by Maggie Ryan
“I-I don’t ride,” she said softly.
“You will,” Stryder said with confidence. “You’re in Texas now. Loving to ride is as much a part of being a Texan as the BBQ sauce flowing through our veins.”
She didn’t answer. Perhaps instead of stating she didn’t ride, she should have told him that the very thought of getting up on one of those huge beasts had her heart palpitating. Seeing the pleasure in his eyes as he pointed out various horses, she decided not to inform him that any touring she’d be doing would be done with her feet firmly planted on the ground. Before he could expand on his plans, his grin grew wider as they topped a rise.
“Welcome to The Black Stallion Ranch.”
Turning her gaze to the windshield, she saw a large log cabin house nestled against the rock face of a mountain. It was beautiful, and seeing that people were rising from where they’d been seated in rocking chairs, she saw them wave in welcome.
Stryder was all smiles as he lifted her down from the truck. “Let me introduce you—”
“I can introduce myself.” Zoya watched as a woman wearing a flowing skirt of many patches of color and a peasant blouse pushed the huge mountain of a man aside. “Hello, Zoya, I’m Jennie. Welcome home.”
Before she could react, the woman had her wrapped in her arms. She smelled of nature, earth, flowers, and honey? Perhaps it was the woman’s grey curls or the softness of her body as she held her, or the warmth in her voice, but whatever it was, Jennie reminded Zoya of her grandmother. Tears filled her eyes and as the woman pulled away just the slightest, Jennie gave her a soft smile. “Don’t you fret, honey, you’re gonna be just fine.”
“Thank you,” Zoya managed, attempting to get herself under control, though it was obvious she wasn’t the one in control. Jennie kept her arm around her waist and was already leading her towards the porch. Once they walked up the steps, she used her free hand to pull a beautiful woman to her side.
“This is Adira. She came to us not too long ago and is now family.”
“Nice to meet you,” Zoya said, holding out a hand.
Adira took it and smiled, then pulled her into a hug. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re here. I’m so sorry about what you’ve gone through but I can promise you that it will be all right now.”
“Hey, where’s our welcome?” Stryder asked, taking the steps two at a time and without making it seem as if he’d even moved, soon had Zoya unattached from the other women and at his side, his hand against her lower back.
Jennie gave him a look that had Zoya’s eyes widening a bit. “Let’s see… oh yes, I remember. That hug was all ready to be delivered over two hours ago! Instead of wrapping my hands around you boys, I had to wrap them around saving the dinner that I’ve been slaving all day to prepare. You know how much it means to me to provide a nice welcome home meal. One that is not overcooked! Come on, you too, Anson. Supper’s ready. Maddox and Drake are practically withering away, and I know you poor boys must be starving. I can’t wait for you to try out my newest recipes.”
“Sounds great,” Stryder said, causing Zoya to whip her head around to look at him. How on earth could he say that? She still felt like she’d eaten an entire cow! There was no way she’d be able to eat a single bite. Seeing she was about to inform him of that fact as the others went into the house, he shook his head.
“Don’t even try it,” he warned. “You swore!”
“But—”
“No buts,” he cut in, grinning as his eyebrow quirked. “Unless you want us all to get our butts roasted, I suggest you unsnap that button on your jeans and eat everything our Jennie slaps on your plate.”
Too stunned that his warning was accompanied by a quick, sharp swat against the seat of her jeans, she couldn’t think of a single retort, listening to him chuckle as he led her through what looked like a very warm and welcoming living room to what she instantly knew was the true heart of the home. Two men were waiting, both as tall and as handsome as Stryder and Anson.
“Welcome, Zoya, I’m Drake, these boys’ dad.”
“And I’m Maddox.”
“Nice to meet you,” Zoya said softly, “thank you for… um… having me.”
“The pleasure is ours—”
“Come on and sit down. More time isn’t going to enhance my star dish,” Jennie said, going from the stove to place a pan of something on a trivet set on the table.
“Oh, shit,” Anson said so softly only Zoya and Stryder heard him.
