The Cowboy's Lady

You’re older, wiser. She was just a high school crush.

He straightened his shoulders, told himself to man up and followed his uncle across the yard.

But before he could get into the cookhouse, the door slammed open and one of his hired hands, Dover, stormed down the stairs, grumbling as he went.

“What’s the matter?” Cody asked, catching his arm as he passed him.

Dover glared at the cookhouse then dropped his hat back on his balding head. “I’m starving.”

“Didn’t you just eat?”

“If you want to call that eating,” Dover returned, hitching his belt up over his protruding stomach. “Have to fill up on those lousy energy bars you got us a while back.”

And before Cody could ask him more, Dover was gone, his short, stubby legs pounding the dusty ground between the cookhouse and the bunkhouse.

Cody stepped into the cookhouse to the sound of grumbling and his heart dropped as a couple of the hands stared at him, looking as grumpy as Dover had.

Bryce sat at the table, frowning at his plate, Cade beside him poking something around on his plate. Even Ted, who had been so enthusiastic about hiring Vivienne, was looking at Bryce’s food with a puzzled expression.

Not again, he thought with a feeling of inevitability.

He sent up another prayer for an extra dose of energy and pushed open the door to the kitchen.

Vivienne stood with her back to him, stirring something, her silly cook’s hat crooked on her head.

Bowls, plates, pots and utensils covered every square inch of counter and even the butcher block table behind her. Even Stimpy Stevens, the cook who dipped a little too deeply into the cooking sherry, never made the kitchen this messy.

He was about to speak up when his little sister came out of the adjoining pantry carrying a bag of flour.

“Put the flour bag on the floor,” Vivienne said. “I’ll take care of it. For now, bring those plates of food out to your uncle Ted and your brother.”

As Bonnie set the flour down, Cody stifled a sigh. He thought her makeup was bad before. Today her lips were a bright crimson slash on a face adorned with pancake makeup. Her eyes were ringed with black and deep brown. She looked like a raccoon.

Obviously she had found the makeup he thought he had hidden.

“What in the world is going on here?” he called out, his voice coming out louder than he intended.

Vivienne spun around and her cheeks flamed red. Then she straightened, brushing her hands over her apron.

“Why are you here?” He pointed at Bonnie. “Why aren’t you up at the house?”

Bonnie lifted her chin and Cody saw that defiant look take over her face as she grabbed a plate of food. “Vivienne needed help cooking and serving.”

Which brought him to his original reason for coming here. Trouble was, he didn’t know what to deal with first.

“Right now, Ms. Clayton and I need to talk and you need to go back to the house and wash your face.”

Bonnie pressed her red lips together. “I’m not a little girl.”

“Not the way you look,” he concurred. He poked his thumb over his shoulder. “To the house. When I come back there, I want all that goop cleaned off your face.”

She pursed her crimson lips and shot a quick glance at Vivienne, as if looking for help.

“Get your uncle Ted his dinner and dessert, and then you can go,” Vivienne said quietly, and Bonnie left.

Which, in turn, made Cody feel as if he couldn’t handle Bonnie on his own. Which made him feel even more frustrated. He knew he was being cranky and blamed it on a long day in the saddle and too many things weighing on his mind.

One of which was an uncle and partner spouting dumb ideas about the woman standing in front of him, her blond hair falling in loose wisps around her flushed face.

She looked as beautiful as she had in high school. More beautiful, if that was possible.

He shook his head to dislodge that thought. He had more important things to deal with.

When the kitchen door fell shut behind his little sister, he turned back to his cook. Belatedly he pulled his hat off and released his breath on a heavy sigh.

He couldn’t help but be distracted by her looks. By her presence.

How was he supposed to do this?

Chapter Four

The kitchen was a decent size, but somehow Cody’s presence dominated the room. And as he glanced around at the pots, pans, dishes and bowls strewn over every available working space, she tried not to squirm.

Here it comes, Vivienne thought, a prickling dread working its way through her veins. Another failure.

“What is it?” Vivienne wiped her hands on her apron, then clasped them in front of her.

Cody gave her a curt nod of recognition as he slapped his hat against his leg. His blue jeans were coated in dust, as was his loose jacket, and his damp hair was plastered to his head. He looked rough and rugged.

And oddly appealing.

Vivienne wanted to give herself a shake. You’re about to lose a job, and you’re making eyes at the man who’s going to fire you?

She straightened, determined to hold her head up in the face of whatever criticism was coming.

Cody scratched his one eyebrow with a forefinger and sighed. In that moment, Vivienne caught a look of utter weariness fall across his features. He looks exhausted, she thought with a flicker of compassion. Then his features tightened, his eyes narrowed and the moment fled.

“So what’s for dinner?” he asked her.

“Cornish game hens and savory stuffing balls with chocolate mousse for dessert.” Why had it sounded like such a good idea when she was making up the menu and so oddball now that she was saying it out loud to Cody?

Cody’s frown told her exactly what he thought of that menu as he glanced around the kitchen. For a moment she saw it through his eyes. Saw the pots, pans, dishes and bowls spread over every available working space, and she struggled to stay composed.

“I usually keep my kitchen cleaner than this,” she said, clenching her hands tighter to stop herself from fussing and tidying. “But I’m also used to having a couple of assistants.”

“Is that why you got Bonnie to help?”

“She volunteered,” Vivienne said in her defense, knowing exactly how Cody felt about Bonnie hanging around her.