Graham and Zach had both returned for Ro, but their grim expressions didn’t bode well for what they had discovered. Footprints all along the fence line. No people spotted. Both men were quiet and contemplative. The banter that Ro had grown used to was absent when Zach gave her a piggyback ride to the mess for dinner. Neither shared their thoughts on the day’s events.
The pork chop and mashed potatoes Graham had piled onto her plate smelled delicious, but her twisting gut made them hard to choke down. Unable to stand the silence any longer, Ro said, “You need to put me to work or something. I get that I’m gimpy, but boredom is a dangerous thing for me.”
Graham and Zach jerked up from their respective plates to look at her. The smirk she saw easing onto Zach’s face helped to soothe the churning in her stomach.
“Don’t take this the wrong way and think I’m a misogynistic pig, but ... Allison could use some help with prep and clean up in the kitchen, and maybe even with the laundry and the garden,” Zach said, his smirk having reached full power.
Ro held up a hand to stop him. “Hold up. You mean to tell me that poor woman in there does all of that work herself—feeds you, cleans up after you, and grows your food? That just ain’t right.” Ro couldn’t help the country that leaked into her tone as she launched into her mini-rant.
Both men colored slightly. Graham spoke first. “Now wait a minute. It’s not like that. We all take turns helping out in the kitchen. The results of which are sometimes more edible than others ... and Beau shoulders most of the load of the garden. And someone always pitches in to help on wash day. But if you’re interested, we need to double down on watch, so you’d be freeing up another body to patrol the property.”
Ro stowed the mini-rant. “I’m happy to help, but I’m giving you fair warning: my cooking probably isn’t much more edible than the worst of you guys. I haven’t tried to grow anything in almost ten years, and I’ve never done laundry by hand. But I’d also rather pull my weight than not, so if that’s what you need ... I guess I can start by doing dishes.”
Satisfied that she finally had something to contribute to the little society that flourished within the walls, Ro enjoyed the rest of her meal, listening to the guys joke and mock one another. When she was finished, Zach carried her into the kitchen and settled her on a stool in front of the sink. Allison looked at them askance.
Ro rolled up her sleeves. “Put me to work.”
Washing dishes turned out to be much more entertaining than Rowan would’ve guessed. Allison was a veritable font of knowledge when it came to all things related to Castle Creek Whitetail Ranch. She and Jonah and Grace had been living on the property and managing the whitetail breeding and hunting operations. She filled Rowan in as they washed and dried the dishes.
“Do you ever stop working?” Ro asked as Allison hauled out flour, sugar, and butter and began to measure out the ingredients for piecrust.
“Only on Sundays. But honestly, it’s what I’m used to.” She gestured to her plain blue dress and white apron. “I didn’t exactly grow up like you.”
Based on Allison’s clothes, Ro had assumed as much.
“Amish?”
“Mennonite. There’s a small community about an hour northeast of here. That’s where I’m from.”
Ro was familiar with it. She’d grown up seeing the horses and buggies driving alongside the cars, tractors, and giant farm implements that hogged the country roads.
“Then how? I mean, you and Jonah?” Ro didn’t want to pry, but she was intensely curious about how a Mennonite woman had ended up with a Marine.
“I married young, and within a year, I was pregnant, and a widow,” Allison said. “It was a farming accident.”
“Oh God,” Ro said, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to …”
“It’s okay, Rowan. It led me to Jonah, and for that I can be nothing but thankful. But I don’t want to bore you with my story,” she said, tipping a perfectly measured cup of flour into a huge bowl.
Ro gestured to the sink, which was collecting more dishes as Allison worked. “You see what I’ve got going on. I’d love to hear your story.”
Allison shared about being a young, pregnant widow, and the pressure she’d been under to marry again, even before the baby was born. She’d refused and sworn she’d never marry again for anything but love. Her small and tight-knit community had disapproved and the pressure had mounted until Allison had to choose: the only life she’d ever known or staying true to herself and her convictions. She’d left the Mennonite community and moved into an apartment in the small town located about fifteen miles away from the ranch. She’d gotten a job, seven months pregnant, working as a cashier at the hardware store. Jonah had come in for paint, and according to him, it had been love at first sight. He’d pestered her until she’d agreed to have dinner with him. She’d thought he was insane, wanting to date a woman who was less than two months from giving birth, but he’d persisted and won her heart. He’d held her hand throughout her delivery and fallen in love with Grace the moment she was born.
“He is the only father she’s ever known, and in my opinion, she’s the luckiest little girl in the world,” Allison said, pressing the crusts into pie plates.
