that new mixer I got him, but that didn’t do it for him. Right, Frank? I’d say mission accomplished, technique perfected. What do you think, Del?”
Del brandished the buttered heel he’d just torn into. “Great bread.”
“There’s more in the kitchen,” Frank said.
“Just for you,” June told Del. “When Brad said he’d hired a new hand, Frank was all about welcoming you with a good meal.”
Frank gestured with the point of his table knife. “If you’re as good as Brad claims, I’d like to keep you around for a while. Guess Thompson took off without saying too much. I never thought much of him, tell you the truth. Brad says he called a guy you worked for, what? Couple of years, right? Said you’re a top hand.” He turned to Brad. “Where’d you say that was? Colorado somewhere?”
“Denver,” Brad said.
“So you came along at the right time. You mind puttin’ up hay?”
“It was a four-month job,” Del said quietly. “This last time. But I’ve worked for Walsh before. And I guess I wouldn’t be much of a ranch hand if I minded putting up hay.”
“I used to hate that part of the business, but nowadays, with the new equipment we’ve got, I can just—”
Brad’s knife clattered to his plate. “I’ll make sure Del has plenty to do, Dad. I drove him around all afternoon, so he knows what he’s in for. He’s like you. Says his cowboy ass ain’t sittin’ on no ATV. Right, Del?”
“Brad fixed me up with a good mount.” Del glanced at Lila, an I’m-on-your-side look in his eyes. “Nice big buckskin.”
“Hombre,” Brad told Frank. “Figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“Best horse on the place.” Frank grinned. “He should be ridden, and by somebody who knows how.”
Between her father’s grin and the look in the hired hand’s eyes, Lila suddenly took heart.
“Sounds like something I’ve heard before,” Brad said.
“That’s what Rhett Butler said to Scarlett,” June put in.
“Kissed.” Lila attended to buttering her bread. Attention with a secret smile. “He said she should be kissed often.”
“I don’t get to many movies,” Del said. “This Butler, is he a cowboy? You got a horse needs ridin’ or a woman needs kissin’, you find yourself a real cowboy. Ain’t many of us left.”
“Probably just as well,” Lila said. “Hollywood isn’t making many Westerns these days.”
“R-e-a-l,” Del instructed. “Not r-e-e-l. The world is full of actors.”
Lila flashed him a richly deserved smile.
“You like that?” His answering smile lit a true twinkle in his nearly black eyes.
“I do.”
“What’s going on here?” Brad said. “If I didn’t know better...”
“You’d think I was rackin’ up points with the boss’s daughter. But I can already tell she doesn’t give out easy points. I’m just trying to keep up with the conversation.” Del glanced around the table. “Lila and I witnessed a rare sight this morning.” He nodded at her. “You tell it.”
“We watched a fight between a badger and a rattlesnake. They tore up my garden.”
“I thought I tore up your garden,” Brad said.
“You ran over a flower bed.” She took Del’s cue and kept going. “It was amazing. They really kept at it for, I don’t know, five minutes, maybe... They just kept at it.” She turned to Del. “Didn’t they?”
A loaded look accompanied Del’s nod. “Time stood still.”
“In fact...” Damn, he was good-looking. Nearly black hair, chiseled cheekbones, angular jaw and no white-above-the-eyebrows farmer tan on this cowboy’s face. Unless she was mistaken, he’d be head-to-toe brown. Lakota, probably. It took her a moment to turn her attention to her father. “Del caught me before I walked right into the fray.”
“How awful. I hate snakes of any kind.” June gave a tight end-of-story smile. “And I really hope you’ll start joining us for supper regularly, Lila.”
“I didn’t have any kids today. Del helped me look for Bingo. I’ve been searching on horseback, still haven’t found him.” She lifted one shoulder. “So I was...in the neighborhood.”
“I haven’t seen the pup at all lately.” Frank turned to his wife. “Have you? You’ve been out quite a bit getting groceries and whatnot.”
“I thought he always stayed around your yard,” June said, turning to Lila.
Lila nodded. “That’s why—”
“Bingo is the first dog we’ve had around here since Lila left for college,” June explained, apparently for Del’s information. “I’m not a dog person. Kind of allergic.” She turned to Lila. “I think that’s why you decided to move into the old place when you came back, isn’t it?”
“That’s my house,” Lila said.
“I know, but it’s as old as the pyramids, all dark and depressing. We’d like to see more of you. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I’m not far away, June. You have to drive past my house to get to the highway. We see each other all the time.” Lila welcomed the mental distance that slid over her like a cool cloud. “And your hired hands are always perfectly positioned to keep an eye on me.”
“That happens to be where the bunkhouse is,” Brad said. “The men don’t give you any trouble, do they? You tell me if they do. I never hire anybody without checking him out. And I don’t tell them to keep an eye on you.” He turned to Del. “I never told you to spy on her, did I?”
Del shook his head. “This was a fine meal.” He tucked his napkin under the edge of his plate and slid his chair back from the table. “It’s been a long time since I had any homemade bread. Sure was good.”
“Now, listen, you tell her I never said anything about—”
Del chuckled. “In my line of work you quickly learn when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em. Hold your tongue, fold your napkin and leave the table.” Which he did, all but the tongue-holding part. His calm, cool parting shot was aimed at Brad. “I can handle most any chore, but spyin’ ain’t one of ’em.” He nodded at June. “Thank you, ma’am.”
* * *
Lila found Del in the barn currying the buckskin. He’d had time to saddle up after making that break for it, killing the time she’d allowed to pass before she left the house. Nothing further had been said on the subject after he left. Maybe they all felt ridiculous. Keep an eye on her. If Brad had asked—and she had her doubts about that—Del
