Olive Oil

All three guys were grinning from ear to ear by the time they traipsed inside. Karla's hugs were returned with much enthusiasm, and for a few moments, they were all talking at once, without making a whole lot of sense. 

Levi had swiveled around in his chair and simply cocked his head, his eyes wide with curiosity. For someone who didn't have much of a social life, Karla seemed to be pretty popular all of a sudden. 

"Yes, we're idiots." Theo nodded. "Actually it's really Kyle since this was his idea."

Russ nodded his agreement. "Kyle's always the idiot, you know that."

"Hey!" Kyle threw up his hands. "Give a guy a break!" 

Finally introduced, Levi stood and wandered over to offer the guys handshakes. "Nice to meet you. Technically my dad's the boss around here, but I don't mind the title." He grinned. "Don't let Karla fool you though. If it weren't for her, I'd be a mess, so in all reality, she's a big part of the brains." 

Kyle's smile changed to one of pleasure at seeing Karla getting that much credit. He'd been worried about her, and was glad to see her in a place like this. He didn't know Levi, but could sense he was a good guy. 

There was a somewhat awkward pause before Theo spoke again. "So, we're starving."

"Famished," Russ agreed. "Kyle's been working us all morning without any breaks at all."

"I have not!" Kyle defended. "We went over three new songs and who was it that ate a whole bag of potato chips all by themselves?"

Russ grinned sheepishly and tucked his hands in his jeans back pockets. "Um. My evil twin?"

"Dude, your evil twin is gonna weigh two hundred pounds here pretty soon," Theo teased. 

Kyle rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Karla. "We actually wondered if we could take you out for lunch. Twila's not in town at the moment, Erik's with family, but Alice will meet us as soon as I text her where we're gonna be." He glanced at Levi. "As long as that won't get her in trouble."

"Of course not." Levi nodded to Karla and smiled. "Go on. And don't worry about taking a long lunch either. It's a slow day." 


Hunter's eyes widened. "Yeah... a wrench to the head would probably do quite a bit of damage." He gave Ryan a wry grin as he started the car and pulled back out onto the street. He was glad they'd been able to eat lunch together. Maybe in a way, spending just a little time with each other after the trip gave him a slight bit more assurance that maybe Ryan wouldn't forget about him too quickly. 

Getting her back to the shop, he pulled into the parking lot and left the engine running. "Try not to work too hard the rest of the day, eh?" He reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and his voice softened. "I'm not sure I ever told you... even though we're not at the ranch, I'm still just a call or text away if you need me."


Aaron really wasn't sure what to make of Sam... did she really care if he lived or died, or was it just part of her job to keep him from getting shot? Did she really like his company like she said, or was that just something she was supposed to say so he'd trust her? 

His eyes followed her as she moved about, studying the way she carried herself. And again she appeared to be so different than other women he'd spent any amount of time with. 

Hearing she'd actually bring the food, a faint smile reemerged. "I never was good at magic... just eating." He sighed and pulled himself back up to his feet, knowing good and well he couldn't stay up here the rest of the day. At least now though... he had something to look forward to. 

It was slow going back down the stairs, but he managed, and soon he was back in his room again, easing back down on the bed as his knee throbbed. Before Sam left though, he had one more thing. "Olive oil," he commented. "Not sure I saw any here. You might wanna bring some of that too." It was going to be a long wait until she returned, but maybe... maybe he could find something worth staying awake for tonight.