Half a Cowboy - Andrew Grey Page 0,3

sit up. Eat a little and you’ll start to feel even better.” He waited as Ben slowly propped himself against the cushions. Then the man set the plate on his lap and turned to leave once more.

The food was basic: scrambled eggs, a piece of toast cut in half, and a few sausage links. Ben took a bite of egg and then a second. It tasted really good. He drank some more, and then his appetite kicked in and he had to stop himself from shoveling the food into his mouth.

“No one is going to take the plate from you. Just relax and eat slowly. You don’t want it to come back up on you.” The man sat in a chair at an angle to the sofa with his own plate balanced on his lap. “I’m Ashton, Ashton Covert.”

“Ben Mal… voin, Malvoin.” He changed his last name to be safe. There was no way he wanted to leave a trail. It was best if Benjamin Malton simply disappeared forever. Besides, these people didn’t need to pay for their kindness with the kind of terror Dallas could unleash if he tracked Ben here. “Thank you for all of this.” He finished eating and set the plate on the table. Then he drank the rest of his water and lay back down, almost more tired now than he was when they’d brought him in.

“You rest, and we can talk later,” Ashton said. “Stay warm. If you want some, there’s tea in the kitchen. Water too, of course. Get what you need.” He continued eating, and Ben watched him, taking in his weathered features and the way Ashton lifted his gaze sometimes between bites. Ashton’s gaze seemed almost hard, like the weight of the world had settled in those eyes. Ben knew exactly how that felt.

By the time Ashton finished eating, Ben was struggling to keep his eyes open. As soon as Ashton left the room, he snuggled under the blankets and fell asleep.

BEN WOKE sometime later. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep, but the house was silent. No one moved. He slowly pushed back the blankets and sat up, clearing his head. He carefully stood and wandered into the kitchen, where he drank some water and found a plate of cookies on the counter with a note to have some if he liked. Homemade cookies. He looked around and marveled at how clean the room was, admiring the pots and pans that hung from the ceiling. That was high-end, expensive cookware for professionals.

The man who lived here was certainly not what Ben expected a rancher to be like. He lifted the plastic wrap and took a cookie, biting into it and moaning softly at the chocolaty, buttery decadence. Ben ate it and took another, then closed the wrap before drinking some more water.

He knew it would probably be best if he left, but he honestly had little idea where he was and no way of going anywhere if he did. His car was useless, probably buried until the spring, not that it was going to do him any good in the shape it was in.

A door opened and nails tapped on the floor. Suddenly Ben was surrounded by a phalanx of dogs jumping and jostling for attention. “If you pet them, they will be your friends for life,” Ashton said as he came into the room. “I can put them back out if they bother you.”

Ben shook his head and scratched behind ears and down backs, only to get mobbed even more by the motley group of mutts.

“Come on, it’s time to eat.”

They took off after Ashton and were soon munching away from bowls along the far wall. “Ummm, if someone could give me a ride to a town with a bus station or something, I’ll get out of your hair. I need to have someone take care of what’s left of my car and….”

“The car was already found and towed. A friend of mine has it, but he says it’s probably a lost cause,” Ashton said. “As for leaving, I doubt anyone is going to be moving very soon. Another snowstorm is on its way, and all anyone can do is hunker down until it passes. Could be a few days.” He pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, motioning for Ben to do the same. “What were you doing out in that kind of weather? Cold nights will kill anything that’s out in them. It