On the Fence

Chapter 30

The moment I was free of Zeke's office, I ran out of the house and down the steps toward the mess hall. The dinner bell hadn't rung yet and wouldn't for at least half an hour, but I needed a place to hide.

I slipped inside and sat down in a chair in the corner. I looked up when Marney poked her head out of the door that led to the kitchen.

Spotting me, she smiled and called me over, "Come on, filly, come visit with me while I finish the grub. It would be nice to have a woman to chat with for once!" I grinned and stood up from my chair, walking into the kitchen.

I stood in the corner and leaned against the wall because I wasn't precisely washed up enough to be in the kitchen, even if I had just been doing office work.

"So, how are things going for you, hun?" she asked, glancing my way. I sighed and looked down, crossing my arms. "Mmmmm, that good, huh?" she said, taking me in with her perceptive eyes. I looked back up and met her eyes.

She looked back at the pot of stew she was stirring and asked, "What's the trouble exactly?" I bit my lip, unsure what I could and couldn't say to her. "Well, spit it out, girl. I know how to keep a secret," she said, sending a teasing smile my way. I couldn't help but smile in return, laughing a little.

"Even from your boss?" I asked quietly, looking up to meet her eye.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and she snarked, "If you think you're the only one who keeps secrets from him, think again. There are plenty of things that go on, on this ranch that he doesn't know about, filly. I may have helped raise that man, to a point, but that doesn't mean he knows all my secrets. I love him, but part of that also means taking a spoon to his hide when he needs it."

I burst out laughing, unable to stop it, even with a hand to my mouth; the image of Marney taking a spoon to Zeke was too much. She grinned at me, and I could see that she meant it; she was probably the person least intimidated by Zeke. If I had to guess, she also knew him better than anyone else.

It felt risky, but I decided to go ahead and ask, "Marney, does Zeke not have a woman in his life? Has he not had a woman in his life since the accident with his sister?" She stopped stirring the stew and turned to look at me, shock written on her face. Her eyes looked me up and down for a minute, evaluating me. I did my best not to flinch under her scrutiny.

"There have been plenty over the years, but they never seemed to last longer than a few months. One made it to six months, but she was the traveling sort and rarely here. Zeke is a complicated man, and I'm afraid he is rather out of practice with women, for the most part. You interested?"

My eyes widened, and I sucked in a breath through a shocked open mouth before stammering, "No!" Marney laughed, turning back to her stew.

"Then why do you ask, hun? Just gossiping, or is there a reason?" I blushed as she looked over at me.

"I think he may be interested in me, but he's going about it in a way that makes me uncomfortable," I admitted, looking her in the eye to let her know I was serious.

She sighed and was about to say something when the timer on the massive commercial convection oven dinged. She set her spoon aside and walked over to the oven with a pair of hot mats to pull out the enormous tray of dinner rolls. She walked the tray over to the serving window, which was still closed, and started slathering their tops with butter. I could see that she was still thinking of what to say.

"Well, hun, Zeke is a complicated man. He loved once, but she was taken from him. It changed him. He went from that sweet boy I had helped raise, who loved deeply and seemed to embrace life, to the man you see before you today. The man who hides his authentic self, chooses not to interact with people unless he has to, and is hidden from life in many ways. He has had many losses in his time, which is one of the main reasons I decided to stay.