Page 14 of Tom's Chance
“You know, you don’t have to knock. Mom and Nana just walk in.”
“I know, but I don’t want you to look up from what you’re doing and freak out to see a man standing in your home.”
“I guess you’re right about that. What’s up?” She shook the excess salad off her hands, removed the gloves, then went over to wash her hands before she covered the salad to put into the refrigerator. “Are you done with work for the day?”
“No, it’s only lunch time, I swung by because I was wondering if you had a grill for tonight?”
Lorissa looked at him in confusion, then shook her head. “No, I don’t. That is on my list to purchase.” She grinned as she walked over to the refrigerator and pointed to the chalkboard beside it. “I know I can afford it now, but I was waiting for the end of summer sales to come out. I think I can get the one I want cheaper then.”
“Yeah, you probably could. I’m only asking because the guys asked, and if you agree, they’ll bring the one they have over at the double cabins.”
Are those the ones with the four bedrooms? Where Julie and the others are staying?”
“Yes, the grill in question is in the backyard.”
“If it’s not too much hassle I would appreciate having a grill for tonight’s get together. I don’t know whether it’s good or not that it’s a Friday night, but it was either do this or go to a bar.”
“I didn’t think you drank.”
“I do, just not in excess.” She sighed and looked at Duane sadly. “I know I don’t have a right to ask, but Tom Stolls won’t be here, will he?”
“Not that I know of. I didn’t invite him. I have everyone on a group chat on my phone, and he’s not in it. It’s just for the guys, and the men.”
“Remind me of the difference between them again.” Lorissa talked as she gathered the fixings for sandwiches and made Duane sit down and eat with her. He might be dating her mother, but she really liked him and thought of him as a father figure. Not that she would ever call him Dad or Daddy, but she could see going to him for advice, like she was now.
“The guys are Wendel, Floyd, and Virgil, they have been on the property even longer than Erin and Clark. Don’t quote me, but they started working for Erin’s grandfather when they were in their early twenties.”
“Wow, that’s a long time.”
“Yes, and again, don’t quote me, but I believe they were about to retire, but the accident that took Erin and Clark’s parents happened, and they stayed for her.”
“Oh, okay. And who are the ‘men’?” She used air quotes as she asked that question.
“You know who Clark is, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well, all of the men that work at Broken or over at New Double, including Clark, are former Navy SEALs. They were all on the same team, and Clark was their leader. Erin referred to them as the men, to distinguish between Clark’s men, and her guys.”
“Ah, something simple, that I made complicated in my head.” Lorissa laughed as she took a bite of her sandwich. Neither spoke as they ate, and as Duane finished up his meal and began cleaning up their mess, he paused and looked at her.
“What?”
“Do you want to tell me what happened between you and Tom?”
Lorissa sighed heavily and shook her head. “It’s not that I’m not going to tell you, since you asked so nicely, it’s just that I don’t know if I’m blowing it all out of proportion, or not.”
“Tell me what happened, and I’ll tell you if you’re making a big deal out of it.”
She studied him as he continued to clean up, then drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He showed up here a few days ago, looking for Shelly Atherton. Apparently she was the farrier that lived here before me. When I explained the situation, he seemed to be okay with it, but not really.”
“What do you mean by not really?”
“His words said he was okay, but his facial expression and body language said he wasn’t.”
“Okay, but what happened?”
“He asked me if I could go over to a ranch, on the other side of Fool’s Gold to look at a horse he had seen the day before. I told him yes, but I needed to stop and check on Misty first.”
