“I would just use the bathroom inside the arena,” Ashton said. “You’re only twenty-five feet from the door, and you’ll be able to get in and out real easy.”
Tarr nodded, though that didn’t sound entirely ideal, but he had Les scheduled to work on the house now, and Tarr told himself he could do anything for five months. Heck, he’d done a lot of things he didn’t like for a lotlongerthan five months.
“So I’m going to shower inside somewhere. I’m going to go to the bathroom inside. But I’m going to have electricity, and if we do a water tank, I can wash my dishes and have water come out of my kitchen faucet for tea, coffee, cooking, and small clean-up jobs.”
“Yeah, all that,” Jentzen said. “Your stove here will work with the electricity. We put an electric heater in the bedroom, fix up the wood-burning stove out here, and you’ve got a microwave.” He smiled as he looked left toward the back of the RV and right toward the front. “It’s not a bad place, Tarr. It’s actually really nice.”
Tarr thought so too. He entered the RV to a dinette set that was really a booth on three sides. He had a living room down on the front end, closest to where someone might drive the RV, and that included a full-size couch and a recliner, with a TV mounted to the wall above the chair.
His kitchen was galley-like, and on its way to the bathroom and bedroom—which housed a king bed and a tiny closet in the back of the RV. He had plenty of blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags, and the wood-burning stove just needed to be shored up and properly vented.
Jentzen set about doing that while Tarr stepped out of the RV with Ashton to get it plugged into the electricity.
“I can head to town and get you that water tank,” Ashton said. “I think we can put it in the bathroom, above the shower, and run the lines into the kitchen. That’s what I would do.”
Tarr nodded, and it only took a few minutes to find the right cords and outlets and get things plugged in. When he climbed the steps back into the RV and saw the lamp shining above the only free counter space in the kitchen, he whooped. He grabbed his cowboy hat and threw it right up into the air. “There’s electricity in here!”
The other men laughed, and as they quieted, Tarr appreciated nothing more than the hum of electricity in his house.
“I need a few supplies for this stove,” Jentzen said. “I’m going to have to make a run to the hardware store.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ashton said. “I’m gonna get the water tank.”
“Let me send you guys with my card.” Tarr fumbled for his wallet and pulled out his credit card. “Get anything we need.”
“Do you need anything else?” Jentzen asked. “You’ve got silverware? Food? All that?”
“I’ve got stuff at Tuck’s that I can bring out,” Tarr said. “But otherwise, yeah, I’m good.”
“If you think of anything, text me,” Ashton said, and the two of them left together, chatting with one another easily, though they’d just met.
Tarr stood out on the pallets that Jentzen had used to create a clean area for him. They ran two deep and three long, and he’d be able to wipe his boots clean before he had to go into his house. Then he turned in a full circle and surveyed his RV, which had once looked like a dump but now shone like a palace. Grinning, he went back up the steps and into the RV, letting the door slam behind him.
He straightened up the things that had fallen and moved while the RV had rumbled down the dirt road, made his bed, and decided to convert the bathroom to a storage space since he wouldn’t be using it.
He got behind the wheel of his truck and drove to Tucker’s house, collected his groceries and clothes and everything he’d left there, and moved it to the RV, because he’d sleep there tonight ahead of Tuck and Bobbie Jo’s return.
When he pulled back up to the RV, he found Briar’s SUV parked in front of his pallets. She sat on his front steps despite them being metal and probably freezing, and she raised her hand in a wave as he parked beside her.
“Hey, you,” he said. “Did you come to check it out?”
“I like this front porch-patio area.” She smiled at him, got to her feet, and came to collect some grocery bags. “You’re moving in today, huh?”
“I don’t see a reason to wait, do you?”
“Yeah, I do, Tarr. It’s calledcomfort.”
Tarr simply shook his head and led the way up the steps and into the RV. “I’ve got electricity now, sweetheart. I can make breakfast. I can store things in the fridge and have them stay cold. I’m going to be using an electric heater in my bedroom, and we’re going to fix up the wood-burning stove for out here.”
Briar walked into the living room and then came back by the dinette, trailing her fingers across the top of the table. With the two of them standing shoulder to shoulder and simply turning around, they put away his groceries and other goods. Tarr returned to his truck and grabbed his duffel bag and took it into his bedroom.
When he came out, Briar stood next to the table holding a wooden sign in her arms. Tarr came to a complete stop and drank in the beautiful woodcraft she’d created for him.
“Home Sweet Home,” he said, noting the carved dog between the wordsHomeandSweetand the horse betweenSweetandHome. “Briar, this is great.”
He moved over to her and took the sign from her. “Is it indoor or outdoor?”
“This is an indoor sign, baby,” she said, leaning her head against his bicep and linking her arm up and through his. “I was thinking maybe you could hang it in the living room here.”