While she attempted to squelch a giggle caused by her own prayer for salvation at seeing the bowls and platters lined up down the center of the large table, Stryder said what all three of them had to be thinking, “God help us all.”
Chapter 9
This truly was cruel and unusual punishment. There was no way the poor girl would be able to pull this off. Stryder and Anson would be able to stuff down whatever green concoction Jennie came up with, but Zoya? No way. She was half their size and had already eaten more than she ever had before. Plus, he and Anson were seasoned professionals at this. His brothers and he had mastered this act a time or two. It wasn’t always pleasant, but so worth the BBQ delight.
As they sat down at the kitchen table, Stryder looked at Maddox, who wore a shit-eating grin. His brother knew they stopped at their secret place, and he was enjoying every minute of this. Maddox knew the torture they were going to have to endure by having to cram even more food into their bellies. It had to give Maddox some joy, and since he didn’t get any ribs, his only enjoyment would come from watching his brothers pay the price.
“Zoya, dear,” Jennie began. “I know you have been through quite the ordeal. Your poor stomach must be full of knots. Maybe it’s best you only nibble on the side salad that Adira and I made. It’s full of fresh vegetables from our garden. Only take a little and eat what you can. I won’t be offended at all.”
“Plus, Jennie made rhubarb pie for dessert later tonight if you find yourself hungry,” Adira chimed in.
Zoya looked at Stryder with a twinkle in her eye and gave a very small smile. It was clear she knew she was off the hook and was loving that she didn’t have to suffer the same misery that Stryder and Anson would have to.
“Thank you, Jennie. I think you are right. It was such a long trip, and to be honest, I’m not hungry right now,” Zoya said.
“But you two,” Jennie continued, “have got to be starving! Extra helpings for you! You can just work it off later.” Jennie walked over to where Stryder sat and added, “In fact, I will dish it up for you. I was so proud of you both when I heard of all the good work you did in Moscow that I made something special.” She removed the lid off the large casserole dish. Leaning forward, and trying not to scowl, Stryder scrutinized the gray mushy pile inside. “I made meatloaf!”
“Meatloaf?” Stryder asked in disbelief, not understanding what exactly he was seeing before him, and wondering how it could ever be considered meatloaf. It was gray! And there were odd looking seeds inside of it. What kind of meat was gray?
Jennie scooped a large pile of mush onto his plate, then another, and then another. It was enough gray matter to feed an army. She then walked over to Anson and did the same, covering every square inch of his plate. “Oh, yes. You boys deserve the best tonight.” She sat down as everyone else was passing dishes of cooked vegetables and the salad bowl around. Everyone else seemed to avoid the meatloaf, not that Stryder blamed them.
“So you cooked meat?” Stryder asked as he scooped the first helping of gray goo into his mouth.
“Well, of course not!” Jennie said as she dished salad onto her plate. “It’s plant based and vegan. But it is supposed to give you the meat appearance and taste. When I saw the recipe, I just knew you boys would love it. It may have to be a staple at our dinner table for when you men do something extra deserving of it. I’m sure you will love it.”
Oh fucking hell! She was wrong. She was so very fucking wrong. There was nothing meat tasting about this. Stryder looked at
Anson, who was chewing, but having a hard time swallowing the wad he had just jammed in his mouth. Stryder’s poor brother grimaced with every movement of his jaw. This didn’t just taste bad, it tasted like shit. But not normal human shit. This tasted like the type of shit that would come out of the ass of a tree-hugging hippie. And it had the consistency of paste. Paste mixed with birdseed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t prevent the mass of fake meat from sticking to the roof of his mouth. His entire tongue was coated in meat cement! Jennie had cooked many an awful dish in her time, but this meatloaf was by far the worst thing he had ever tasted. And he had three pounds of it piled high on his plate!
He glanced over at Zoya, who was nibbling on a piece of lettuce. He could see the amusement all over her face. She knew he was miserable having to eat so much food on a full stomach, but she had no idea the true misery of this meal. He would rather lick the fungus off a cowboy’s foot than eat another bite of this, but he couldn’t refuse. The Steele men never refused Jennie. It was the rule of the house.
