Page 42 of Undone

“Thieves, all of them!”

Amy held her hands up when the grumblings started again trying to calm everyone down.

“So, what’s the good news?” a feminine voice asked and I craned my head to see Zoe and Shannon standing near the front. I was surprised Zoe was the one to ask the question.

“The good news is that wewillrebuild the community center but we’ll need your help. The mayor’s office will run a contest for the best fundraising ideas to get the center rebuilt. Now, while no idea is off the table, I’m asking you all to come up with some suggestions that are actually doable.”

People started talking over each other again and I was having a hard time making out what anyone was saying. Amy was having the same problem and she called out into the mike, “Not now. Go home. Think about it. There’ll be a suggestion box set up outside the officetomorrow morning and you can also email and text your ideas to us. At the end of the month, we’ll go through all the suggestions and come up with a list we can vote on. Now, if there’s nothing else…”

“What’s the prize for the winning suggestion?” someone shouted.

“Some of our local businesses have offered up gift certificates including Lafferty’s Western Wear, Hastings, Carly’s, and The Bite and Brew,” Amy explained. Before anyone could ask any more questions, she added, “That’s it, folks. Go home and come up with some fundraising ideas so we can rebuild our community center. Meeting adjourned.”

Jake and I made our way back outside and I was relieved to be back out in the fresh air. The room had grown stuffy with so many people inside. Brian Thorne, along with his deputies, were monitoring folks as they exited the town hall, but I didn’t see my sister or Zoe anywhere.

Finally, they appeared along with Amy and another one of Shannon’s friends—Aurora, who owned The Bite and Brew diner with her husband, Marc.

“We thought we’d go get something to eat. You guys interested?” Shannon asked.

I was about to decline, but Jake beat me to it. “I’m thinking I might just head home. Got an early day tomorrow.” I nodded my head in agreement but my sister and her friends weren’t having it.

“We’re up early every morning, Jake Thorne, but how often can you spend an hour or two eating Michelin-level food without having to get dressed up? Besides, they’re staying open late because of the meeting,” Shannon said. “The least we can do is go eat.”

I grinned. Marc Diaz used to be a chef in a two-star Michelin restaurant in Vegas before he met Aurora and followed her back to PoplarSprings so they could take over her family’s diner together. What had once been considered nothing more than a greasy spoon had evolved into some amazing farm-to-table food options that ensured the diner was busy every day.

“Come on, Jake, everyone knows you hardly ever come to town. Might as well enjoy some good food before you head back to your ranch,” I told him. The women whooped in response not giving Jake the chance to say anything.

The diner was busy, but we found a table large enough for all of us outside and sat down. A server took our drink orders but before we could ask for menus, Aurora was there. “Marc’s set the menu for this evening. So if anyone has any allergies or absolute dislikes, let me know. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy yourselves and we’ll be right back with the first course.”

I sipped from my beer bottle, half listening to the conversations around me. Shannon and Zoe were brainstorming fundraisers with Amy and I heard Zoe offer to help with any graphic designs needed, since she could do those from anywhere.

Aurora reappeared carrying a tray with different finger foods on them that she called tapas. For the next several minutes, the only noise coming from our table was the sounds of us eating and the occasional moan when we bit into something truly delicious. Safe to say, Jake was making the majority of the noises as he worked his way through thin slices of kobe beef on crunchy bread and topped with what I was told was a chimichurri sauce. It was good, but I was partial to the oyster mushrooms in puff pastry, which I’d heard that Marc grew in bathtubs in their backyard. I knew nothing about growing mushrooms, other than I’d thought they were grown in dark, cool places. Evidently not all mushrooms needed that kind of climate to grow.

Zoe managed to grab one of the last toast slices with beef on it and her eyes were bright as she slowly chewed the morsal. “This food isamazing,” she said from where she sat next to me. “If I was sticking around, I’d eat here every day.”

That sparked animated conversation but it only served to remind me that she wasn’t staying, which also meant I had no business imagining Zoe pregnant with my child.

As we finished, Aurora brought out an arugula salad with grilled watermelon, a cheese called burrata, and a balsamic glaze on top. It would never occur to me to combine foods like that, but it was delicious, and I even swiped my finger across the empty plate to catch the last of the glaze.

We spotted the sheriff headed our way and we were in the process of making room for him when he stopped us. “I’m taking my food to go,” Brian told us as Marc came out carrying a food bag. Marc looked like he would be more comfortable wearing leathers and astride a Harley than he would behind a grill in a kitchen. While he wore a chef’s jacket, you could see tattoos spiraling across his wrists and hands and along his neck. The two shook hands and Brian stayed long enough to pay for his food before he headed to his own place.

We enjoyed another two courses, our conversations minimized to the food and nothing more. Both Amy and Zoe took pictures of the different dishes and normally, I’d scoff at what they were doing, but having spent so much time with Zoe as she worked on the ranch’s website, I now understood the power behind using photos in social media. It’s like they said, a picture is worth a thousand words and given that Marc’s food tended to render his customers speechless, this was the next best thing. By the time we finished, I was completely stuffed with some of the best food I’d ever eaten. If I didn’t have Zoe and Shannon with me, I’d consider sleeping off the food coma in my truck.

When we finally got home, I had to wake Zoe and Shannon, and we stumbled into the house. Shannon mumbled her good nights andimmediately went upstairs to her room. Zoe was wavering on her feet. I gave her a quick kiss and turned her to face the stairs. “Go on up and get ready for bed; I’ll be right back. I’m going to check on the horses.” Zoe waved her hand in response, and I jogged out to the barn kicking myself for not suggesting she sleep in my room. I made a quick sweep of the barn making sure all the horses were settled before returning to the house.

Walking upstairs, I saw that both Shannon’s and Zoe’s doors were closed. I thought about checking on Zoe but the brief second wind I had was gone and I could barely keep my eyes open. I pushed my door open and had most of my clothes shucked off before I realized that Zoe was asleep in my bed. She’d stripped out of her clothes and was currently curled up on one side of the mattress, wearing one of my T-shirts. I climbed into bed to spoon her, enjoying the feel of her body against mine, and barely got the sheet over us before I was fast asleep.

TWENTY-EIGHT

ZOE

It was the girly-est I’d looked in ages. I was wearing my favorite combat boots, but I’d paired them with cute jean shorts and a cropped white tank top. I felt silly putting on makeup for a picnic with Josh, but I liked having an excuse to get dolled up. It felt like adatedate, which we’d yet to do with just the two of us. The last “outing” we had was town hall meeting and food orgy at the diner, but that was days ago.

Josh had initially suggested going to the picnic site on horseback but had seen right through my tight smile and nod at the idea. I could tell he was playing it off, saying maybe it was a better idea to give one of the ATVs a longer test run after some repairs. While he was giving me a much-needed out, it was true that the ATV did need to be tested on longer runs along the different trails.

I headed for the barn to meet him, trying not to skip. We’d been spending all our nights together now and it was amazing. Granted, since he usually rose long before me, it was rare that he was still there when I woke up. But every moment spent here at Lost Valley and with Josh felt like a gift. So much so that I’d felt lighter and happier thanI’d been in ages. Even Shannon had noticed the difference, calling me “Sunshine Goth.” But she refused to go so far as to admit that Josh had a lot to do with that. In fact, she was steadfastly ignoring that I was sleeping with her brother.

“There she is,” Josh said, watching me walk toward him from the doorway of the barn. “You look amazing. Gimme a twirl.”

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