Chapter 28: How do you eat an elephant?

I smelled food. I groaned. It was answered with a groan from the other side of the bed. Eddie was still asleep. I smiled and opened my eyes.

He looked as tired as I felt. His eyes had a swollen puffy look to them, and they were a tad darker underneath. I was sure I was worse. I slipped out of bed and looked in the mirror. I was shocked. Not only were my eyes in bad shape but having gone to bed with wet hair it was everywhere!

I snuck down the hall and into the shower. I didn't need to wash as much as to wet my hair back in place. Once out I combed it back, wrapped a towel around me and headed back to my room. From the hall, I could hear sounds of breakfast. The smell of eggs and pancakes. I hurried to dress quietly. I wanted my clothes on before I woke Eddie! I added a touch of make up and under eye concealer too.

I crawled to his side of the bed. Not allowing myself to think of it as 'his side of the bed'.

"Eddie." I whispered. "Oh Eddie." I repeated in a sing song voice.

Eddie twitched.

"Rise and shine big boy."

Eddie put an arm over his eyes and grunted a reply. "Go way, I'm on vacation."

"Smell, Molly has bacon and eggs and even coffee if my nose is right."

Eddie's nose sniffed the air and he groaned.

"Get up. I'm not facing Molly in that kitchen alone." I told him flatly.

A grin appeared. It grew wider as he remembered last night. One eye opened and stared at me.

"You look way too good this early." The eye closed.

I laughed. "Get up lazy bones." I flipped the light sheet off of him. "Next I'll get iced water and pour over you." I said climbing off the bed.

"You wouldn't dare." He growled. But wasn't so sure and sat up. "Cruel woman." Eddie ran both hands over his face. He winced at the raspy sound and feel of his incoming beard. "Did we get drunk last night?"

"Not a drop. But somehow feels that way doesn't it?" I sat beside him on the bed holding his shorts. "Come defend me from Molly." I half joked. "We'll eat and you can go home and get more sleep."

Eddie took his shorts and headed, nude, for the bathroom. Together five minutes later we went to face Molly.

"Eddie, I didn't know you were here." Molly immediately turned to cook more eggs and pour another coffee. "Won't take a second."

Eddie pulled out a stool for me, with a grin he waited for me to sit. I felt like punching him. Cleo came bouncing down the stairs in a good mood. We all sat and ate a wonderful breakfast. Molly only asked if we spilled something. Cleo saved us by saying she dropped a soda and no more was said.

Eddie kissed me goodbye at the door and I went up to the office to begin. I sat down and stared at the monitor. How in the world do you begin a task like this? Mom always said You eat an elephant one bite at a time. First step, call Mom!

It took no time for the morning to fly by. Mom had been properly updated. She was the first of many calls that had been made, I had an inspector on the way. I'd set up a new email account for myself and the project. And I had begun to research historians in the area. I gave up and started expanding my search. I found several and put in calls. They were going to come out next week, at Jake's expense, to check out the property and so I could get a feel for them personally.

After lunch I headed to the stables for Billy.

"Hey Billy." I called seeing him with a lead line on a horse in the coral.

He nodded and held up a finger. I nodded back, content to simply watch for a while. Not all the horses got rode in a week and they had to be kept moving. Sometimes Billy would take them for a ride himself, other times he'd simply have them run a lounge line. Round and round the horse went, stopping or slowing at a sound or voice command by Billy. Once Billy was satisfied the horse was released into the pasture behind the stable, where it instantly headed for the shade of a impressive old oak.

Billy removed his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Hey Kat. I'm too dirty to kiss you." Billy smiled and replaced his hat. He had on a white tank top under an open button down shirt.

"All business anyway Billy. I've got all kinds of people coming out here next week. Inspectors and historians." I waved my hand at the explanation, Billy already knew why and what. "I've been thinking they'll have to be kept strictly away from this area."

Billy grinned. "They don't like horses?"

I knew he was joking. Yet I still turned and pointed out a couple who were well on their way to a hot session of their own on the other side of the path. They were heading to the pool but I wasn't sure they were going to make it. And no one cared if they did or not. People weren't even pausing to glance at them. It was a pair of men. Each was sucking on the others tongue and each hand a hand down the others swim trunks.

I turned back to Billy.

"Yeah." Billy coughed. "Point taken."

"Do we have a labor team?" I asked.

"General labor you mean? No. Landscapers, yes, hands here at the stables, yes, but really any general handy man stuff is kinda taken up by any of us and all of us. What do you have in mind?" Billy asked.

"Well, I'll need another look first but I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you. Got a few?"

"Yes and no." Billy said without being helpful. "I still have horses to work, then I'm free. Unless you're willing to ride one out there and back. That will take two off of the list."

"Done. I'll go change into jeans." I turned and raced back to the cabin'

I only spared a glance at the guys involved in sex as I passed. One penis was completely out of his trunks, as I kept moving I wondered just how far they'd go so near the path. Yet they were instantly forgotten when they were out of my sight.

The horses were saddled when I got back, we wasted no time, mounted and rode out directly increasing the pace as the horses warmed up. I was a bit sore from all the sex yesterday but it still felt good to ride. The grass pastures swooshed by in a blur of green. Cutting over them instead of staying on the roads, our ride took half the time it did in the buggy with Jake. Which isn't exactly what I had wanted.

We dismounted at the front stairs the horses were tied loosely to a bush that had seen better days. Billy looked back towards the 'camp grounds'.

"You can't see much. Just the tops of the taller buildings." Billy shrugged. "Much less people."

"Come on." I entered the house and jogged up the stairs through the hall and to the top windows, barely looking at anything. "From here you can make out more. But still the people are too small." I agreed with Billy.

"Ok so no rush like I feared we'd need."

Billy came up behind me wrapping his arms around me he peered over my head.

"What do you have in mind?" His chest vibrated against my sweaty back as he spoke.

"A fence." I leaned back. How could I be so attracted to Billy after having so much sex with Eddie?

"A fence?? Like a stockade?" Billy asked clearly surprised.

"No, well yes. But no."

"Well that makes perfect sense." Billy rested his chin on my head and we both stared out of the tall window at the end of the hall.

"At first I thought we should up just that, a tall stockade fence to block out any workers from seeing the err yeah." I hated calling it a camp. "But we are far away enough now. So maybe a period fence just to discourage walking over the pastures. A split rail."