Free The One Place by Laurel Curtis Page A

figured you wouldn’t wanna eat at the diner since you spend every day there. So I put in an order for us to pick up at noon yesterday, thinkin’ that would give us enough time, even with your ability to talk.”
    Wow, that was actually really sweet. Even though he threw in an insult there at the end. “Thanks. That sounds good, actually.”
    He surprised me with what he said next. “You’re different today.”
    “Different? Different how?”
    He shrugged and said, “I dunno. You’re nice.” And then smiled huge.
    Instead of getting mad or throwing sass, I just giggled. I guess that proved his theory right. Maybe I was nicer today.
    ********
    Tuck went in and grabbed the food, and we sat on the bench in the park I had used for soaking up sun to eat. He did good. He got me a burger, just how I liked it, with mustard, pickles and ketchup and nothing else and fries with ketchup. Obviously, someone in there had a big mouth because Tuck had never seen me eat a burger.
    Lunch was quiet until Tuck started in on a subject that I wasn’t willing to give any answers to.
    “So what brought you to Joplin?”
    Oh boy. Okay. I needed an honest answer that was supremely vague. That was the only way to go.
    “I needed a new start, and Joplin felt right.”
    He nodded as though he understood. “I know what you mean.”
    I couldn’t help but ask. “Which part? The needing a new start or Joplin feeling right?”
    He shrugged. “I guess you could say both. New starts can be good and I know all about somethin’ just feelin’ right.”
    I was really curious, but I also suspected the more I asked the more permission it gave him to ask. So I shut my mouth. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t tell him either.
    After we finished our food, Tuck collected all of our garbage and took it to throw away. I stood up and stretched side to side trying to prepare myself to spend some more time on a horse.
    Tuck came back and asked, “You ready?”
    I just nodded and headed in the direction of the horses. Just like before, he took his position behind me with his hands on my hips and lifted me onto Hatch’s back.
    And then, he ruined a perfectly good moment. “I can tell you just ate. You’re heavier.”
    I was floored! What an asshole remark! I started to berate him but when I looked at his face I stopped. He had a huge smile on his face and I swear was just waiting for me to throw attitude at him. And beyond expecting it, he was inviting it! He must like it when I was a nasty bitch. Interesting. “You just love to incite my anger don’t you?”
    “Nothin’ better than watchin’ you get all fired up, Babe.”
    I wanted to be upset, but I couldn’t. He was too much fun.
    We rode across town passed what I knew to be his farm, though he didn’t mention it, and up the road to the Anderson place. Apparently, the Anderson place and Jace’s place were one in the same. I kept learning that I had yet to discover so much about Joplin and the people in it. I guess time and days like today would fix that eventually.
    As we were riding up the drive I asked, “Didn’t you just help Jace the other day?”
    He nodded. “I did. Takes a lotta work and a lotta help to run a place like this. As long as I’m free and don’t have other work to do at my place, I try to help out.”
    “Wow, he’s lucky to have you.”
    Tuck just lifted one shoulder as if to say it was no big deal. It looked like once again, I needed to eat my words from when I had told Annabelle that Tuck was lazy. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
    ********
    Tuck did a great job explaining what I needed to do while we were herding the cattle. He was patient and kind and took the time to explain everything while it was happening. I had a little experience with cattle work from team sorting back in Georgia, but nothing like this.
    I had also found out that Jace was one of his closest friends here in Joplin. He had apparently been pretty wild in his younger days, but spent