Page 55 of Road to a Cowboy

He did just that, and a few minutes later, he stood on Barbara Anderson’s front porch, considering his options. Knock and subject himself to Barbara’s poison? Or leave the groceries on the porch?

He’d noticed ice cream in the bags though, which... ugh. Fine.

He knocked.

The door opened a few seconds later, and the expression on Barbara’s face went from polite interest to flat-lipped disgust in less than a heartbeat. “Austin.”

“Barbara. I brought your grocery order.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Why? Cal was supposed to bring it.”

He’s busy, Austin wanted to yell. He’s always fucking busy. But that would only invite her to berate Cal for being too busy to do her one simple favor, and since Austin’s entire purpose for being here was to give Cal a day’s reprieve from his mom, he tried a different tack.

“I was at the store when they were packing the groceries. Figured since I was there I’d bring them myself.” He held up the bags. “Where do you want them?”

She stepped back with a frown that creased her face, slightly unsteady on her swollen ankle. “Kitchen.”

Austin brought the bags to the kitchen and emptied them, putting fridge and freezer items away and leaving everything else on the counter. He hadn’t spent nearly enough time here to know where things like baking soda, crackers, or coffee beans went.

He bundled the bags into one and walked back into the living room. “What else do you need?”

Barbara crossed her arms. “Excuse me?”

“What else do you need? It’s always something. The hedges trimmed? The laundry moved from the washer to the dryer? The weeds pulled? The lawn watered?”

A new broom for your broomstick collection?

“I don’t need anything from you.” The way she said you, one would think Austin had committed murder and then bragged about it. “Not when you’re just trying to get into Cal’s good graces.”

Austin let out a little laugh of disbelief. “Lady, I’ve never needed to get into Cal’s good graces. Can you say the same?”

“I don’t know what that means.”

Sobering quickly, Austin met her gaze. “It means I’d do anything for him. Would you?”

She sputtered and dithered for so long, Austin thought she’d choke on her own words. He let her wear herself out, and when it was clear he wouldn’t get an honest answer to his question, he repeated, “What else do you need?” He checked his watch. “I’ve got an hour before I need to relieve Marco at the gallery. So? What’ll it be?”

“Like I said.” Gingerly, hugging her arms to her ribs, Barbara sank onto the couch. “I don’t need anything from you.”

God, she was so stubborn. “All right. You’re welcome for your groceries, by the way.”

Her eyes hardened.

Since there wasn’t anything else for him to do, Austin nodded once, tucked his bags under his arm, and left.

* * *

“Try adjusting the ISO,” Austin told one of his students. “That should help focus your image a little more.”

There were plenty of places in Windsor that were ideal for night photography, but Austin’s favorite location was a clearing on the north end of Windsor Ranch. Far enough away from the Windsor-March homestead and the guest house, light pollution was virtually nonexistent. With the forest on one side, the mountains on the other, and open fields behind them, students had a variety of landscapes to shoot.

Austin’s instructions for tonight’s practical had been simply to point and shoot, using the techniques for night photography he’d been teaching in his workshops for the past month. Tonight was the final night of June’s night photography workshop, though he’d see some of these students again in July for Night Photography II.

“What do you think of this?” Marco gestured at his camera and stepped away from his tripod.

Austin approached and whistled low at the image on the LCD screen. Marco had used a long exposure to capture a car driving by, and it was a streak of reddish-white against the road, with the mountains in the background. “The mountains are a little dark because you’ve focused your light on the car,” Austin said. “But for someone who’s only been practicing night photography for a year, it’s a damn cool shot. Nice work.”

Marco beamed.

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