“Have you ever been to Texas before?” Drake asked Zoya casually as he ate a cooked carrot. Stryder noticed his dad hadn’t taken any of the meat hell, but he wouldn’t mention it to Jennie. This meal could very well be the death of his poor pops if he were to eat it. He wasn’t going to make his father suffer the same excruciating pain he and Anson were in.
“No, sir,” she said softly. “I’ve never been out of Russia.”
“Well, welcome to our ranch,” Drake said with a warm smile. “After supper, Stryder will show you the ranch and then to your room. The ladies worked all day getting it just right for you.”
“Thank you,” Zoya said even softer than before. “I hope I’m not too much of a burden.”
“Nonsense,” Jennie said with a tiny wave of her fork. “We love guests here at The Black Stallion Ranch. And Adira and I are very happy to have some more female energy around here. We get outnumbered.”
“I plan to help wherever I can,” Zoya said with more spirit this time. “I definitely will pull my weight.”
“Zoya is an artist, and a gardener too,” Stryder said.
“An artist?” Jennie seemed genuinely happy to hear that news. “And a woman who gardens. Oh, we are going to get along perfectly!”
“Stryder and Anson were hoping I could draw portraits of everyone involved with…” she paused and looked down at her small portion of a salad, “involved with the auction in Moscow.”
“It will be a great help,” Maddox offered softly. “If you can bring yourself to do it.”
“I can,” Zoya said with a weak smile.
“Reliving memories won’t be easy,” Adira said, clearly observing Zoya and her actions.
“I know.” Zoya looked at Adira and then Maddox. “But I will do whatever I can to help. Some of those women sold off to those monsters had become my friends.”
Drake cleared his throat, signaling that business talk wasn’t allowed at the dinner table. “We will get started on that once Zoya is settled in. No need to ruin a perfectly good meal with talk of evil.”
Jennie looked at Stryder and Anson with a raised eyebrow and asked, “How do you like the meatloaf, boys?”
Stryder had just been shoveling the pig slop into his mouth as fast as he could. He could see Anson was doing the same. The quicker they did, the quicker their hippie hell would be over. The only good that came from this was that the taste and consistency was so awful, he had all but forgotten about the fact that he was so full of BBQ that he could burst. That pure heaven of a meal was long forgotten.
“I would prefer real meat,” Anson grumbled.
“I don’t even know what the hell I’m eating,” Stryder said. Although they both complained about her cooking, which was normal in their household, neither would simply not eat it. They would never hurt Jennie’s feelings. They loved her. Hated her cooking, but loved her.
Stryder glanced up at Adira and Maddox, who both were looking as if they were trying to hold in laughter. Neither of them were eating the meatloaf. Taking a quick look at everyone’s plates, he noticed that no one other than he and Anson were eating the gray goo of poo.
“Why aren’t you eating any of Jennie’s meatloaf, bro?” Stryder asked Maddox, not caring that he was ratting Maddox out. “You sure don’t want to miss out on this dish.” Spittle of gray chunks fell from Stryder’s mouth. He couldn’t help it. A thick coating still overwhelmed his mouth. The more he chewed, the bigger it seemed to grow. It felt like his tongue was now papier-mâché.
“Oh no,” Jennie answered for Maddox. “I made that special for our heroes. You boys did so good in Russia and deserved a treat just for the two of you. Such good, honest, trustworthy men like the two of you deserve my special attention.”
Maddox chuckled and Adira giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Stryder asked, looking at Anson who appeared to be just as confused as he was. Although it seemed that Anson couldn’t talk because of the layers of thick imposter meat still in his mouth.
“Nothing, bro, nothing,” Maddox said as he looked at Adira, and they both burst into laughter.
Stryder put down his fork, now knowing something was up. “What’s going on?”
“Oh nothing, dear,” Jennie said with a large smile on her face. “I just knew that after all that BBQ you two ate today,” she gave a dirty look toward both Stryder and Anson before clearing her throat to add, “that you would be grateful for my meatloaf. I made it with special ingredients that would help ease your belly from all the toxins you just recently consumed.” She looked around the table at everyone with a knowing smile. “I was only looking out for your best interests, of course.” She then smiled at Zoya. “And since Zoya here is new, and surely just obediently doing as her two rescuers say, I felt she could be saved from this detox tonight.”
