Free Loco by Cheyenne Meadows Page B

mattress in the living room floor while she headed directly for the kitchen. She pulled out a recipe book and gathered ingredients. Soon after, she dipped batter into muffin wrappers, and then placed the pan in the oven. While they baked, she cleaned fresh strawberries and placed them in a bowl before doing the same with cantaloupe slices, chunking them into bite-sized pieces and setting them on a small platter. By the time her timer dinged, she arranged the table in preparation for a guest for breakfast.
    Still no Tanner in sight. Maybe after her shower, if he didn't appear, she would carry him some food.
    She turned the oven off but left them inside for the moment. More than once she forgot and left food out on the kitchen countertop when she left the kitchen, only to return to find it eaten. Hercules excelled at counter surfing, a habit that forced her to keep the kitchen neat and organized, for his sake and hers. She considered the fruit for a second then stashed it in the fridge for safe keeping. He had never eaten fruit before, but today could be the day. With breakfast safely stored away, she hurried to the shower.

    Finishing her braid, she grabbed a still-warm muffin from the oven and headed to the back patio. She craned her head this way and that but saw no sign of Tanner. However, she found someone else.
    "Good morning, Spoon." She smiled at the tall dark-haired man.
    He returned her grin. "I thought I smelled muffins."
    "Fresh from the oven, no less. There are plenty if you're interested. I thought Tanner would have climbed out of bed by now, on the trail of food, but no such luck."
    "Probably sleeping like a log. We've got plans, so it's time to wake him." His mouth turned up in a mischievous grin.
    Oakley tilted her head in perplexed interest. "Going to call him or knock on the door?"
    "Nah. It's more fun to wake him up personally."
    "Huh?"
    He shook his head. "Highly classified secret information." He pressed an index finger to his lips.
    She bobbed her head in understanding.
    "Why don't you round up those muffins while I wake the hibernating bear. Food might improve his attitude a bit this morning."
    "Okay." Those men were just odd in her book.
    Heading back in, she pulled the muffins from the oven, arranging them onto a plate for easy grabbing. The fruit returned to the table, as did glasses of juice.
    A loud thump jarred the wall next to her with muted voices following. Guess Tanner is awake now. She grinned at the thought of what pranks Spoon might have played on his buddy. They were just like brothers, always trying to get the best of one another.
    By the time she filled all the glasses, Spoon and Tanner appeared at her back door. Spoon looked as clean and brushed as before, his short hair combed and in place, jeans and white shirt without wrinkles or smudges. Tanner looked a bit worse for wear with a cowlick through his lighter brown locks, his eyes still at half-mast with sleep.
    "Look what the cat dragged in." Spoon gestured toward Tanner, earning a shot to the upper arm for his troubles.
    Oakley smirked. "Poor Tanner. Can't even sleep in one day without someone waking you."
    He snorted. "Yeah, I would have preferred Hercules to slime me with doggie saliva than to have this gorilla try to sneak up on me." A smirk followed. "Good thing he has a hard head."
    "Whatever." Spoon shrugged, not rallying to argue.
    "Come on. Breakfast is ready. It's not much, but it's fresh."
    Both men strode forward, taking a seat at the table and grabbing a couple of muffins from the heaping mountain before digging in. She followed suit, nibbling on a strawberry.
    Tanner focused on her and stared.
    She blinked and took another bite, not understanding his sudden interest.
    Spoon glanced from Tanner to her and back again, a slow grin appearing on his face. Scuffling noises came from under the table.
    Nervous with the awkward silence, Oakley tossed out a question. "So, what are you guys going to do today?"
    "Paintball," Spoon