Rill has landed himself smack-dab in the middle of a hippie commune, Katie thought with a rising sense of fascination and amusement.
“Sixty percent? But . . . how do you all make a living?” she asked Olive.
“It doesn’t take much to get by in Vulture’s Canyon. Our needs are few, and most of our food comes from the farm. We could donate more proceeds and time, but we haven’t been able to spread the word about Body and Soul as much as we’d like to help the organization grow. We have no one to really advocate for us with the government, the press and so forth. None of us are very good in the public eye,” Olive said a little sadly. Katie knew it was uncharitable to think it, but Olive’s news didn’t exactly surprise her. From what she’d seen so far, the residents of Vulture’s Canyon were a bunch of misfits.
“Oh, here’s your dinner.” Olive nodded toward the counter where Sherona had just set a large bag. Olive’s brow creased in confusion when she saw the animal fat from the burgers already creating a stain on the side of the paper sack. “You know, Sherona does have some amazing healthy items on the menu. Her vegetarian sandwich with guacamole, Monterey jack cheese, red onion and sprouts on homemade seven-grain bread is amazing.”
“Great, thanks. I’ll have to try that next time. Sounds like something Rill might like.”
Rill had seemed to make a point of excluding himself from her conversation with Olive by facing the counter, but he glanced at Katie and rolled his eyes when she said that. Katie ignored him. Who was he to make fun of her for her junk food diet when he’d lived off cereal and whiskey for a year and a half?
“So . . . are you and that man an item, Olive?” Katie nodded her head significantly at Monty, who was now sitting in a booth with another man she recognized as the camo-wearing, tattooed guy with the army haircut who was in the diner the first night she’d arrived. Hadn’t Sherona called him Marcus? He was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt this evening, but Katie still thought he was likely one of those survivalist people who stockpiled enough supplies to live through an apocalypse and believed the government was responsible for everything from the swine flu to tracking individuals through electronic sensors in dollar bills.
“Monty?” Olive asked. “Yes, he’s my common-law husband.”
“He doesn’t like Maseratis,” Katie said before she tried to take a sip of her milk shake and couldn’t, because it was so thick. Awesome.
Olive laughed. “Did he tell you that?” She threw Monty an amused look over her shoulder. His shaggy eyebrows went up when he saw Olive’s glance. Katie also noticed that the survivalist guy was busy watching Sherona as she did her graceful dance of food preparation behind the counter. When he wasn’t staring at Sherona, he was throwing visual grenades at Rill’s back.
Note to self: don’t be so tough on camo-man. Perhaps he and Katie had something in common, namely that it made their blood pressure rise to see Rill and Sherona anywhere near each other.
“Sorry about Monty,” Olive said, still smiling when she turned back around. “He’s a social worker and this is one of the poorest counties in the state. He sees a lot of needy people and poverty on any given day. He tends to be a bit harsh in his judgments because of that.”
The milk shake didn’t seem so interesting to Katie anymore. She set it down on the counter, suddenly feeling self-conscious when she noticed Rill watching her from the corner of his eye.
Rill had always seemed to notice when she was embarrassed in social situations. It was one of the many reasons she loved him. Everett would blunder on like a typical male, clueless about her emotional state. Too many times to count, though, Rill had changed the subject with a segueing joke or a self-deprecating story, giving Katie a chance to regain her emotional footing. She used to appreciate his keen observance, but now she had reason to curse his sharp eyes.
She hopped down from the counter when Olive said good-bye.
“Come on, Errol. I’ll take you home. We’ve got to get that knee on ice.”
“I guess since you have your health food dinner, you won’t be back at the house for supper?” Rill said as she threw some bills on the counter.
Katie started to give a flippant reply about already having plans before she met Rill’s gaze and was caught. Their eyes locked only for a few seconds, but suddenly it all came back to her: the taste of his come on her tongue, how she’d struggled to keep up with his abundant emissions . . . the poignant sound of his climactic groan, like his soul was being ripped out of him with a giant hook.
She couldn’t quite interpret his expression. What in God’s name was he thinking of her, after what she’d done . . . after what they’d done? She hated herself for allowing it.
She wanted to do it again.
Awkwardness had never before been a part of her and Rill’s relationship. Now it seemed like the main component. What if she’d ruined their friendship forever?
And why had he decided all of a sudden that he wanted to talk to her?
She carefully refolded the paper bag and tried to master her anxiety. “I suppose I could still make you something with the supplies I got today. . . . What about rice pasta with an olive oil, basil and garlic sauce and some steamed asparagus?”
“I’ll pick up something here at the diner, but I want to talk to you later,” he said pointedly.
Katie glanced over at the statuesque Sherona. She was busy taking Marcus’s order, and he looked like he wanted to eat her more than anything on the menu.
“Fine by me,” she said briskly as she picked up the paper bag, doing her best to disguise her swelling nervousness. She’d hated avoiding Rill, but suddenly she wished they could go back to living in separate corners of the same house. Something told her that whatever he had to say wasn’t going to be good.
“I’ll be up the hill in an hour or so,” she said.
She marched out of the diner, Errol trailing after her. If Rill wanted to be fed by Sherona instead of her, well, more power to him. Chances were, Sherona was a lot more stable, grounded—she threw the paper bag in her hand a dirty look—and healthy for him than Katie was.
Eight
The first thing she noticed when she drove up to the Mitchell place was the smoke curling out of the chimney. Rill had built a fire for the past few nights, but he appeared to be doing it solely for Katie’s benefit. Every time she cautiously entered the living room, he was absent, leaving her to stare gloomily at the cozy fire in solitude.