by Wilder, L.
“Hey … is there any of that apple pie left?”
He laughed as he answered, “You’re kidding, right?”
“Dammit, man. She made two this time! You couldn’t save one piece for me?”
“Oh, quit your damn belly aching. It’s not my fault that Mrs. Sue made them taste so damn good.”
“What about the meat loaf? Did you eat all that, too?”
“Maybe.”
“And the chicken spaghetti?”
“Why don’t you just go in the kitchen and find you something to eat?” T-Bone fussed.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Crow grumbled. “I’ll find me something later. I’m going to bed.”
With that, he went into his room and shut the door. As I got out of bed and put my clothes on, I could hear T-Bone stirring around in the kitchen. Before I left the bedroom, I pulled the quilt over Tate and Reece, who were both still fast sleep when I left the room. As soon as I made it downstairs, I went over to my computer and logged on. I’d installed a firewall on my laptop, much like the one I’d put on Reece’s laptop and all of our burners, so no one could track my activity whenever I was online. It was the only way I could be certain that our location wouldn’t be compromised as I checked to see if there had been any new developments with Navarro’s case. I had just started to look through the police database when T-Bone walked up behind me and asked, “Whatcha doing, brother?”
“Just checking in with things back at home.”
“Everything good?”
“From what I can tell, it looks like things are pretty quiet.”
“That’s good,” he answered with his mouth full.
When I turned around, I saw that he was chowing down on a piece of Sue Ellen’s apple pie. “I thought the pie was all gone.”
“Nope. There’s still some left in the kitchen.” T-Bone snickered as he said, “I hid it in the oven.”
“That’s just wrong, man.”
“I know, but I couldn’t help myself. Crow is too easy to fuck with.”
Changing the subject, I asked, “Is Gunner out front?”
“Yeah, he took over for Rider about half an hour ago.”
“And Murphy?”
“He’s out back.” After he ate his last bite of pie, he put his plate down and said, “I’m about to go do a perimeter check, and then I’m gonna go help Jed in the barn. He’s got a mare about to deliver. I thought I’d see if he needed a hand.”
“Sounds good. Just give me a shout if you two need any help.”
“Will do, brother.” Before he walked out of the door, he glanced back over to me and said, “Hey, tell Reece not to worry with the dishes. Rider’s gonna take care of them when he gets up.”
Reece had a habit of going behind the brothers and picking up after them. She’d also taken it upon herself to keep things cleaned up around the cabin. While we all appreciated it, it wasn’t her job to take care of us. “I’ll let her know.”
Once he was gone, I pulled up the previous night’s security footage. After I scanned through the entire night’s activity, I grabbed my burner and called Gus to let him know how things were going. He was pleased to hear that all was well, especially since we had another four weeks to go before the trail. Before he hung up, he mentioned that he and Moose might come up for a bit. I was quick to inform him that there was a big cold front coming in, and over the next few days, we were expecting well over a foot of snow. As soon as he heard the word snow, he canceled his travel plans, then reminded me to make sure we were stocked up on supplies. Before we ended the call, I assured him we would. So, I grabbed my boots by the front door and pulled them on. I was on my way out to the wood pile when Murphy called out to me, “Yo, Riggs! Where you headed?”
“I was gonna check the firewood situation. With that storm coming in, I wanted to make sure we had enough to see us through the week.”
“Jed already took care of it. There’s enough over there to last us the rest of the month.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. Jed always seems to be one step ahead.”
Murphy chuckled under his breath as he agreed, “No more than Sue Ellen. Hell, she keeps everybody on their toes.”
“Yes, she does, but I figure that’s a good thing when you’re living up here.” When I spotted T-Bone walking down to Jed’s place, it reminded me that we needed to go food shopping. “We’re running low on supplies. I was thinking I’d take Reece and Tate into town and grab a few things.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Call if you think of anything you want us to pick up.”
“Will do.” When I turned to leave, he said, “Hey, you might wanna run by Jed’s and see if they need anything.”
“Already planning on it.” As I headed back up to the house, I told him, “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
I went inside and found Reece at the kitchen sink washing dishes while Tate sat in his highchair eating cereal. She was already fully dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, and she had her hair pulled up in a ponytail. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “You know you don’t have to do that.”
“I don’t mind.”
“That’s not the point. The guys can clean up their own damn mess.”
“I’m just trying to help out a little.” I could hear the guilt in her voice as she said, “They’re up here because of me. Washing a few dishes is the least I could do for putting them out like this.”
“Reece, they are up here because they want to be.”
“Well, I’m sure they all have plenty of other places they’d rather be than here, so if it’s all right with you, I’m going to do the dishes and whatever else I can to make things easier for them while we’re here.”
“Suit yourself.” I kissed her on the neck, then turned to Tate. “Hey, buddy. You got any of that cereal left for me?”
