“Do you like apple pie?” he asked, working to deflect from the obvious care he took to please both men.
Rue removed his suit jacket and slung it over the back of the same chair Monty’s was on. Kendrick noted he had left his laptop bag somewhere in the hallway. Rue went for his tie next, appearing to consider his answer.
“Popi makes a mean apple pie, so I’d say your grandmother’s recipe has a lot to live up to.”
“Rue’s not wrong. Lane is an expert cook,” Monty said through giggles. “I’ve tasted a lot of his baking, it really will be hard to beat his pie.”
“I reckon I’ll be able to give Lane a run for his money,” Kendrick boasted, hoping he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself.
Pausing in pulling out a seat, Rue’s brows arched in a look of challenge. “That’s fightin’ talk.”
“You bet your glorious ass it is.”
Monty’s laughter continued as he went to the refrigerator. The ease with which Monty pulled out two beers and an open bottle of Vaughn wine from last evening gave Kendrick’s heart yet another solid bump.
“Then what about having dessert first?” Monty fluttered his eyelashes, flashing a pleading look that made Kendrick chuckle as he swung past him on the way to the kitchen table.
“Good try.”
An exaggerated sigh was Monty’s reply, and Rue’s lips twitched as he took the glass of wine Monty poured and offered.
It was all so… homely.
Isn’t it cool!
He could find no fault with his bear’s assessment.Yes, it is.
He drained the vegetables, nodding his thanks to Monty, who placed a beer on the counter by his elbow. Pot roast out of the oven, he placed it on the table. Both men had said they weren’t fussy when Kendrick had asked initially, but he still checked every time he served a meal. “Who wants green beans with their pot roast and cheesy mash?”
“I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.” Monty’s answer had both men chuckling when it came with a rather dramatic sigh of pleasure.
Kendrick mashed the potatoes with cheese and butter, hiding the pot of Dijon mustard so his men wouldn’t see his secret ingredient just yet. Once done, he plated generously and served both men. Back was Rue’s bemused expression as Kendrick placed his beer down, taking the chair that had him sitting between both men. They had established their places at the table the first night.
The silence was broken with groans of appreciation as everyone tucked into the food. A companionable quiet reigned yet the nagging thought persisted about what Monty’s text meant for the three of them.
He reached for his beer, took a sip and glanced at Rue. “Monty mentioned something happened last night at the ranch. Is everything okay?”
Rue’s attention skipped from Kendrick to Monty, who he aimed a look of pure frustration at. It was hard to say if it was from Monty sharing something with Kendrick or connected to whatever had gone down.
When Rue returned his attention to his meal, he shrugged as if that was his answer. A growing ball of anxiety messed with Kendrick’s appetite.
Monty tilted his head, not appearing concerned then he mouthed at Kendrick, “Go on.”
“You can talk to me. I’m not gonna share outside of these walls what we talk about. I get the need for privacy.” Kendrick did gossip, just never about anything important.
There was a long pause, long enough that Kendrick thought he was going to have to come up with a new tactic, but eventually Rue responded.
“It was a shit show, quite literally,” he said dejectedly.
“What does that mean for you?” asked Kendrick, keeping the ‘for us’to himself. His fingers clasped the cutlery he’d picked back up tighter when he couldn’t get a read off Rue.
“Are you asking about this”—Rue pointed his fork between them all, frowning— “because it could mean we’re gonna move into the ranch?”
Kendrick came to the conclusion that he was way easier to read than Rue, who had understood his concern straight away. Unsure if he would be able to keep the fear from his voice, Kendrick simply nodded in reply.
“I did suggest it to Ethan when he explained what happened last night—” Regret laced Rue’s voice as he spoke, except he was quickly cut off.
“You did?” asked Monty, frowning.
