Page 15 of Close Quarters

“I just meant it must be nice to know what’s wrong in your head,” he said, scraping his nail on the tabletop. “To have a name for it.”

That took me by surprise, and I didn’t have a retort for him. All I could do was watch him carefully, wondering what was going through his head. For a moment, he seemed almost sad…no, not sad. That was too small a word for what I’d caught a fleeting glimpse of as it passed over his face. Sorrow might’ve been closer or despondent. English had never been my best subject…well, no subject had been in school, that place was my own personal nightmare, but that particular word had apparently stuck around and seemed to fit.

“Reno,” I began carefully. “Why…why did you do that to Riley? You’ve always been borderline pissed off all the time, but you’ve never tried to hurt someone before. And Riley is harmless…so, why?”

His eyes flickered to my face and back to the tabletop almost immediately. The scraping of his nail stopped, and I watched his fingers flex, nearly digging his nails into the wood. I couldn’t tell if it was just anger, but there was certainly something going on in his head. I wanted to believe there was more to him than just his anger and frustration and that maybe there was some reasonable explanation for what he’d done.

“Because I’m an asshole, remember?” he finally asked in a low tone.

Disappointment flared and then gave way to frustration. “Fine, whatever. I don’t know why I even bothered.”

“Because you’re an idiot,” he grumbled, and that was all he apparently had to say on the subject, which worked just fine for me. It had been stupid of me to think he could even begin to act like a normal human being. One with genuine emotion, maybe sadness or even regret for what he’d done. Maybe he hadn’t been a dick to me when he really put his mind to it, but unlike me, he wasn’t even trying to work on his issues.

I felt relief when the door opened, and Leon appeared with a tray. It was followed by the rumble of my stomach when I saw the food, along with two stacked glasses and a pitcher of what I hoped was the ranch’s famous lemonade. Both feelings plummeted to the core of my being and curled into fear when I saw Mona behind him.

She wore her customary Sunday sun dress, with a big straw hat and a flower in the middle. The woman knew how to dress. The pink and white dress looked great against her dark skin, and the hat added just a touch of class and mystery. It was only thrown off by the thick boots she wore. As I’d heard her say before, looking good didn’t mean throwing sense out because she was not wearing heels or slip-ons at the ranch.

Well, at least she seemed to have left the gun she usually kept on her somewhere else, so there was that much to be glad about.

“Gentlemen,” she said, her voice husky and melodic, with just a touch of a twang that wasn’t quite Southern. The first time I’d heard it, I’d wondered if maybe in another life, she could have been one of those women who still liked to dress and act like antebellum times. It would have suited her. “Have your lunch, and we need to talk.”

“Uhhh, before I enjoy this,” I said, looking over the collection of cured meats, cheese, bread, and other additions. “Is this a last meal sort of thing?”

“Oh yes,” she said sweetly, shooing Leon away when he tried to pull a seat out for her and doing it herself before sitting down. “I plan to feed you, then take you both out back and put you down like rabid dogs.”

“The worst part is, I believe that,” I said nervously.

“Hmmm, you have a suspicious mind,” she said, then glanced at Reno. “You should know, Riley’s been examined and save for a minor concussion, and needing his jaw reset, he’s going to be fine. Should be back on his feet in a couple of days.”

It was sheer luck that I happened to be looking at him, mainly to see if he would grab food or a drink first so I could go after what he wasn’t. The relief was the briefest of flashes over Reno’s face, but I saw it all the same. Of course, he was probably just hoping it meant he wasn’t going to get his ass served up on a silver platter after Mona was done with him. At this point, it wasn’t like he’d shown me a whole lot of proof that he’d think of anything but his own ass.

“Sure,” he grunted, taking a piece of bread, so I went for the lemonade while he made a sandwich.

“Is that really it?” I asked. “Like, it’s nothing serious? He went down pretty hard.”

Mona was looking at me, and Leon was sitting opposite her, so this time, I was the only one who saw the second flash of emotion. Reno had stopped putting butter on the bread to take a moment and breathe deeply before continuing. It was only a moment of what I thought had to be guilt, but even then, I couldn’t be sure.

“They’re not even sure there is a concussion. That’s just a precaution. His jaw was dislocated, and they’re going to keep him around for a little bit to make sure, but all in all, a bit of swelling and some pain is all he’s going to have once the painkillers wear off,” she said with a chuckle, smiling at me. “Don’t worry, your new best friend is going to be okay.”

“Does he…have anyone to look after him while he’s recovering?” I asked nervously. I really liked Riley, he was a nice guy, and it was so shitty that he, of all people, had to go through this. I’d never seen him show even the slightest anger or unkindness toward anyone.

“Max is his mentor. Max is going to watch over him,” Mona said, her eyes drifting over the tray before nabbing a slice of cheese.

“I…are you sure? He’s not exactly the caretaker type,” I said, my nervousness not at all soothed.

“He’ll be just fine,” Reno said, making everyone turn to stare at him. He paused before taking a bite of his sandwich and scowled. “What? Did anyone but me see how Max practically flung himself to catch Riley? And then wanted to tear my head off.”

“He wasn’t alone in that,” I grumbled.

“Yeah, I get it. You’ve got a crush on Sunshine,” Reno snapped at me. “But Max wasted no time getting there to help Riley and was ridiculously careful getting him away. Even wanting to tear my head off, he chose Riley first. Apparently, Mona knows what she’s doing because he might be a grumpy dick?—”

“Takes one to know one,” I muttered, wincing when a boot hit my shin. Eyes watering, I stared at Mona in disbelief, who gave me a dazzling smile in return.

“But he clearly cares about Riley,” Reno said with a shrug. “So, he’ll be fine taking care of him.”

“How very…astute of you,” Mona said with a wide smile, looking across the table and meeting Leon’s eyes. “See? Someone around here is smart enough to trust me.”

“I never said I didn’t,” Leon said. “But that doesn’t mean I still don’t think you have an ulterior motive. Even if it’s covered by a better one.”

---