He grabbed a handful and offered it to me as he babbled, “Umm.”
“Thanks, buddy.” I took the cereal from his hand and tossed it in my mouth. “That’s some good stuff right there.”
Reece looked over her shoulder and said, “He’s about to finish off the last box.”
“We can get some more when we go into town.”
“We?”
“Yeah. If you’re up for it. We need to get some supplies before that snow rolls in.”
“I’m definitely up for it. It would be nice to get out for a bit.” While she dried off her hands, she said, “Just give me a minute to grab Tate’s diaper bag.”
While Reece gathered their things, I let T-Bone and the others know we were leaving, and as I expected, they each had their own list of stuff for us to pick up. As soon as Reece and Tate were ready, we got in the SUV and drove over to Jed’s to see if they needed anything. It didn’t come as a surprise that Jed had already been to town, and they didn’t need anything. Just as we were leaving, she reminded us that it was an hour’s drive into town and offered to keep Tate while we were gone. He could be a handful, so we were both a little reluctant, but she reminded us that she’d gotten plenty of experience with her boys and could handle him for a few hours. Knowing he’d have a much better time with her, we both agreed to let him stay.
We hadn’t been on the road long when Reece looked over to me and asked, “Why do the guys call you Riggs?”
“It’s just my road name. We’ve all got one.”
“Yeah. I realize that, and I get most of them. I mean, T-Bone is easy. He’s a big, bald-headed guy who actually looks like a T-Bone, and then there’s Rider. He’s been on a motorcycle since he was seven, so that makes sense. Crow has that jet-black hair and all those tattoos, and Gunner was in the military. I understand the names where they’re concerned, but you and Murphy? I just don’t see where they came from.”
I laughed, then said, “Wait a minute. You’re just a hair off-base with some of those. Daren has a dark look about him, and I guess that’s partly why we named him Crow, but it’s not the only reason. Crows ar
e known to be tricksters just like him. The guy is always up to something.”
“Okay. What about the others?”
“Rider is kind of our tag along. He’s always willing to ride anywhere at any time, and you were kind of right about Gunner. He was in the military, and he’s one of the best shots around, but he has this bad habit of getting shot … a lot. It’s like he’s got a target on his back or something.”
“How many times has he been shot?”
“More times than I can count.” I teased. “But he’s always managed to get back on his feet.”
“Well, I guess there’s that.” She laughed with a playful shrug. “I might not have been exactly right about their names, but you have to admit I was close.”
“You were very close. I’m actually kind of surprised that you haven’t figured out how Murphy got his. Over these past few weeks, haven’t you noticed that he has this thing where he always planning for the worst to happen … like if something could go wrong, it will go wrong?”
“Oh, my God. Murphy’s Law. I can’t believe I missed that.”
“He’s been like that since I met him. Always planning. Always thinking one step ahead. That’s what makes him such a great sergeant-at-arms. He’s always prepared for anything.” I chuckled under my breath as I told her, “I’m not sure who came up with the name, but it sure as hell fits.”
She turned and looked at me with a curious expression. “And yours?”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but unlike the other guys, there’s no great story behind mine.” I let out a deep breath as I continued, “My brothers started calling me Riggs when they saw all the different hard drives, network boards, and other gadgets I used for hacking. At first, they wanted to know how it all worked, but none of them really understood what I was talking about, much less what I was doing with them. Eventually, they’d just tell me to ‘rig’ up something to get us out of a bind, and when I did, they started calling me Riggs.”
“If you ask me, I think it’s a great name and a great story behind it … but if it’s all the same to you, I’m just going to keep calling you Jackson.”
“Baby, you can call me anything you want.”
She giggled as she asked, “What about pumpkin or sweet cheeks?”
“I was thinking more along the lines of stud or sexy beast.”
“Oh, I could definitely get behind stud muffin.” She giggled.
“Stud muffin?”
“Or we could just stick with Jackson. Whatever you think.”
“I’ll tell you what, you can call me whatever you want, but be prepared for me to do the same for you, sugarplum.”
She cringed as she said, “Oh God no! Sugarplum is just bad. Really, really bad.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Give me some time. I’ll come up with something.”
“Um-hmm, I’m sure you will.” She laughed. “Just try to steer away from anything that starts with sugar.”
“I’ll do my best.”
When I glanced over at her and saw the smile on her face, I couldn’t imagine anything more beautiful. Reece was my kind of perfect, and I’d known it from the first moment I laid eyes on her. I could search the world over and I’d never find anyone who could compare to Reece, who could make my life so utterly complete, and I had every intention of holding on to her. If ever I’d done anything right in my life, it was giving my heart to Reece Winters.
