She studied his expression and nodded. “I will.”
“Thank you, I’m going to get the coffee pot ready for the morning, unpack, and look over some notes. I’ll be up for another couple of hours. Go, I’ll lock up.”
“Thank you, Pedro.”
“You’re welcome, and good night, Myrna.”
He stood there and watched her slowly turn on her heel to head to the other side of the room. He nodded, though she didn’t see it, when she left the door open about four inches. True to his word, he walked around to lock up, went to his bedroom and started unpacking the clothes he’d brought in. He had to go back out to his truck for his papers, but returned quickly and before he did anything, he prepared the coffee pot for the morning, and grabbed himself a bottle of water to drink while organizing his thoughts and papers.
He didn’t have a lot of paperwork, just stuff to getready for the morning. As he sat there, he thought about all Myrna had been through, and felt his hands tighten into fists. He wasn’t a violent man, but if he ever got the chance to have a face-to-face with either of the Godwin brothers, he just might have to change his mind. By the time he made it to his own bed, he was exhausted, but decided to take a shower to wash off the day. He crawled into bed later and fell asleep quickly as soon as he relaxed.
When Pedro cameout into the kitchen the next morning, he paused for a few seconds when he spotted Myrna standing there at the stove. The smells radiating from the room made him pause, then come forward to inspect what she was doing at the stove. He poured his first cup of coffee for the day, and glanced over. With a grin, he reached out and snatched a piece of bacon from a plate. Without saying a word, he started looking in the cupboards for plates, and set the table for them. He had purchased some juice with his groceries, and poured them each a glass, then refilled both their mugs. By the time he had finished, Myrna had food on the table. Neither of them spoke during this time.
“I hope you don’t mind I cooked. I’m not saying I’ll do it for every meal, but I woke up hungry, and craving pancakes.”
“Don’t apologize to me,” he said with a grin as he reached out with his fork and took four of the cakes from the plate. He had made sure she had taken hers first. “I love pancakes. I usually have them for dinner though.” He took the plate of bacon she passed him, and took his share.
“Any reason why?”
“I know I should, but sometimes I don’t always eat breakfast. I’ll grab a cup of coffee, get out the door, and down to the stables. I’m usually starving by the time I get home.” He shook his head. “I know it’s a bad habit. I need to improve.” He fixed his pancakes and began eating. They ate in silence, and when they finished Pedro insisted on cleaning up. While he did that, she went to her room, used the bathroom, and stood there to look around. She jumped when Pedro called out to her.
“Yes?” she asked as she started back toward the kitchen area, and saw Laurie standing there with a laptop in a bag beside her. “Oh, hey. What’s up?”
“I hope I’m not too early?”
“Not at all, what’s up?”
“I brought my laptop so you can order clothes. I’ll go pick it up.”
Myrna frowned as she looked at her watch. “Are the stores even open?”
“Not yet, but by the time you order and I drive there, they should be. It will be curbside pickup, so I won’t have to go into the store.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No,” Pedro said. “I’m not telling you what to do, and I don’t know where Laurie’s going to go to get your things, but do you really want to be out and about with Randy and Gus out there?”
“Crap, I forgot about them. Yeah, I best stay here.” She sat at the table, and in no time Laurie had her laptop opened and clicked on the site.
“Go ahead and place your order.” She reached out and placed her hand gently over Myrna’s. “Erin said to not hold back. She will foot the bill until you can get everything from your home.”
“I might have forgotten to grab clothes, but I was able to grab my wallet. I have cash and my credit cards.”
“Okay, but do you think using your card would be wise. I don’t know who Randy and Gus Godwin are, but what if they are monitoring your bank account or something? What if this Avery Mosher is helping them look for you? I’m sure, being a cop, she could flag your cards.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” She shook her head, and it took her several minutes before she was able to pay attention to what she wanted to order. By the time she was done, she had a week’s worth of clothes in her cart and had even ordered groceries. She looked at the total, and went into her room. She came back out and called Laurie over. “I know you have to give a card number, and I’m at the point where you caninput it, however, take this,” she said as she held out the cash.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, don’t worry, it won’t leave me broke.”
They finished their transaction, and as Laurie went to leave, they looked up when Pedro came back into the room. Neither woman said a word when they saw the pistol strapped to his hip.
“I’ll go get this stuff, can you give me a few hours?”
“Yes, call Pedro’s phone.”
“I will.” They walked out together and when Laurie went to her vehicle, Pedro and Myrna went to his. They drove to the main barn, and went inside to talk with Cole. They were only there for about five minutes before the others that worked there joined them. It didn’t take long for Myrna to notice that everyone, even the woman named Ann wore a pistol on their hip.
