Page 40 of Rough Stock
She took it without hesitation. Something about this guy, about everything she’d seen of him and the people around him, told her he was the real deal.
But what if he wasn’t?
The sex. Oh, god, the sex. Shyanna really couldn’t remember ever having better sex, or having a better sexual partner, for that matter. Jensen was attentive and tender, but he could be rough when she needed it, and sometimes she needed it. Even then, consideration for her needs seemed to come first for him. She’d gotten used to guys who wanted her to drop her pants and take her from behind like a dog before pulling up their jeans and leaving, and he was nothing like that?thank goodness. Nice as it was to sleep in a real bed, she was looking forward to going back to the horse trailer camper with him so they could make as much noise as they wanted.
Her eyes opened on Saturday morning and it took a few seconds for her to remember where she was, but when she spied Jensen sleeping peacefully beside her, she remembered. Theclock on the bedside table said it was about twenty after five, and she wondered if she should get up and go take care of the horses. Did they have students coming in on the weekends? She was sure they did. After all, the school had animals of their own there, and someone had to care for them.
She lay there in the dark and thought as she stared at the ceiling. While they hadn’t exactly been warm, Jensen’s family had been polite to her at every turn. The bedroom she was enjoying was part of a very comfortable house, roomy but not huge, clean but not sterile. The bathroom… boy, it was good to have a real shower! Dora’s cooking was great, but it wasn’t fancy fare?just plain ol’ home cookin’. She had to admit, she’d never had corn cakes for breakfast that had whole kernel corn in them, but they were delicious. That made her think of something, and she scooted out from under the covers with as much stealth as she could muster.
Poking around quietly in the kitchen, she found everything she needed and hoped they wouldn’t think of it as stealing while she worked. She decided she’d leave money on the countertop for the things she made. Didn’t matter that she was making it for them?she hadn’t asked permission, so they might be mad, and she didn’t want that.
It took her about thirty minutes to get it into the oven, and she finished up by cleaning up the mess she’d made. All that was left was to wait for it come out of the oven and when it did, she’d cut it up and start plating it as soon as someone came downstairs. Everyone would get a full plate, and it occurred to her to start the coffee maker. It was a little different from any she’d ever seen, but she finally figured it out and got a pot started.
The first person to stagger into the kitchen was Leo. “Hey! What are you doing up?” he asked. “And what is that I smell?”
“It’s a breakfast casserole. I learned to make it in high school. Do you want some?” Shyanna asked, her voice quivering. If he started yelling, told her how stupid she was, or said he didn’t want any, she wasn’t sure what she’d do.
“Do I want some? Hell yeah! Bring it on! Sounds great. Is the coffee ready?” he asked.
Shyanna grabbed a cup and poured it full of dark, hot, aromatic liquid. “I hope I did it right. I’ve never seen a coffee pot like this before.”
“Smells like you did it fine,” he said as he took a small carton of half-and-half out of the refrigerator. She set the cup on the table and watched as he poured a tiny dollop of the milk mixture into the cup, then stirred in about a half of a teaspoon of sugar. As she waited, barely breathing, he lifted the cup and took a sip. “Oh, god, you did a good job. This is awesome.”
Shyanna hoped he didn’t hear the sigh of relief she let loose. “I’m so glad! It shouldn’t be long before?” She didn’t get to finish the sentence before the timer went off. “It’s ready!” Grabbing a pair of pot holders, she pulled the casserole dish out of the oven, set it on the stove, and cut a big square of it. It sat prettily on the plate, and she put a little garnishing sprinkle of paprika on it. When she placed it on the table in front of Leo, she was terrified. “I hope you like it,” she whispered.
Leo took up the fork she’d placed on the table and forked into it. One bite and he stared at Shyanna. “Did you say you learned how to make this in high school?” She nodded. “Then I want the number of your home ec teacher because the woman needs a trophy. This is delicious, Shy. Thank you so much!”
Without even thinking, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him, then jumped back and gasped. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry!”
Leo just laughed. “You can hug me anytime you want. I don’t think anybody can get too many hugs.” Just as impulsively asshe’d hugged him, he stood and hugged her back. She could feel herself sag into him as her arms wrapped around his waist. “Shy,” he whispered into her ear, “my brother is a good guy. He’s crazy about you. Let him help you and take care of you. It’s what he lives for, taking care of other people, and I can tell from looking at him that he loves you.”
Shyanna could feel herself breaking down. “But your parents?”
“Don’t worry about them. They’ll get on the bandwagon when they figure out that you’re not going away,” he whispered again.
“I hope so,” she whispered back as she pulled back and looked up into his face with a big smile. “I don’t want to cause problems for him with family.”
“Oh, you won’t. Jensen will leave before that happens. If he’s committed to you, you come first to him. That won’t change no matter what Mama and Pop say or do.”
He sat back down and Shyanna watched him devour the casserole. He was almost finished when Roland shuffled into the room. “What’s going on in here?”
“Shy made breakfast and it’s delicious,” Leo announced around a mouthful of the egg mixture. “Really. You’ve got to try this.”
“Does your mama know about this?” Roland asked Leo, never looking at Shyanna.
“I don’t know and I don’t care. She should be thankful she got the morning off,” the Straders’ younger son said. “Thank you, Shy. This was great. I’ve got to get out there and start some rounds. Pop, you coming later?”
“Yep. Be there in a little while after I eat this concoction,” he said, dismissively pointing at the plate Shyanna had set in front of him.
“You won’t be sorry. See you in a bit. Bye, Shy, and thanks again,” Leo said as he let himself out the door.
“So you came in and took over my wife’s kitchen?” Roland asked as he picked up his fork.
“No. I just wanted to do something nice for all of you because you’ve been so nice to me,” she answered, remembering that little saying her AuntJessi had always spouted:You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. Being nice to people who hate you is like heaping coals o’fire over their heads. Shyanna wasn’t sure where that came from, but she’d always practiced it, and it worked. If they didn’t come around, they’d squirm, and that suited her just fine. “Oh, here’s some coffee,” she said as she set down a steaming mug beside his plate.
“The coffee smells good. I don’t know about…” He took a bite of the casserole and chewed slowly. Shyanna watched as he swallowed a little. When he’d finished the bite, he looked up at her. “Where’d you learn to cook this?”
“High school home ec class,” she answered curtly.