18
Reece
After driving for over an hour, Jackson and I finally made it into town—if you could call it that. Other than a few small, dilapidated houses, there was only a single four-way stop with a post office on one side of the street and a family grocery store and a small general store on the other. As soon as we got out of the truck, I caught a glimpse of Jackson’s gun in his back holster. It was something I’d gotten used to over the past month or so. I knew why he had it. It was the same reason all the guys carried weapons—to keep Tate and me safe—so I didn’t give it a second thought as we made our way into the grocery store. When we walked in, I was pleased to see that people seemed a little friendlier than when we first arrived. We even got a smile or two before we grabbed our cart and started down the aisle. Jackson, on the other hand, was too focused on the long list of food and supplies to notice the change in their demeanor. We were making our way down the list when he stopped in front of the cereal section. He stood there for several moments, studying all the different options, and it was clear by the expression on his face that he was struggling with what to buy. While I found it adorable that he was putting so much thought into it, I could see that he needed some help.
“Are you looking for something specific?”
“They’re out of the kind that Tate likes, and I can’t decide between the Fruit Loops with marshmallows or the knockoff brand of what we usually get.”
“Tate isn’t picky about his cereal, Jackson. Anything will be fine.”
“You sure?”
“I’m positive,” I replied as I took one of the boxes from the shelf and tossed it into the cart. “Now, what’s next on the list.”
As he reached for another, he asked, “What about honey buns?”
“For breakfast?”
“No.” He smirked as he answered, “For your nickname.”
“Umm … no.”
“Well, damn. Now, I’m craving honey buns.”
After grabbing a couple boxes, he placed them in the cart and we moved down to the canned vegetables. Thankfully, we found everything we needed pretty quickly but got a little caught up at the snack aisle. As soon as Jackson made it over to the cracker section, he froze, and that same puzzled expression crossed his face. I waited for a moment, then asked, “Peanut butter or cheese?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t put it on the list.”
“Then, why not buy both? It’s not like T-Bone won’t eat them.”
“Good point.”
After grabbing several of each, he tossed them in the cart and asked, “How about you’re the jelly to my peanut butter?”
“That may be the worst one yet.”
“Really? I didn’t think it was all that bad.”
“That would be like me saying you’re the salt to my pepper.”
“Oh, that’s a good one.”
“All these crazy nicknames are starting to make me question your sanity.”
“You love it, and you know it.” He teased as he started towards the freezer section. “How about snickerdoodle?”
“No.”
“What’s wrong with snickerdoodle? They’re all sweet and—”
“Jackson,” I warned.
He chuckled as he held up his hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay.”
Thankfully, he gave the nickname hunt a break as we finished up our shopping. By the time we were done, we had two carts filled with enough food to feed an army. When we reached the register, I looked over to him and asked, “Are you sure we didn’t forget anything?”
“Yeah. We have everything we need from here, but we still gotta go next door to grab a few things.”
“Okay, and then what?”
“There’s a little diner up the road. I thought we’d grab a bite to eat before heading back.”
“But what about the groceries?”
“It’s twenty-five degrees outside so I’d say we’re good.”
“And you think Sue Ellen and Tate will be okay?”
“I gave her my burner number. She’ll call if she needs something, and besides, it won’t take us long.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.”
“Yep.” He smiled then said, “That’s what I do.”
We checked out then unloaded everything into the truck. Once we were done, we walked over the general store and bought mass quantities of household necessities like toilet paper, soap, and shampoo. By the time we got it all loaded into the SUV, we could barely close the back. All that shopping had worked up my appetite and made my stomach growl loudly as I though
t about what we could have for lunch. “So, where is this diner we’re going to?”
“Why? You getting hungry?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, it’s not far. Just a mile or two up the road.”
Jackson started the truck, cranked up the heat, then pulled out onto the highway. It wasn’t long before he turned in to an old gas station. This wasn’t one of those cute little vintage places with the red gas pumps out front and the adorable little lanterns at either end. With all the chipped paint, weeds, and cracked windows, the outside of this place looked like it hadn’t been touched in over twenty years. No way could this be the diner Jackson had talked about, so I asked, “What are we doing here?”
“I thought you said you were hungry.”
“I did, but you said we were going to a diner to eat.”
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but the last time I was here, the food was amazing.”
“And how long ago was that?”
“I don’t know. Four or five years, I guess.”
“Four or five years is a long time, Jackson.”
“Jed assured me that it’s just as good as it was back then, and he must not be the only one who thinks so. Look at all these cars.” He cocked his eyebrow as he asked, “Now, are you coming or are you gonna let a few cobwebs run you off?”
“Oh, I’m coming,” I told him as I got out of the truck and walked over to the front door. Just as we were about to go in, I added, “If I get food poisoning or something, it’s on you.”
“So, you are scared.” He teased. “Well, this is the way I see it … a good cleanse would do me good.”
“Jackson!”
“I’m just messing with ya.” As he opened the door to the diner, he smiled and said, “The food is great. You’ll see.”