Page 25 of Tommy

“I’ve already unpacked,” he said. “I might as well stick the storm out.”

Sully was making noises to himself from the side, like he was in the peanut gallery, hurling suggestions at us. “Boo! The main house is nicer. Have you seen the bedrooms? The bathroom? I’ve only stayed over a handful of times, and some of the best nights of sleep have happened here.”

“The bedrooms?” he asked, switching out the hand he was grabbing me with. “Do you mean I don’t have to sleep on those thin mattresses?”

“Oh, no, those things are new, barely slept in,” Sully said, making me appear like some comic book villain with a hand tugging at my beard into all types of devilish shapes. “I wonder why Hardin didn’t want you staying with him.”

Tommy looked at me, his big eyes with dramatic blinks and his lips pouting. “I think it’s because he doesn’t like people from big cities.”

He had me there. I didn’t like people too busy on their phones to notice life around them. And I had made some snap judgements before he’d even arrived. But I suppose I could always let him stay at the house, which is probably where this entire interaction was going anyway.

“You might be onto something,” Sully said. “Come on, Hardin, you’ve got to let down that guard sometime.”

“I don’t have a guard,” I said. “Contrary to what you believe. The kid can stay in one of the spare rooms during the snowstorm, but I think he’s prefer it to be in the cabin where he can work undisturbed by the dogs, and by me.” I think I’d gotten away with it as well.

Tommy smiled. “I’m not a kid, but I’ll accept your offer. Oh, I also bought cocoa powder I haven’t been able to use yet. And marshmallows.”

Sully gave my arm a nudge. “How can you refuse hot cocoa and marshmallows?”

“You should join us,” he offered.

“I would, but I’ll have to jet the moment I’m finished here. Storm is supposed to hit early evening. And I don’t want to be caught in it. Especially not on the road,” he said. “You know,hewould’ve never asked, so thanks.”

I gave Tommy’s hand clinging to me a pat. “Come on. You’ve got you should’ve caught your bearings by now.” He let go of me and grumbled as he applied pressure back on his sore legs. “These goats aren’t going to milk themselves.”

11. TOMMY

Sully was my second favorite person to come to the ranch. June had to be first since she drove me from the airport. Hardin was my third, but only because he was the only other person around. Although with the offer of taking a room in the main house, he might’ve secured temporary access to the top spot.

We checked in on the animals, giving them their food, milking the goats, and trying not to have our hands pecked collected the eggs. And then there were the cats, hissing at the dogs and controlling access into the inner pens of the barn.

“Do the cats always stay in here?” I asked as both Midnight and Snowflake glared into my soul. “They’re like mafia bosses.”

“Accurate,” Sully said. “In summer, they come into the garage and pester the shit out of me.”

“It’s also a shed where a lot of food is kept,” Hardin said. “And you’ll happily gave them snacks. That’s why they’re nice to you.”

“Why aren’t they nice to me?” I asked. “They don’t even know me.”

“In their eyes, you’re just coming in, stealing eggs, playing with the goats teats, and then leaving,” Hardin stated. “You’re not doing anything for them.”

Speechless at his phrasing. I didn’t know how to respond. “I’m not—”

“You could’ve said fondling with the teats,” Sully laughed.

“But I—”

“Come on,” Sully said. “Let’s go deal with the horses now.”

“Wait, no, I—” Words were forming on the tip of my tongue, but they were not coming out of my mouth.

Hardin patted a hand on my back. “The longer you stand there, staring at them, the more they’re scanning your face. You’ll become a target to their little scratches. And trust me, they hurt.”

“You said I was playing with the goats nipples,” I finally got out, bursting into laughter. “It’s hardly playing.”

“Come on kid, we don’t have all day, you heard Sully, there’s a storm approaching, and I’ve so graciously offered you a place to stay,” he said, his hand still on my back, and through the foam of the coat, I could feel just how much tension he was applying to his touch. It was nice, almost a massage. If only I was that lucky.

“I’m not a kid,” I grumbled.

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