“I can’t say I disagree with you. He seems like a great guy,” Ro said, remembering the way Jonah had patiently cut Grace’s pancakes at breakfast, not complaining when the little sticky fingers left syrup all over his shirtsleeve where Grace kept patting his arm.
“It’s funny really,” Allison continued, “Now I’m putting to use all of the same skills that I would have in my old life, but it’s infinitely better, because I have Jonah, Grace, and the rest of our very masculine family.” She smiled. “It is nice to have a woman to talk to finally. The men are like brothers to me, and very sweet, but being the only woman here can be hard sometimes.” She poured homemade blueberry pie filling into the crusts before laying the top crusts over and pinching the edges.
“I can’t even imagine,” Rowan replied. “Although sweet isn’t the word I would have picked to describe the guys I’ve met so far ... More like January through August of the Commando Hotties ‘R’ Us calendar.” Allison laughed.
“How long have you known Graham and Zach?” Ro asked.
“Almost as long as I’ve known Jonah. They didn’t spend as much time here at the beginning. Just on leave, between missions. Jonah was honorably discharged from the service two years before the rest. He’d been thinking of getting out, and meeting me just hurried up that decision.”
“So they’ve all only been here for about two years?”
“Full-time, anyway. They’ve been coming here for much longer, from what I’ve been told. Graham always came home at every opportunity to help his uncle, and the rest of them tagged along. When Graham’s uncle passed and it became his, he was thinking of separating from the service because he didn’t know who he could trust to manage it. It was perfect timing, really, when Jonah decided to get out.” Allison smiled. “That first year was a busy one for us. A new baby and a herd of deer. I thought Jonah might lose his mind. But after that last mission, the rest of the men felt like they had no choice but to take the honorable discharges they were offered. It was probably for the best.” Allison voice trailed off as she turned to put the pies in the big black wood-fired stove.
“What last mission?” Ro asked.
“It’s really not my place to talk about it,” she replied, reaching for a dishtowel to dry to the dishes that Rowan had set in the rack next to the sink.
“Did something go wrong?”
“I shouldn’t say. It’s not something they speak of often.”
“Please, I’d like to know.”
“I don’t know much, honestly. I just know that not all of them made it home, and the mission was under heavy scrutiny by their commanding officer. They all came to live here on the ranch, but about six months later, Nick took his own life.”
A stoneware plate slipped from Ro’s grasp. The sharp thunk it made when it connected with the bottom of the enameled iron sink punctuated Allison’s statement. “I had no idea.”
“There was no reason you would have known,” Allison replied.
“Did you know him?”
“Yes. I knew them all fairly well, except for Tim. He took Jonah’s place on the team during the last years, but from what I gather, he never meshed like the rest. He stayed in while the rest opted for discharge.”
Allison went on to describe the happy-go-lucky Isaac, who’d been killed in action, and his team leader, Nick, who’d committed suicide, presumably out of guilt and regret. Ro asked about the teams, and Allison explained that they’d made up two separate Force Recon teams, but they’d carried out almost all of their missions and training together. Graham led one team, with Beau, Jonah (and later Tim), Jamie, Ty, and Zach. Nick had led the second team of Isaac, Cam, Travis, Alex, and Ryan.
The information was buzzing through Ro’s head. She felt like she’d been given a few pieces to a puzzle she didn’t know she was trying to piece together. At least one thing now made sense: why everyone looked to Graham for orders.
They finished the dishes and chatted until the pies were pulled from the oven. Ro learned more about the ranch than she’d even known to ask. How the electricity was generated by three different means: solar, wind, and micro-hydroelectricity from the creek she’d used in her thwarted escape attempt. The garden wasn’t just a garden; it was an aquaponic garden system that was used to grow not only plants but also supported several types of fish. And it was sustainable year-round thanks to the insulated and heated greenhouse that ran along one of the compound walls. Ro was about to ask more questions when the screen door swung open on soundless hinges, and Zach walked through.
“Hey there, sweetheart. You ‘bout done here? If so, I wondered if you’d like to sit in the clinic for a while?”
“Is she awake?” Ro asked as her heart kicked into a gallop.
“Not yet, but Beau says she should be waking up soon; a few hours at most, he figures. Thought it might help to have a woman there when she comes to.”
Ro looked to Allison. “Did you need more help? I can come back after.”
Allison smiled sweetly. “It’s fine. I’ve appreciated your help and your company. We’ll be along to check in on her later.”
Zach swung Ro up into his arms, dropped a quick kiss onto her head, and headed back out the door.