“You’re weird,” she said, needing to break this intimate bubble they were in. Thinking about shopping with him, filling one cart, laughing and joking about snacks and deciding what to make for dinners, was too much right now. She’d yearned for exactly that in the past. Not necessarily with this man, just with someone in general. She wanted to love and be loved. And thus far in her life, she hadn’t even come close.
As if he could feel her discomfort and need for a bit of distance, Gus dropped his hand from the side of her neck. He stepped back and took her hand. “Come on. It’s almost ready.”
“Can I help with anything?” she asked as they walked toward the kitchen. Her neck tingled where he’d been touching her.
“You could get our drinks.”
He requested a glass of ice water, and she got busy finding the glasses while he served up the ooiest, gooiest plates of cheese and cauliflower that Reese had ever seen. She grabbed some paper towels and forks while she was at it, and before long they were both seated at his small round table.
“Oh my God, Gus, this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” Reese said after taking her first bite.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it? I’m gonna marry it and roll around in bed with it!” Reese exclaimed, then immediately closed her eyes and put her forehead in her hand in embarrassment. “Sorry, forget I said that.”
Gus chuckled. “Forget it? Never. I can’t get that image out of my mind now.”
Right. Now she wanted to die.
But Gus being Gus, he didn’t let her wallow in her embarrassment. “The best thing I’ve ever eaten was when I was in Texas. I was visiting some friends of mine who were also Delta. They took me to the Texas State Fair, and I had no idea what I was about to experience. When they heard I’d never been to a state fair before, and had never eaten any deep fried food—I mean, deep fried fair food—they insisted I try just about everything. Peanut butter banana cheeseburgers, bacon, pecan pie, cheesecake, and of course, Oreos. But the best thing I tried, and I still dream about it today, is the deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I would swear to God I’d died and gone to heaven. I ate two of those things—and paid for it. My stomach hurt for the next three days, but it was totally worth it.”
Reese giggled, and Gus returned her smile.
“If I could’ve, I would’ve kidnapped that guy who made it and brought him to my house and forced him to make me one every day. So I get it.” Gus nodded at the plate in front of her. “There’s going to be plenty of leftovers for tomorrow too.”
“Oh, the man’s bringing out the big guns,” Reese teased.
“Absolutely.”
They bantered back and forth for the rest of the meal, and this time Gus let Reese help him clean up when they were done. Using Gus’s phone, she made a quick call to Alaska to figure out a time to go shopping the next day. She said she’d get with Henley, since her schedule was more fixed, and they’d set it up.
The rest of the night went by smoothly. Reese felt at ease with Gus. Didn’t feel as if she had to watch every word that came out of her mouth, like she had around other men she’d dated. It was a little uncomfortable at the end of the night when she went to his room to sleep, but once again, Gus didn’t make her feel weird about it. He simply did what he needed to do in his bathroom, then left her to it.
As she lay down in his bed for the second time, contentment spread through her. Reese had no idea what the next few weeks would hold. She needed to talk to her boss and figure out if she was going to be allowed to take an extended leave of absence. She enjoyed her job, but knew there were several companies in the Kansas City area that would bend over backward to hire her. So if she had to quit and find a new job, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. She’d miss her co-workers, but she wasn’t exactly friends with them either. They saw each other at work, and that was that.
And if she was being honest, having a break from her job would be welcome. She’d been getting bored and needed a new challenge. Maybe this was an opportunity to make a change.
Everyone at The Refuge had been so friendly and welcoming so far, and she’d fallen in love with the place on sight. Of course, she’d already read a lot about it online, but seeing it in person was completely different. And knowing her brother was safe, and was finally with the woman he’d loved forever, made her feel good inside too.
Turning, she inhaled Gus’s scent deeply into her lungs. Yeah, it was almost scary how well things had turned out. She’d gone to Colombia not knowing what was going to happen, and now here she was. In Gus’s bed. Of course, he wasn’t there with her, but she couldn’t help hoping that one day he just might join her.
Not caring that some people would tell her she was being naïve about what Gus might want from her, Reese fell asleep with a smile on her face and an anticipation about the future she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
CHAPTER NINE
Spike watched Reese from across the room. She seemed…happy. Which, to be honest, was somewhat of a surprise to him. She had a lot on her plate right now. A lot to be worried and stressed out about. But she was remarkably unflappable.
Their second day in New Mexico, Woody had arranged to have her SUV, along with his vehicle, sent from Kansas City to The Refuge. They’d arrived two days later, and she was thrilled to be able to drive herself around again…not that she went many places. She’d gone shopping with Alaska and Henley and had gotten a new cell phone. A couple days later, she returned to town and picked up groceries to replenish his fridge and pantry, much to his annoyance, because he wasn’t a fan of her spending her own money on food that they were both eating.
Especially when she was currently without a job.
He’d come in from helping Tonka expand the corral one evening to find that she’d talked with her boss, and because she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be gone, he’d had to regrettably let her go.
Reese hadn’t seemed upset. Had merely shrugged and told him that she’d expected as much, since she couldn’t expect her boss to just hold her job without any idea when she’d return. She assured him that she had money saved up and she’d be fine without a job for a while, and she was looking forward to relaxing.
Although, he hadn’t really seen her relaxing much in the last week. She’d been up at the lodge every day helping Robert and Luna in the kitchen…not cooking, but shuttling food out to the guests and making sure everyone had whatever they needed.
She’d also helped Carly, Jess, and Ryan with the laundry when she ran out of other things to do. Spike wanted to protest, tell her that she wasn’t here to work, but since she seemed happy to stay busy, he didn’t want to upset her unnecessarily.
She spent time with Isabella as well, getting to know her. It was obvious her and Woody’s relationship was moving along quickly, and Reese admitted to Spike one night that she was loving the thought of having a sister-in-law.
Jasna’s school year had started shortly before his trip to Kansas City, so Reese had taken to spending part of her afternoons down at the barn with the animals, helping Tonka until Jasna arrived. All-in-all, she’d jumped in with both feet to get to know everyone, and she had no problem pitching in to help wherever she could.