“Yes, ma’am,” I said, grabbing my bags.
She waved me off. “Jake can take them since he’s gonna need to clean up in here, anyway.”
I shot Jake an apologetic look as he groaned, but it didn’t take a genius to understand that while Xander’s name was listed as the head of the outpost, Cait was not afraid to throw her weight around. That was the calmest I’d seen Jake, and I wondered how many other guys here were as obedient when she snapped an order.
“Mess is on the other side of that wall,” she said, gesturing to the doorway behind me. “We do group meals when we can, but you’re gonna end up eating what you can when you have moments depending on how things go. When it’s not crazy, we have a cooking rota, there’s a list of food so you can figure out what to make ahead of time, it’s polite to write down what you’re going to cook on your day so someone doesn’t use the bacon or whatever. Check it tomorrow or the day after to see when you fall.”
“Better hope you can cook,” Jake said with a sigh. “Or you’ll end up like Trev.”
“Trev?” I asked, quickly pushing away from the counter and throwing my banana peel away as Cait turned and left the kitchen.
“Trevor,” she said with a sigh. “That man could MacGyver a snow plow from an old TV, a shovel, three sticks, and an old pack of gum, but anytime he sets foot in that kitchen intending to cook, the whole place becomes a fire hazard. He pulls double cleanup duty and is in charge of keeping an eye on the kitchen inventory to make up for it.”
“Well, I’m not going to burn the place down, but no one will be impressed by my bachelor cooking,” I said with a wince as she led me across the hall, past the stairs and through another door.
“Most of the guys here can’t cook that well; there’s a reason we eat so many burgers, you’ll get sick of ’em,” she snorted and led me into a full garage. There was another large truck like the one Jake had picked me up in, a jeep, and a smaller truck that was up on two standing jacks. “That would be Reno’s truck. Xander is gonna give him hell for not getting it out of the bay before the storm hit, but that’s not my problem.”
“Pretty spacious,” I noted, seeing tools on one wall, then stacks of containers next to a large workbench. “I was led to believe this place wasn’t that big.”
“Oh, government’s been using this place off and on for years. Some jackass or another comes along and adds new things to fit their big ideas, suckin’ off someone higher up the food chain to get it, no doubt. Then someone else comes along and uses it, and they add something. Xander hasn’t done it yet, but he’ll probably end up making something in the basement to lock some of these dumbasses up when they get too annoying,” she said, and I smiled.
“There was a lot of fondness in that insult,” I said with a chuckle.
She eyeballed me. “I’ll let that one pass because you’re new, and you look kind of pitiful at the moment…but never make these assholes think I like them. The minute they think I like them, they think they can get away with more than they should.”
“I’ll take that to heart,” I said, and she grunted.
“Xander’s been the head of this outpost for almost ten years, and makes the most of what we’ve got. We try to keep personal vehicles somewhere else, but Reno kept putting off getting his truck fixed and…eh, we’ll hear the complaining about it later. C’mon.”
I dutifully followed her into the hallway, peering into the kitchen to hear Jake singing softly as he mopped up the mess. My brow rose when I realized that despite singing under his breath, he actually had quite a nice voice.
Cait tapped the door nearest to her. “That’s my office. Used to be Xander’s, but he’s not so good at ignoring when people get loud. So he uses the ‘guest house’ for his office and apartment, I guess you could say. I’m your handler, so I get the calls, I direct you, and you listen to me, got it?”
“Got it,” I assured her.
She eyed me for a moment before grunting. “Good, saw you did time in the Navy, looks like they taught you to mind your manners.”
“I think my mother and grandmother took care of that before the government came along,” I admitted with a chuckle, running my hand through my hair and making a face when the cold press of my hair reminded me of the chill settling into my skin. “At least with women, anyway.”
“Daddy not around?”
“Um, was married to my mom and technically living with us, yeah.”
“Technically.”
“Yep, technically,” I said with a grin, and then shrugged. “Army Brat, my dad was…busy, doing Army things.”
When I shrugged again, she rolled her eyes. “Alright, come with me, the rec room is down here. Along with everything else that’s gonna be relevant on your downtime.”
Leading me back into the hallway, I followed her to a door at the end of the hall. When she opened it, I was immediately struck by the difference. The previous rooms had been almost industrial with stark concrete floors and bare walls. The shift was to wood paneling, but it, and the frayed rug, were a damn sight warmer than before.
“Rec room,” she said, pointing toward an open doorway where I could see light flashing. “Used to be not much, but the boys have done their best.”
I peered in and it was…well, it was definitely an attempt at a rec room. Ratty furniture, a dented pool table in the corner, a fridge tucked into the opposite corner. The most expensive thing was the TV, which was showing… “Well, that’s porn.”
“It…Reno!” Cait snapped, coming into the room with a huff. “Turn that off, so help me God! You have so many other places to?—”
I hadn’t noticed anyone on the couch since I was distracted by what had to be some of the largest naked boobs I had ever seen bouncing on the screen. His blond hair stuck up in every direction as he sat up and scrambled for the screen. “No, wait, Cait!”