Savage (Wolf Ranch #4) - Renee Rose Page 0,63
I might have gotten past the nauseated phase—thank God—but hadn’t lost my weird hankerings.
I all but tossed open the door, and there was Janet with plastic containers in her hands. I grabbed them from her, and she laughed, breezing in as if it were July and not snowing. “Honey, I didn’t know which one sounded good right now, so I made you both. No reason to even get a plate, huh?”
She bustled me toward the small kitchen and settled me at the table. I had no idea if she’d been to Audrey’s house before or not, but she went directly to the silverware drawer and pulled out a fork.
I took off a lid as she brought me the utensil and grabbed a napkin from the little holder in the center of the table.
The scent of tangy barbecue sauce and meat wafted from the first container I opened. “Oh my God, these look so good.”
As Janet took off her coat, she smiled. “All my boys like them. I’d put them in the slow cooker because the boys loved to snack after school.”
“That sounds nice for them.”
I’d tried to block visions of Clint, but instantly a ten-year old version popped into my head, all tousle haired and rowdy, ready to chow down for a snack.
“You must’ve bought a lot of food,” I said, shoving a cocktail wiener in my face. It was still warm, and the sauce was sticky and sweet. I closed my eyes as I chewed. Sooo good.
“I did. When Rob, Colton and Boyd lost their parents, we pretty much took care of them. They stayed at the main house… it’s their home and all, but I made sure those guys were fed and sorted. Still do, at least a little bit.” She sat quietly as I savored the flavor. I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before. “The baby’s happy now?”
After I swallowed, I speared another and shoveled it in. “Mmmhmm,” I replied.
“You’ve got a big job going on inside you. If you want little hot dogs, then you can have little hot dogs.” She reached for the second container and took off the lid.
Seven-layer dip, about three inches thick, only the top layer of thickly spread guacamole with olive halves sprinkled on top visible.
“God, that looks good, too.” My mouth was full, and I was eating like a pig.
She held up a spoon. “It doesn’t even need chips, does it?”
I shook my head, grabbed the spoon and dug in, getting every bit of the seven layers piled on.
This went in, the flavors of barbeque, refried beans and sour cream melding on my tongue. I had no idea something so disgusting could be so good.
“You’re a really good cook,” I told her after she brought me a glass of water to wash it all down.
“Thank you. It’s bribery. My boys want good food. They sit at my table.”
“That’s devious but smart.”
“It got you to open the door, didn’t it?”
I pointed the spoon at her before digging up some more dip. “You’re a good mom,” I said. “Trust me, I know bad ones.”
She patted my hand and gave me a small smile. “Want to tell me about yours?”
I sighed, taking a break from stuffing my face. I’d eaten all but two little hot dogs and half the dip. I wiped my mouth with the napkin then looked down and saw a glop of barbeque sauce on my shirt. I tried wiping at it, but Janet stilled my hand. I could only imagine what I looked like. I’d cried myself to sleep, and my hair was a snarl. I was wearing Audrey’s hand-me-downs that didn’t fit all that well. I put the napkin down. A stain on my shirt wasn’t going to make me look worse.
“The short version?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“My parents are… religious. The kind who preach but mess up on the practice part. They weren’t married when my mom got pregnant. There was a quickie marriage, and I was born early.”
Janet’s dark brows went up, but she said nothing.
“They believe marriage is for life. That what God has joined together, no man shall put asunder and all that. It didn’t matter if they didn’t like each other. Or blamed their loveless marriage on me. My ex… well, he never did become my ex, did he?” I gave a humorless laugh and took a little drink. “Todd wasn’t a nice guy.” I told her about leaving Todd and how he refused to divorce me. “My parents sided with Todd. I should