"Did you already eat breakfast?"
"No. Are you hungry? I could cook us some eggs real quick."
"Oh no, you don't. I'm cooking this morning," she called over her shoulder as she headed for the chicken coop. "And Falk?"
"Yeah?"
"Next time you muster a hankering for target practice before the danged rooster crows, a little warning would be nice."
His unapologetic laugh ricocheted off the mountains, and she hid her grin. The man didn't need encouragement.
She scrambled enough eggs to feed Bruno and Luna as well. They'd tried their best to distract that blasted cow when she'd attacked, and Farrah would thank them through their bellies. The wolf pup sported a pink rhinestone collar she'd picked up on her last trip to town, and she looked quite the pretty predator as she waited impatiently for breakfast. Aanon came in only long enough to eat, and then headed back out to process the beef. It would hold in the weather, but Aanon explained that if the meat froze, it would make it more difficult to make certain cuts.
After she cleaned the kitchen, she wandered out to the barn where Aanon was fast at work with the meat cutter. She sat on a stool by the shop table and packaged and labeled each cut. Then she taped the paper and stacked them in cardboard boxes. T-bone steaks, chuck roasts, rib roasts, round roasts, ribs, sirloin steaks, and strips for stew meat and jerky.
Such confidence was given to each cut that she watched in awe as Aanon worked. He explained everything he did and why as he went along, and she gained an entirely new respect for where her hamburgers came from.
The hundreds of pounds of red meat insured they would have plenty of protein to survive the winter.
"Are you up for visiting the neighbors?" he asked as he pulled the plastic gloves from his hands and tossed them in the trash.
"Probably should so the good people of Cooper Landing know I'm okay."
He packed two of the boxes into the extra freezer and loaded the third into the back of the truck. When she'd readied for the day and dressed for the cold, he helped her into the passenger seat and off they went, bumping and jouncing slowly down the road until they came to the turn off for Billy's family.
At each stop they made, Aanon seemed to know just the cuts of meat each family or homesteader preferred. Billy's mom brought out six jars of preserved smoked salmon and patted Aanon's cheek affectionately before they headed to the next home. Ben, Mayva's family, the Thompson's, and an older woman named Mrs. Tessa filled their day, and with the last cuts of meat, Farrah asked a favor.
"My mom struggles in the winter," she explained. "Could we take the last of it to her?"
Intertwining his fingers with hers, he rested their hands on her thigh. "Sure."
"What is that satisfied, cat-got-the-cream look on your face for?"
"It's stupid," he said through a self-deprecating grin.
"Tell me!"
"I just like when you let me into the parts of your life you hide from everyone else."
With a sigh, she scrunched her nose. "I was just going to drop it on her porch, but do you want to meet her?"
"Yeah, I'd love to meet your mom."
"Don't-just don't … " What did she mean to say? Don't expect too much? Don't be disappointed?
A gentle squeeze of her hand said he understood.
Mom opened the door to the singlewide, wrinkles deepening with the exuberant smile that took her face. "Is this Aanon?" she asked. "I seen you around, but I never met you before. And Farrah here used to talk about you all the time when she was in school-"
"Mom," Farrah cut in.
Aanon's eyes were twinkling with humor, and her embarrassment deepened. She was already regretting this.
"Oh, right. Won't you come in?" she said slowly as she swept her hand grandly toward the inside of her house.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Fennel," Aanon said, shifting the box of beef and offering his hand. "We brought you a present."
"Oh," she said, peeking across the folded cardboard. "Well, surely I can find room for fine cuts of meat. This way."
"Yes, ma'am," he said charmingly as he followed her into the small kitchen.
They talked easily as Farrah sank into the couch cushion. But then, she was pretty sure Aanon could get along with a badger. He just had a way about him that put people at ease.
"Oh honey, I almost forgot. I heard something dreadful yesterday. Folks in town said you were hurt bad enough to go to the clinic. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Mom. I'm fine. Just had a run in with a pissed off cow." She arched her eyebrow at the box they were unloading into the freezer.
"Oh, I see. And the baby?"
"She's fine."
"She?" A look of hope flitted across her features. "It's a girl?"
Farrah couldn't help but laugh because Aanon's face had cracked into a grin so bright he lit the entire house with it. "Yes, I'm having a girl."
"Well, don't that beat all," Mom whispered. A shaking hand dashed against her eyes that welled with emotion.
The rest of the visit was pleasant. Mom made hot cocoa and told Aanon stories from when Farrah was a child. A less charitable part of her was surprised Mom remembered them, but a bigger piece of her was happy that she seemed to have such fond memories from when she was little.
When they finally left, Mom shook Aanon's hand for a long time and told him she was glad he was taking care of her baby.
Maybe it was the hormones, or maybe it was the emotions that came with having a meaningful visit with someone she'd sworn most of a lifetime to deny charitable feelings toward, but tears of joy streaked her cheeks as she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck.
"Are you okay?" Aanon asked, rubbing her back.
"I really am," she said thickly. She felt like she was so raw with the extreme ups and downs. She'd never cried much, but lately she was, and for what? Maybe she was just feeling emotional, but more likely, in Cooper Landing, she was overflowing with a deep happiness, and her well of tears needed an outlet.
The main drag was bustling with activity as the townspeople prepared for another winter storm later in the week.
"Oy!" Burtlebey hailed them, and she rolled down the window. "Welcome back to the land of the living. You had us worried."
"Don't worry. I'll be back at work serving you drinks before you know it."
"Swear it?" he said.
"I swear!" she called as Aanon pulled away.
Others who'd apparently spent time in the waiting room of the clinic yesterday waved and called well wishes over the sound of crunching snow beneath the tires. A sense of deep belonging filled her.
A pleasurable heat still touched her cheeks by the time the truck crossed onto Falk land. Today had been perfect, from waking in Aanon's bed to meeting his neighbors. He looked at her with such pride, evident in every feature of his face when she spoke to the people he cared about. He was a caregiver, a man who went out of his way to make sure his friends were okay, and it meant something to him that she connected with them. She wasn't sure what, but from the smile that still ghosted his mouth, it was something good.
A flash of color drew her gaze, and she leaned forward to wipe condensation from the window. "Aanon?"
"Yeah?" he asked, scanning the road for the safest route.
"Why is there a moving van in your front yard?"
Chapter Eighteen
A helpless moan escaped her lips as Farrah beheld the wreckage of the cattleman's cabin. The snow was dotted with her clothes, jewelry, and upended luggage. Even the precious cradle lay on its side, emptied of blankets.
Aanon sat white as a sheet beside her, mouth slightly open, as he pulled the Chevy to a stop beside the moving van.
Erin waved cheerfully from the front porch.
The door creaked, and the truck rocked as Aanon slid out. "What, in the actual fuck, do you think you're doing?"
"Hey, baby!" she squealed as she rocketed into his arms. "It's moving day! Oh, and watch your mouth. Dodge is running around here somewhere."
"Where?" Aanon said, scanning the yard. "Where is he?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him in a couple of hours. I've been busy preparing our love nest." She wiped her fuchsia lipstick stain from his cheek.
"Dodge!" he yelled, prying her off him.
Farrah escaped the confines of the cab and yelled Dodge's name in the other direction.
"I'll check the house," he said, giving Farrah a significant look before he ran for the porch.
She rushed for the cattleman's cabin and searched her thrashed home. It wasn't big, and after a minute, it was clear Aanon's son wasn't in there. She had a terrible feeling in her gut as she ran for the dog houses, but he wasn't in there either. A check of the cattle pens and horses stalls, even the chicken coop, turned up nothing.