she followed Elise into the car. Sure enough, after loading the remainder of the gear, Ivan and John, along with Gia, piled in the back. With the flick of the key, Elise started the Jeep and tore out of the driveway. House after house passed by in a blur, until eventually they reached the outskirts of town and miles of dense woods. Clad in cammo and carrying a small arsenal in the back of the Jeep, Jaden couldn’t help but wonder if she’d seen this in a movie somewhere.
“So Jaden,” Elise said, breaking the silence that had settled over them. “Why my brother? I mean, look at him. What would you want a scruffy bear like that for?”
“Elise…” Ivan groaned from the back.
Elise flashed him a smile in the rearview mirror, and Jaden turned to give him one of her own. Ivan’s sister must’ve prepared a mental list of questions in advance, because no sooner did she answer one than another immediately followed. She did her best to answer with humor and wit, and she was rewarded with a broad grin and nod of approval from Ivan, who now leaned forward, listening intently to what she had to say.
When the inquisition finally came to an end, Elise slid a disc into the CD player. Neil Young blasted through the speakers, accompanying them along the final leg of their trip. Jaden could tell by the way the men carried on that John, much like Ivan, had a passion for music. Settling back in her seat, Jaden listened to Ivan, John—and Neil—belt out the lyrics to “Heart of Gold.”
Chapter 24
“Country Roads”
AS THEY ENTERED THE FOREST PRESERVE and drew near t
heir destination, Jaden looked around nervously, fighting the butterflies that had returned with a vengeance. This was it--there was no more fooling around. Remembering Ivan’s words on the plane about being a good shot to impress his father, she knew this might be her only chance to truly fit in.
Elise pulled the Jeep up to the front of a small cabin, and two more chocolate labs emerged from the woods to bombard them with excitement as they piled out of the car.
“Okay, Jaden, this is where we’re gonna do some shooting,” John said in a serious tone. “This is a buddy’s house, but just to warn you, this is real country living out here, so don’t be offended by anything that’s said.”
Having known a few roughnecks back in Colorado, Jaden now gave John a reassuring shoulder squeeze. “No worries. I’m not offended that easily.”
Ivan joined the ladies and escorted them up to the door as Gia and the other labs headed into the woods for some exercise. “I’ll get everything from the car,” he said. “Go get warm, and Elise, keep her safe.”
He jogged off in the direction of the Jeep to help his father, and Jaden’s curiosity got the best of her. “What does he mean keep me safe?” she asked. “What was he talking about?”
“Ignore my brother,” Elise said, directing Jaden through the front door. “Van’s the man.”
“Who’s Van?”
“My dad’s friend. He’s the real McCoy.”
Entering the cabin, Jaden discovered even more animals mounted on the wall, but she also noticed beautifully handcrafted wood furnishings. Apparently Van was a carpenter of sorts. A noise behind her alerted Jaden to the presence of another person, and she turned to find a short man with a full beard and grayish black hair as long as Ivan’s. He sported a Pittsburgh Steelers shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans.
“You son of a bitch, comin’ out here and harassing my dogs,” he yelled as Ivan’s dad burst through the front door carrying a load of gear.
“Now behave, gnome,” John warned. “We have company today.”
Van turned to look at Jaden and did a double take. “I thought you were Ivan with long hair. He’s turned into a stone dweller since moving to Miami.” He extended his hand. “The name’s Van. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure’s all mine,” Jaden said, shaking his hand. “I love your home, and the wood furniture is beautiful.”
“Ah, it’s a hobby.” Van shrugged off the compliment. “Are you a stone dweller too?”
“Oh, hell, no,” Jaden quickly clarified. “I’m from Colorado originally, so I’ve spent more than my fair share of time in the woods. I only recently moved to Miami.”
“So you’re a concrete cowgirl then, eh? But the big question is, can you shoot?”
Not knowing what to say next, Jaden returned his shrug. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“I got a fire started out back, and everything’s set up. Heaven forbid if the stone dweller had to set it up. Speaking of, where is Ivan?”
“He’s getting the rest of the stuff from the car,” Elise answered.
Van motioned for them to follow. Heading downstairs, they entered a room full of machines and carbides brimming with fermenting beer and wine. Recognizing the bottles from the Rusilkos’ house, Jaden realized this must be where the wine-making magic happened. They stepped through a set of doors and into the freezing cold of Van’s snow-covered backyard. A bonfire roared, and to the left of it sat an old cooler and a wooden bench. To the right was Ivan, fumbling around with some contraption that resembled a catapult and cursing quietly to himself.
“You okay over there, city boy?” Van called.
“Better than you, old man.” Ivan finished whatever he was doing and jogged over to the fire to shake Van’s hand and thank him for allowing them to be there.
“Who’s shooting?” Ivan asked. “Besides Jaden, of course.” With an arm around her waist, he led her to the catapult.
“Today’s for the young’uns,” Van announced. “We’re just gonna sit back and watch, right, John?”
Ivan and Elise gave each other a knowing look as Van and their dad took up residence on the bench beside the fire. “‘Sit back and watch’ is code for ‘open the cooler and pass me a drink,’” Elise half-whispered as she passed.
Ivan presented Jaden with a shotgun and proceeded to give her a crash course on shooting, while Elise readied the bright orange clay pigeons.
“Okay, baby girl, here’s what you do, I’ll load it, and you push it into your shoulder like this.” Standing behind her, Ivan showed her how the gun should feel in her hands.
