Page 27 of Boston
“That’s all right,” she said. “Now let’s go see if we can get this house ready, so that our dinner when you get back will be amazing.”
CHAPTER
NINE
Boston groaned as he rolled over, his right shoulder aching from where he’d been sleeping on it for the past two nights. The Adams family had originally booked their hunting expedition for four men—a father and his three sons—but apparently their daughter had gotten engaged, and they’d added the future-son-in-law to the itinerary without calling Silver Sage and making arrangements.
They’d flown from Pennsylvania, and Boston had known the moment he’d seen Ernie’s face that this hunting party would be anything but a celebration.
The extra person had bumped Boston from the twin bed he’d been planning to sleep in, displacing him to the floor. He rotated his shoulder forward and then back, and lifted his arms above his head, stretching to make sure that everything still worked.
Of course it did, because he was only twenty-three-years-old, and one thing that his momma and daddy always told him was that he was young, and young bodies could do anything.
Wait until you’re my age,his daddy had said many times, a wry smile on his face.
Boston felt about fifty right now, and he stepped into a pair of Crocs and walked over to the kitchen. “It’s the last day,” he muttered to himself.
He’d sleep in his own bed tonight and thank the Lord for it in a way he’d never done before.
He set the coffee to brew and pulled out eggs, milk, and three loaves of cinnamon chip sourdough bread he’d bought from Joey.
Boston’s first reason for not allowing a fifth man was the food and supplies—whichhepacked in, not them—but everyone at Silver Sage knew that Boston overplanned and overpacked and usually brought home at least two days’ worth of food. So he hadn’t been able to use that excuse.
No reason that he could come up with when faced with a fifth member had worked, and he’d simply kept his mouth shut and nodded, knowing he’d have to sleep on the floor.
One good thing was that Ernie had said the lodge would pay him time and a half for the entire excursion, so Boston should see a nice chunk of extra money in his next paycheck.
He started cracking eggs and added a splash of milk, then cinnamon and salt to the mixture. He got out two griddles and set them on the counter and plugged them in.
He always made a big, breakfast feast on the last day of the hunting trip, because today they would only be hunting for the first two hours, and the rest of the day was spent getting back to the lodge.
Boston cut bread until he had thirty pieces of sourdough ready to dunk, and then he pulled out a package of bacon and one of breakfast sausage. He laid the bacon strips over the first griddle, while the package of maple breakfast sausage went over the second one, and he figured he’d see all the Adams men in ten minutes or less. The scent of bacon had that effect on people.
As the meat started to crisp up and turn brown, Boston cracked even more eggs into a bowl, this time adding a little less milk and lots more salt and pepper.
He set a heavy cast iron skillet on the stove and lit the flame underneath it. His thoughts turned to dinner that evening and what Cora might make for his triumphant return from the hunting expedition. He smiled to himself, though the past couple of days without talking to her had been harder than he’d imagined they would be.
He wasn’t sure if they were dating or just talking, or if she was his girlfriend or just a friend. He knew he liked texting with her, and the moment he’d seen her walking down the lane to her cabin, his heart had practically leapt out of his chest.
Helikedher, and she sure seemed to like him, and he wondered if two days of silence from him had affected her at all.
He dropped butter into the pan at the same time someone asked, “Bacon and eggs for breakfast, huh?”
He turned toward Mister Adams, the patriarchal figure of the family.
“And French toast,” Boston said with a smile.
“Smells amazing,” he said, taking in the spread of food on the counter between him and Boston. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us this week.”
Boston nodded and wished he’d picked up his cowboy hat on the way over to the stove. “I’m glad you’ve had a good time,” he said.
“Just being with the boys is amazing,” Mister Adams said. “But it sure didn’t hurt to get that five-point buck.”
Boston grinned and chuckled. “I bet it didn’t.”
He’d shown everyone in the party how to properly butcher the deer, so it was easier to transport and be ready to take to the meat-packing operation the moment they returned to Coral Canyon. Silver Sage had contracted businesses that they workedwith, and Boston had used his satellite radio to tell Ernie that they had gotten a deer and would definitely need Charger’s Meat Packing to be on-site when they returned. After all, the Adams couldn’t take fresh venison on the airplane with them.
“We’re just going out for a couple of hours this morning, right?” Shawn appeared in the kitchen, still pulling down his T-shirt.
