Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
After a long, awkward pause, Curtis looked over at the two huge stockpots. “You know the boys are responsible for feedin’ themselves, right?”
Since I knew “the boys” meant all the men who worked for him, I said, “I know. I was just thinking it might be a nice change of pace. I mean, they all work so hard and I just thought they might like a home-cooked meal and you have all those great vegetables in your garden. Oh shit, I didn’t even think to ask you if I could use them—”
“Don’t fuss about it, son. You’re welcome to whatever’s in that patch of weeds. Del started that thing years ago but there ain’t nothin’ green about any of my fingers, so it kinda just kept growing,” Curtis said with a chuckle. “’Sides, I figured you’d be makin’ somethin’ special when Flynn dropped off all those eggs instead of takin’ ’em to the bunkhouse.”
I froze at the mention of Flynn’s name. I could still hear Curtis going on and on about something, but my mind was stuck on the fact that Flynn had picked up all the eggs that had survived when I’d dropped the basket and had taken the time to bring them into the house.
I’d been in the house all day and yet I hadn’t heard him.
And he hadn’t tried to seek me out.
Not to apologize.
Not to explain his behavior.
Not to kiss me again or whisper my name in that husky voice of his.
“What do ya think?” I heard Curtis ask. “You up for the challenge?”
Oh God, what had Curtis been talking about? I’d only heard him speaking in the background as I’d been thinking about Flynn, so I had no idea what the actual context of the one-sided conversation had been.
“Yeah, um, sure. Of course,” I said.
“Good,” Curtis said as he climbed to his feet. “I’ll ask one of the men to take you into town. You wanna start with this Sunday or the next?”
I stumbled over my response in my head. What the hell had I agreed to? “Um, next, I think. It’ll give me more time to… prepare.”
“Sounds good. Make sure one of the men helps you with gettin’ those pots down to the bunkhouse ’fore dinner. It’ll be a good time for you to tell ’em all about the Sunday dinners you’ll be makin’ for us while you’re here.”
Curtis continued talking but once again I wasn’t truly listening.
Oh God, he wants me to make Sunday dinner for more than a dozen cowboys every week?
It’d taken me more than three hours just to figure out all the ingredients from Del’s recipe for the stew. As much as I liked to cook, I’d only ever done it to feed myself and it’d always been light and healthy meals. Guys who worked hard all day needed real food and a lot of it.
Curtis gave me a gentle pat on the back before heading up the stairs.
Brooks chose that moment to emerge from his uncle’s office where he’d been working on the ranch’s financial records. His hair was mussed, and he was in the midst of buttoning his jeans. His cheeks reddened when he saw me, but before he could say anything, Xavier grabbed him from behind and kissed him heatedly.
I turned away because the sight of the two gorgeous men going at it always got me going, but now that I had the memory of getting kissed like that only to be dropped like I was a hot potato, the sight of my friend and his lover made a stream of ugly envy trickle through me.
After a few deep groans and hushed words, I heard Brooks say, “Hey, Jules.”
“Jules,” Xavier said as he left Brooks’s side and hurried to the door. He tipped his hat at me.
“We were just, um, going over some finan—”
“Shut up,” I said snidely. “I’ve been working on this stew for like three hours now. My AirPods ran out of juice twenty minutes ago so believe me, I know exactly what you two were doing in there.”
I didn’t move as Brooks made his way farther into the kitchen and ultimately stopped behind me and gave me a hug from behind. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said softly.
“I’m glad I’m able to make your sex life even better by playing the role of voyeur. If you wanna do it right, at least make a peephole in the wall between our rooms so I can watch you two going at it,” I groused.
Brooks chuckled and dropped a kiss to my cheek. “Don’t worry, Jules, I’m still on the lookout.”
“Lookout? For what?”
“For your hot cowboy, of course.”
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I thought about Flynn’s tongue licking over mine as he’d held me pinned against the wall of that stall.
And then the disastrous fallout.