Page 66 of Piece Of Me

CHAPTER 21

Sunday morning came slowly, with beams of light breaking open a night sky that wasn’t ready to leave. In the distance the Rockies were barely visible, not that it mattered, Taz wasn’t in the mood to enjoy them.

He’d been up for hours. Brooding.

With a sigh he poured a second cup of coffee and wandered out to the porch. He’d pulled on a pair of jeans and wore nothing else. Already it was warm, with the previous evening not getting below seventy. He leaned against the railing and listened as the ranch slowly came to life. In the distance, Elvis the rooster crowed and was answered in turn by one of the barn dogs. Bailey, he thought. Cooper liked to sleep until it was time to be fed. The horses in the corral nickered softly and a light came on in the bunkhouse.

Rich was up, most likely getting ready for the long drive to Michigan. He glanced to the side as Angel appeared. She was already showered and dressed. After the barbecue at the Bridgestone’s, he’d insisted she sleep in the guest room; it would save on driving back to meet up with Rich.

He gave a nod and the two of them sipped their coffees. They chatted about the new horse, the buffalo herd and talked about adoption plans for one of the mares. Small talk. Then Rich ambled over.

“I’ll get the trailer hitched to the truck,” he said, then looked at Angel. “Give me ten minutes.”

“Sounds good,” she replied.

Taz rolled his shoulders, the muscles already tight with the kind of stress he was having a hard time shaking.

“You okay?” Angel asked as she followed him inside the house.

“I’m good.” It was a lie, but he wasn’t in the mood to share feelings.

“I don’t really have much experience with the whole relationship thing but?—”

“Angel,” he interrupted. “I don’t want to sound like an asshole, but I don’t want to talk about Scarlett. We’re fine.”

“Yes,” she replied with a nod. “Of course you are.” He could tell she was a little hurt by his tone and that made him feel like shit.

“She needs some time is all.” He headed to the kitchen. At least, that’s what he’d been telling himself.

Angel pointed toward the guest room. “I’ll just grab my things and Rich and I will head out.” She disappeared for a few minutes and when she came back, he was loading their cups into the dishwasher.

“I’m out of here.”

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Taz said. “I did sound like an asshole.”

“You did and it’s okay. I know you’re going through it.”

Angel passed by him and headed for the front door but paused before leaving. “Like I said, I don’t know much about relationships. I’ve never been in one. Not really. But I can tell the two of you are meant to be together. This is probably just a little bump in the road.” She offered a smile. “I’ll see you when I get back tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” Taz watched them leave and twenty minutes later the girls appeared, hair in bad need of brushing, with sleep in their eyes and bellies that needed some food.

He got busy making scrambled eggs and bacon, and after they’d eaten, took the time to properly brush out their hair. He then braided them both, something he was damn good at, and they picked out their clothes for the day. Cameron decided to wear her Peter Pan outfit, while Ryan was sticking with the princess theme. There were questions about Scarlett and Hank, since he’d mentioned a wagon ride the day before, but he deflected like a champ.

“I think we need to stick close to the house,” he replied. “Rich and Angel are gone and I’m going to need help with all the chores. Can I count on you two?”

“Yes,” they replied together, squealing when he grabbed them up and twirled them in a circle and then set them down.

“Can I feed the chickens?” Ryan asked breathlessly. “By myself?”

Cameron frowned. “If Ryan gets to feed the chickens, then I want to feed the piggies.”

“But I want to feed the piggies too!” Ryan stamped her little foot, forehead scrunched up.

“How about you both feed the chickens and the piggies, and while I get food out to the cows and horses, you can fill your little wheelbarrows with the vegetables that got delivered yesterday and take them to the goats.”

“What about Eddie?” Cameron asked.

Shit. Right. It was time to feed the snake. “That one, we’ll do together.” They both jumped up and down.

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