With his body pressed close to hers, Jaden let her mind momentarily drift to images of Ivan and what she wished he were doing back there, but when said something about taking off the safety, she regained her focus.
“When you’re ready, click this lever forward and say ‘Pull!’ Elise will pull the string, and that orange disk over there will go flying. Aim in front of it and shoot. The disk will fly into the path of the pellets. Remember, shotguns shoot a spray, so as long as you’re close, you’ll nail it.”
Feeling the pressure, Jaden frowned and whispered, “Pray for me.”
“No matter how you shoot, baby girl, you look fantastic in that horrible outfit,” Ivan said with a sultry grin.
“Here we go,” came the announcement from the bench. John sat up and hoisted a glass of wine into the air. “To Jaden!”
“To Jaden,” Van and the others chimed in.
She tried to mentally prepare herself. Gripping the gun, she jammed it into her right shoulder, shut her left eye, and yelled pull. Elise yanked the string, sending the orange disk soaring through the sky and across the backyard. Jaden’s heart raced, time stood still, and she pulled the trigger, creating an explosion of noise and fire and a burning odor as the gun kicked back mercilessly into her shoulder.
Everyone watched as the disk’s flight was interrupted by the spray of pellets, and it exploded in midair. Oh, my freaking God, Jaden half thought and half whispered to herself, surprised by the rush of shooting the gun. Holy shit, I can’t believe I did it! Turning to face the group, which sat with looks of amazement on their faces, she dropped the gun to her side and played the Dirty Harry role to a tee. “Is that all you got?”
Not one of them had a snappy comeback, so Jaden screeched, “Oh, my God!”
Ivan rushed to her side for what she thought would be a congratulatory hug, but instead, he snagged the gun and put on the safety.
“Don’t want you to go two for two on killing things just yet,” he said. Setting the gun back on the ground, he swept her into his arms. “That was amazing, baby girl. You couldn’t get any more perfect.”
“Not bad for a city dweller, eh?” Jaden asked, pausing to admire his neon orange knit hat.
“City dweller? I thought you were from Colorado,” Ivan teased. He turned to address the peanut gallery on the bench. “It’s your turn to shoot, Mr. Backwoods Mountain Man.”
“I can’t, already had a drink.” Van lifted the glass high for Ivan to see and looked more than a little relieved.
“What about you, doc?” Jaden scoffed. “You’re all talk, but I don’t see you stepping up to take a shot or two.”
“Or two, eh? I’ll show you how it’s done. Load two,” he said, turning to Elise.
“Big man, showing off in front of the ladies,” his father jeered. “Fifty bucks says that pretty little girlfriend of yours is a better shot.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ivan said, smiling at his dad with a gleam in his eye.
Jaden looked from Ivan back to the men on the bench and smiled a wobbly smile. Hearing John use the word girlfriend warmed her, and seeing how they’d all unquestioningly welcomed her into their life was enough to bring tears. She fought hard to hold them back and returned her gaze to Ivan, who now planted his feet in the snow and steadied himself. Putting the gun to his shoulder, he aimed and yelled the magic word.
“Pull!”
Two large cra
cks echoed in the air around them, and Ivan fired off two shots. The bright orange disks continued to fly through the air, landing in one piece fifty yards away in the snow. Ivan stood motionless, likely knowing this was something he was never going to live down. Not only would this traumatic event haunt him for the rest of the weekend, but the tale of this disaster could quite possibly follow him back to Miami. Jaden shook her head, almost feeling sorry for the guy as he slowly turned around. He faced the silent crowd, and then it began.
“You should be embarrassed, stone dweller. Boo! Even Gia can shoot better than that,” Van offered.
Ivan kept his head down and headed straight for Jaden. She opened her arms to comfort him. “It’s okay, baby. I still think you’re sexy—effeminate, but sexy.” Not able to hold off any longer, she let him have it with a side-splitting laugh.
Bowing his head in defeat, Ivan took the harassment with good nature, as usual. “Okay, Elise, grab me the Midnight Rider.”
Elise bolted to the car and returned with what looked to be a wartime weapon. Ivan took the gun from her and loaded it.
“Okay, baby girl, since you already passed round one, this is the grand finale.” Ivan handed Jaden the assault rifle and gave her another quick lesson. He pointed to an orange and black target that hung from a tree. “It’s the same rules as last time, only we’ll be aiming for that target instead of the disks. Just point and click, but don’t stop pulling the trigger until you’re out of ammo. You have a round of twenty shots.”
“Seriously?” Jaden asked as she placed the earmuffs Ivan offered over her ears, blocking out the sounds of the jeering men and muffling his voice.
“Yes,” he assured her. “This is the fun part.”
Feeling all eyes on her, Jaden lifted the gun to her shoulder and took a deep breath. “Here we go.”
She took aim like the last time, and Jaden looked down the barrel of the gun at the target flapping in the breeze. Expecting the same reaction, she tensed up and pulled the trigger. But with an ear-stabbing screech and no kick, the first bullet set sail, startling Jaden with its volume despite her ear protection. She could see Ivan motioning for her to keep firing. Letting her inhibitions go, she focused on the sensation of shooting the semiautomatic. Excitement coursed through her as round after round flew through the air.
The Winemaker's Dinner: Appetizers (The Winemaker's Feast) Page 18