The next morning, Andie was up and showered and dressed by 9. She managed to slip out without waking the sleeping band, she thought. She was outside and had climbed into her truck and just as she was going to start the engine, a face appeared in the driver’s window. She jumped and turned the key off. The door opened and Clay was right there.

“You were supposed to wake me up,” he said sternly.

“It was a quiet night and you had a pretty long day yesterday,” she started. “I figured . ..”

“Well, you figured wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“You weren’t expecting me, were you?”

“No.”

“Your first thought was that it was Bill, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s why Joe wants you to have someone out here with you.”

“I know.”

“You . . .”

“I know. I am sorry,” she interrupted him. “Are you ready to go to the store with me now?”

“Not yet. Come with me.” He held out a hand and she took it and stepped down. He led her bank into the barn and back to the bunkroom. The rest of the guys were still asleep and a couple of them were snoring pretty well. Clay indicated a chair at the table and whispered, “I’ll only be a minute” and then disappeared into the bathroom.

He was back almost immediately. “Ready?” he asked.

“I’ve been ready. I’ve been waiting for you, remember?” she grinned.

“Come on,” he held out his hand and she took it and rose from the chair.

“I don’t know why you worried about snoring the other night,” she said as they strode through the barn. “You can’t hold a candle to a couple of those guys,” she indicated the sleeping band members behind the closed bunkroom door.

“Then I did snore?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, you didn’t,” she laughed. They closed the barn door behind them and headed for Andie’s truck. “You wanna drive?”

“Why? It’s your truck and you know where we’re going,” he replied.

“There are some men, at least in this town, who would rather not be driven by a woman.”

“They’re either old school or think they have to prove themselves all the time. When Joe rides with you, who drives?”

“I do. And you did drive last night.”

“Only because you’ve been walking a tight wire for months and are on the edge of exhaustion. You couldn’t keep your eyes open.”

“True,” she said as she handed him the keys. “I’ll give you directions.” She grinned and climbed into the driver’s door and scooted across the seat. They made fast work of the shopping trip. Andie had a list and knew the store so it went quickly.

She made a traditional boarding house breakfast with bacon, eggs, fried potatoes and biscuits for all the guys. And she made lots. She just hoped it was enough for them. Andie decided to make one extra dish for the guys to try, since it was her favorite and she thought it was healthier. This one was rice, eggs, sausage pieces and baby peas mixed together.

The smell of good food cooking had an immediate effect on the sleeping men. Jeff and Jimmie were the first up and after that it didn’t take long at all.

Once the band was gathered at the table, Andie put the food out and Clay filled everyone’s coffee cups. The meal was pretty quiet while the guys ate. Then the conversation picked up once they had finished eating. From the looks of all the empty serving dishes, Andie decided she had gauged the amount of food right. She just shook her head in amazement of the amount of food six grown men could consume at one sitting.

“That was great, Andie. Thanks” Jeff said and the others echoed his words. Then Jeff and Jimmie ushered her out of the way and proceeded to clean up. Andie started to protest.

“We’re gonna pitch in, and that’s all there is to it,” Jimmie said.

“All right,” she smiled and shook her head.

“While these guys are cleaning up from breakfast,” Clay started, “how about you and I go check out the house and see what we can start doing in there?”

“Bob and I will continue what we started in the stock end of the barn,” Chuck put in.

“What about me?” Mark spoke up then.

“You can wash the dishes,” Jimmie put in.

Sorry, I just haven't been writing lately. I'll see what I can do to get the story going again. If anyone is interested, that is.