Page 102 of Paths
When we got to the Ranch first thing this morning, I sat down to eat breakfast with all the ladies, but that didn’t stop them from zeroing in on Maya’s left hand. There must be an extra chromosome in the female body alerting them to new diamonds in their vicinity. They almost found it faster than my sisters and their excitement was off the charts.
I can’t help but grin. “No date and I don’t know what Maya wants. But if it’s around here, sure, you’re all invited.”
“Whoop!” she exclaims. “Did y’all hear that? Grady said we’re invited to the wedding!”
As the room erupts, and I only have eyes for Maya as hers go big. I’m not sure if she approves or not, but she loves these old codgers, so I’m not worried.
“When’s the wedding? I want to put it on my calendar and make sure I have an appointment to have my hair set,” Emma Lou yells.
“We’ll let you know,” I say loudly, so she can hear. “Maya needs to shop for a houseful of furniture first. That’s gonna start today.”
“You bought the house.” Maya smirks at me. “Maybe you should start shopping for furniture.”
Shrugging, I talk across the room for all the seniors to hear, “I’ve done my share of furniture shopping for the next decade—I bought a chair. That’s all I need. If you want anything more, you’ll have to go shopping.”
“You need more than a chair, you silly boy.” Miss Lillian Rose frowns at me before turning to Maya. “You need to set up that home he bought for you. You’ll need a full set of formal china for the holidays. I’m sure brides these days don’t register for silver, but you should. It’s time to make your own heirlooms your grandchildren will want someday.”
Maya shakes her head quickly and opens her mouth, hopefully to tell Miss Lillian Rose we don’t need silver anything when Betty agrees. “Yes, don’t skimp. Beautiful flatware is important. Sure, you might have to polish it, but it’s worth it in the end.”
The look on Maya’s face is one that tells me she doesn’t give a shit about that stuff. I clear my throat and I hope to make my point. “I think we can start with a couch and TV. Go from there.”
“Let’s get back to Bingo,” Maya says, and narrows her eyes at me, but since she’s biting her lip, I know she’s not complaining.
I showed her the rest of the house last night, but it was getting too dark and cold to walk around the property. Since I just closed yesterday, I don’t have surveillance set up yet and wasn’t taking a chance walking around the woods with Weston on the loose. I talked to Crew about extending his system across the street, he thought it would be easy, and made some phone calls first thing this morning to get it going. As soon as I can get her to buy some furniture, we’re moving in.
I can’t wait. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a home. I never considered my childhood house a home since my mom died. After that, it was basically a hellhole we were forced to survive in. But starting a new life with Maya? I can’t wait.
She starts calling out numbers again while Miss Lillian Rose talks my ear off about what we need to set up a proper southern home. But when Maya hesitates mid number, I look to her.
She’s tense and staring at the back of the room. Before I have the chance to turn and see what’s caught her attention, she screams.
I’m not far from her, but I instantly reach for my left ankle as I turn in my seat. When I look to the opening of the activity room, there’s Weston. But he’s not alone.
He’s grabbed the first person he could reach and has an arm around his neck with a gun to his head.
Weston’s voice barrels through the room, “I swear, Maya, I’ll blow his fucking head off if you don’t come with me right now.”
*****
Maya –
No.
No-no-no-no.
I hear faint screams and voices from the residents I’ve come to love over the past few months. They’re confused and scared, and rightly so. I’m terrified for their safety. Especially one in particular—my favorite of the bunch.
Weston’s here—and he has Foxy.
But he wants me.
I stand quickly from the table I’m sitting at, and scream, “Let him g—”
But Grady interrupts me and when I look over, he’s standing at the side of the room with his gun drawn and pointed directly at Weston, demanding, “Drop the gun.”
Weston jerks, causing Foxy to lose his footing and claw at Weston’s arm that’s cinched around his neck to keep hold. As spry as Foxy is, it’s easy to see he’s in pain. Especially when Weston roughly shoves the nose of his gun into his temple.
“Come with me and I’ll let him go, Maya. Do it fast, I’m tired of this shit. And I’m tired of seeing you with him.” At the last word, Foxy moans from Weston jerking him again.
