"Mm... I do like the zoo. A lot, actually, I just never give myself
enough time to go." Justin gives Beth a wink. "So the zoo and a picnic
lunch it is then. You wanna come to my place and we'll ride together
from there?" It was a long enough drive from his own house to North
Spring, let alone from here. And... riding together was always fun.
Still trying to wake up from his short but deep sleep, Alec listens
to Misty as he finally stands and stretches, his mouth watering as he
hears about the food. At the mention of the card table and chairs, he
wanders towards the spare room to find things and help set them out.
Her news of Jason makes him quirk an eyebrow and he sticks his
head in the kitchen, giving her a wry grin. "I believe he's a good guy,
but harmless?" Jason was Elite. No Elite agent was harmless, let alone
one as skilled as Jason. He hadn't dealt a whole lot with him but he'd
gotten enough vibes to know that Jason didn't like him much. Not that he
had reason to. It didn't matter much now though who liked or didn't
like who.
Alec shakes his head. "I dunno why you hope I don't mind though...
this is your house after all." He was the one that was intruding, not
Jason or anybody else Misty would invite over. Alec was at her mercy and
he knew it. "I'll try not to get in the way."
Returning to the spare room, purposely not giving her time to
respond, he finds the table and heads to the back door. "Where's the
light switch for the outside light?"
Leaning on the kitchen counter while Jessica washes dishes, Jay dials
Rosetta's number. He'd gotten the message to call her, but had been
kept busy with an emergency at the kennel. Amidst the chaos, he'd
totally spaced off calling her back until Jessica had reminded him.
Hearing his sister's voice, he smiles at the receiver. "Hey, Sis.
It's Jay. Sorry it took this lamebrain so long to call you back. What's
up?"
Walking around the ranch with Katie, Hunter soaks up all the
information, doing his best to tuck it all back into his memory. He
wasn't sure yet how long he'd be here, but he'd always liked knowing
what was going on around him so he could keep up. Dropping off his
things in what would apparently be his bunk, he continues the walk,
asking a few questions, but mainly just letting Katie talk. A couple
times he just had to smile as he listened, feeling as though he were
being led around by quite the experienced tour guide. He was sure she'd
led more than one person around the ranch before.
Coming up beside her at the fence, Hunter leans on the top rail
and stares out across the grass, watching as a few horses grazed in the
distance. It was peaceful here. Quiet. Out in the middle of nowhere. No
city traffic. No horns hoking. Sirens wailing. It had been a long time
since he'd been somewhere like this. Although this was on more of a
grander scale than what he'd experienced as as kid.
For some reason, Katie's question seems to go deeper than just
her words, and Hunter gives her a sidelong glance along with a wry grin.
She probably wondered what made him actually decide to come here. But
that's one thing he liked about her... she respected him enough not to
pry. She just... dropped hints, and it was up to him whether or not to
bite.
"If I told you I was fine and things were going great, would you believe me?"
He
chuckles and turns his gaze back out to the pasture. "Nah... things
aren't so great. But life's not supposed to be perfect, right?"
He
picks at a sliver of wood on the fence rail, not even sure what to
say. It takes him a few silent moments to eventually speak again. "I
guess after waking up with another hangover from another bender, I
figured maybe it would be a good idea to get away from that scene for a
while. Nobody's there to keep me in line, and I sure don't do it
myself." Maybe it went deeper than that. Maybe it went a lot deeper than that. But he wasn't so sure he was ready to talk about it.
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