I started toward Theo and couldn’t help smiling.
“Hey, Theo.”
He chuckled. “I would’ve picked you up from wherever if you’d told me you were coming today.”
Clasping his hand, I gave him a man-hug.
“Yeah, but you’re always busy so I thought I’d walk.” Not true, but close enough.
“Cook, meet Rey, our newest team member.” He gestured at the hesitant-looking kid. “He’s your new neighbor upstairs.”
I smiled and tried to appear as nonthreatening as I could for a kid his size. If I remembered right, Sierra had said he was seventeen, but he looked like he was swimming inside the hoodie he was wearing in the shade.
There was playpen he was kneeling behind, and I took a couple of steps toward the pen, staying firmly on the opposite side. I hoped he would be able to relax soon.
“Nice to meet you, Rey. I’m Jack, but most people call me Cook.” I smiled again.
Rey nodded. “Hi.”
“Now, who are these cuties?” I peered into the pen where three kittens were playing around like, well, kittens. “They’re adorable.”
The kid relaxed a little. “They really are. I’ve been fielding adoption requests now that they’re old enough.”
“Buddy? You good here?” Theo asked him.
I chose to pretend I didn’t hear him. There was obviously a reason why Rey felt potentially unsafe around me, and I understood how delicate the situation was.
“Uh…yeah.” Rey smiled ever so slightly. “I’m okay.”
“Good. I’ll be over once I’ve ridden one more horse. What do you think we should do for dinner?” Theo asked him.
“Oh, I don’t have a plan yet because I don’t know what time the guys are coming back or if they’re eating in Chicago, but I’m open to ideas.”
“You trying to steal my job?” I rumbled, grinning slightly.
The kid swallowed hard, blinked, and blushed. “Uh, n-no, I’ve been cooking because I like it.”
“Well, that’s good. Why don’t we figure it out together?”
“Oh, okay. Sure.” Rey ducked his head.
He was smiling under his hood, which I counted as a win. I would’ve hated anyone to be scared of me for no reason.
Theo left us to go do his job, and we stayed where we were, on opposite sides of the pen.
“So, where did you guys get these kiddos?” I asked, reaching into the pen to let the kittens sniff my hand.
“Oh, they’re from Jules’.”
I grinned. “Jules is great. They’re really dedicated to the animals. Let me guess, they had more than they could fit in?”
Rey looked at me with amusement in his large eyes. “Oh yeah. So that’s a known habit?”
“Has been as long as I remember.” I picked up one of the black kittens and cradled it in my arms. Bucky ambled closer to sniff the cat. “Gentle,” I told him. “I suppose it’s not such a stretch, understanding why someone does that though,” I continued to talk to Rey.
He hummed. “Yeah. I mean, Lake is already talking about building another stable so we have more room for horses.”
I chuckled. “Ah, the ‘rescue bug,’ as Ruth called it.” I sighed, feeling a wave of grief wash over me. “It’s weird that she’s not here anymore.”
