Kollette took a bite of the stew. It was amazing. Mental note. We need a chef like Mabel.
2
“Roy, are you sure you want her here? I don’t think this place was what she was expecting” Ethan said.
“You know I don’t turn anyone away. Someone needs a place to lay their head, we give them one,” Roy stated.
“I don’t think she’s in need Roy.”
Roy lit his pipe again and said, “Need is a funny thing. You can’t always see it with your eyes. Sometimes you have to feel it in your gut.”
Ethan wondered at times what exactly Roy was smoking in that pipe, because Kollette didn’t look like she needed anything or anyone. Even when he helped her off the floor, he could feel her resistance to assistance. If he’d known that Roy had someone else here, especially a woman, he would’ve gone somewhere else. Of course, Ethan didn’t know another place that one could just show up and stay. This wasn’t a hotel, or an inn. It was Roy and Mabel’s home.
He recalled the first time he found this place. It was by accident when he was in college that he met up with Roy. He’d been driving and a deer had bolted out of the woods and totaled his car. Roy had been driving by and offered him a lift into town but he had to make a quick stop at his home first. That’s all it took. One brief visit and he was welcomed to return. He had thought for sure Roy was going to be surprised when he showed back up a few months later, but he wasn’t. It was like Roy had been expecting him, even when Ethan hadn’t planned on going.
From the look of the Jeep parked out by the cabin, he didn’t think Kollette arrived under the same circumstances. “Did she say why she’s here?”
“Nope. Then again, I didn’t ask.”
Of course not. That was one of the things Ethan loved about being here. Roy and Mabel never asked any questions. Hell, he wasn’t even sure if they knew his last name. He knew what they’d say if he brought that up. Names ain’t important. People are. That’s not how Ethan did things. He needed to know about who he was staying under the same roof with. Granted it wasn’t his roof, but he wasn’t one who liked surprises.
If Roy wasn’t going to broach the subject, then Ethan would. Just not in earshot of Roy. “I think I’ll see if she wants to go for a horseback ride when it stops snowing if you don’t mind.”
“Then you ain’t going out today. Cause it ain’t going to stop for a while.”
“Let me guess. You’re bones are telling you that.” Roy rubbed his left knee then nodded. “Then I guess I should come up with something different for us to do,” Ethan said. It wasn’t like there were many options.
“Looks like it,” Roy stated. “Maybe you can go get some more wood while you’re thinking.”
Roy didn’t ask for money when you stayed, but he asked you pull your weight. Getting wood was nothing compared to what you received while you were there. Getting up he asked, “Want me to get you another cup of coffee before I go?”
“Mabel said I’m on a two cup limit.” He handed Ethan his cup and in a low voice added, “So don’t get caught bringing it to me.”
Ethan nodded and headed to the kitchen. When he entered he found he and Roy weren’t the only early risers. “Good morning. I wasn’t expecting to see you up so early.”
Kollette turned to him and said, “This is actually late for me. I was just about to make some breakfast. Would you like me to make you some eggs?”
Something didn’t fit. When he looked at her, he’d have thought she didn’t even know how to turn on a stove, never mind cook. Why was his gut so far off? “I’ll have a few, thanks.”
Sorry Roy, you’re going to have to wait for that coffee.
He took a seat and watched Kollette as she attempted to crack eggs. First one totally missed the bowl and he thought for sure he heard her swear under her breath. The second and third made it inside the bowl as well as several pieces of shell. With a fork she picked out some, but he didn’t believe she got them all. Ethan had a feeling he wasn’t so far off with his initial assumption. Cooking wasn’t something she did, at least not often.
Kollette didn’t let her struggles interfere with her task. She poured the eggs into the cast iron pan and cooked them. Within minutes, they were placed on a plate and she handed it to him.
“Bon appétit,” she said.
He wasn’t hungry in the first place, and even less so now. There was no doubt he was about to have a crunchy breakfast. He got up and poured himself another cup of coffee, because he had a feeling he was going to need it to wash these eggs down. As he ate his, he noticed Kollette was washing the pan.
“Aren’t you going to have any?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I think I’m going to stick to coffee.”
I should’ve too. Taking another bite, he forced himself to finish the eggs. When he was done he went over to the sink and washed his plate and put it away.
“That was”
“Horrible.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” But damn close. “I was just about to go get some wood for the fireplace.”
“Do you want some help?” Kollette asked eagerly.
“That’s not why I told you,” he said.
“But I’m still happy to help. Actually I’d like to if you don’t mind,” she stated.
“It’s snowing out there. Do you have boots and a warm coat?” he asked.
“I think I have something that might work. If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll go get them on.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you on the porch.”
Kollette smiled and dashed out of the kitchen. He knew it could get boring here, but he wasn’t offering her anything exciting. He figured it’d take her some time to get ready so he grabbed that coffee he’d promised Roy and headed back out into the living room. Mabel was sitting there and instantly shot him a warning look.
“One of those cups better be for me and not Roy.”
Ethan smiled. “Actually they are for me and Kollette. We’re going to go get the wood and I figured we might need it.” He hated lying, but Roy look relieved that he had.
“It’s really coming down. She shouldn’t be out there in that,” Mabel said. Then she turned to her husband and said, “Roy, I can’t believe you’re sending her out there.”
Roy’s eyes widened and he said, “I didn’t even know she was going.”
Mabel huffed. “Well you do now.”
Roy got up and walked over and grabbed his coat of the hook by the door. “Come on Ethan. We got wood to fetch.”
Ethan was on his heels with the two cups of coffee in hand. Mabel said, “You might as well leave that mug here. Kollette might still want her coffee.”
He turned around and placed both mugs on the table by the couch. “I’ll have mine when I return.” Then he headed towards the door.
Kollette called out before the door closed. “I thought I was helping.”
“Let the men get the wood. You can come and help me in the kitchen. I could use some fresh ideas for lunch,” Mabel said.