Zoya’s mouth opened wide and she looked at Stryder with big saucer eyes. “I didn’t rat you out! I swear!”
Jennie giggled. “You didn’t have to. How Stryder got BBQ sauce on his elbow might be a mystery but I can smell the stench of carcass on his breath.” She turned to look at Anson, “Plus, I know exactly how long it takes to drive from the airport to the ranch.”
Zoya giggled as Stryder lifted his arm, and seeing a tell-tale reddish brown smear, he shook his head.
Anson pushed the gray matter around on his plate, and Stryder did the same, examining it closer.
“Detox? What did you put in this?” Stryder asked, almost afraid of the answer.
“Oh you know,” Jennie answered casually, “just the basics in any good detox meal.”
Drake snorted, but kept his eyes down on his plate. Maddox and Adira tried to do the same. It was clear that they were all in on the joke.
“The meatloaf is plant based, but I also added some Chia seeds, some fig, some crushed up probiotics, and then mixed it all with some fresh and powerful kombucha tea,” Jennie said with a look of pride on her face.
“In other words,” Maddox said, “it’s full of every natural ingredient that you can think of that is going to make you both shit your brains out in the next thirty minutes or so.” He laughed so loudly that it cut the restraint that was holding back the others, and everyone else joined in with huge belly laughs.
“It’s for your own good,” Jennie said between her fits of laughter. “You don’t need all that processed junk, and all those high cholesterol chemicals in your body. I bet that meat you ate wasn’t even organic.”
Stryder couldn’t hear Zoya’s laugh over everyone else’s, but the shaking of her shoulders next to him told him she found this highly amusing. “Jennie…”
“She put laxatives in your food?” Zoya asked Stryder between her laughter. “I think I’m going to like Texas.”
“Are you kidding me?” Anson asked as he took a large swig of water.
“You play, you pay, sons,” Drake said as tears welled in his eyes from laughing so hard. “Hard lesson to learn. But don’t mess with Jennie.”<
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“You pay, you shit, is more like it,” Maddox added.
“A good purge will do you good,” Jennie informed them with such a warm smile that it was impossible to be mad at her.
The rumble in his stomach warned that the thirty minutes that Maddox spoke of may have been generous. Stryder needed to get to his room and private bathroom before this got ugly—and even more embarrassing than it already was. And when he heard the legs of Anson’s chair scoot back as he rose to leave the table, Stryder knew his brother must be feeling the same rumblings brewing as well.
“Well played, Jennie. Well played.” Stryder gave her a wink and then chuckled. Yeah, the next hour or so was going to suck. He knew all about the power of Jennie’s detox blends. But he had to hand it to the woman. She was damn clever. And even though he was moments from exploding, Stryder looked at Zoya and chuckled again. “Welcome to the Steele household.” With that, he quickly left the room, hearing nothing but joyous laughter behind him.
The one good thing Jennie’s prank had done was give Zoya some time without him hovering over her. Stryder didn’t want to suffocate the woman, but he also hated being away from her. It wasn’t just because she was his save, either. He enjoyed her company, but he also felt the need to have her near him just so he one hundred percent knew she was safe. He wanted to make sure of it, and the only true way to do that was to stay with her at all times. Yet, he knew that his overprotective ways would most likely drive her crazy.
He knocked on her bedroom door, knowing it was late, but he doubted she had turned in for the night. “Zoya?” he called. “It’s me, Stryder.”
When the door opened, a beautiful blonde in a white nightgown and satin robe welcomed him with a warm smile. Zoya appeared angelic. So pure and innocent. It was hard to believe by looking at her that she had just experienced one of the darkest moments of her life. Nothing but beauty and light exuded from her crystal blue eyes. “Did everything come out all right?” she teased. She didn’t laugh, but he could tell she wanted to. She opened the door wider so he could enter the room.
