while he waited for the men to report. Finally he called the bunkhouse. His manager answered.
“Steve, haven’t the guys gotten back yet?”
“Just got in, boss. I’ll send them right up.”
He tucked Beth into bed and stepped out on the back porch to wait for the men.
“Howdy, boss,” Doug said cheerfully. “Everything went fine today, though it’s sad that those men did so little work and then stole from them kids.”
“Hinney, you okay, too?”
“Yeah, boss, she’s a good cook. And she didn’t make fun of my name.”
“Good,” Ryan said, trying not to grind his teeth. “You can tell her you have to come home for lunch if you want.”
Both men jumped to their feet and yelled no, then suddenly sat back down, embarrassed by their reactions.
Ryan eyed them carefully. “She cooks that good, does she?”
Surprisingly, it was shy Hinney who answered. “Yeah, and she makes it all pretty. And she’s so pretty!” he added, his cheeks turning red.
Ryan definitely ground his teeth. “Tell me about the work,” he ordered sharply, unwilling to listen to any more praise about Ms. Suzanne McCoy.
When they finished their report, Ryan, though he already knew the answer, asked if they’d mind going again the next day. He got the answer he expected, a resounding agreement. He discussed with them what they would do the next day. Then he sent them off to the bunkhouse.
He stayed on the porch, his feelings torn. He hated to see the land and animals mistreated as they had been by that thieving crew. He was pleased his men were helping. But he wanted to keep his distance from a city woman…who could cook. Mercy, his men were eating better than he was!
He thought about her offer to baby-sit and share water in return for his help. If she weren’t so pretty, he might even consider it, but he was afraid he’d be easily caught by her beauty and then have his heart broken if he did any such thing.
Not that his wife had broken his heart. By the time she’d run away, he’d already realized his mistake. She hadn’t contributed much to his life except whining and complaining. And Beth. He was grateful she hadn’t taken Beth away with her.
But he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. He thought about Ms. McCoy last night, in her black suit, her hair tortured into some kind of a knot. She didn’t belong here and she wouldn’t stay. So much for her.
He just had to wait for her to go back to the city and put the place up for sale. He’d buy it and increase his own place, with good water rights. He looked forward to the day.
SUZANNE ACTUALLY enjoyed the week. She enjoyed the domestic routine and the time spent with Josh and Mandy. She’d found a store in Cactus that carried educational materials and she’d bought several books for the children. Mandy loved to draw, and she was learning her colors. They were going to work on the alphabet next. And Josh was learning words, spelling them and sounding them out.
She loved cooking, especially for an appreciative audience, and the cowboys were definitely that. She’d tried several new recipes with great success. Cooking for hungry men was very rewarding.
She was also keeping the house clean and working on a budget she could submit to the lawyer who held the children’s finances. In fact, she was feeling very successful in her new life, except for one thing.
She hadn’t found any new employees. Not even one.
She occasionally wondered if Ryan Walker had told the neighbors not to help her. But they offered good advice, lots of sympathy and the ladies even brought desserts over.
Finally, on Thursday evening, she again made the trek to Ryan Walker’s ranch house. Again she dressed in a business suit, red this time. It was a power color, especially when combined with her red hair and brown eyes. She put on makeup for the first time since she’d last visited the Walker ranch. She bribed Al to stay with the children and headed west down the county road.
“Go west young man,” she muttered an old saying. “Why can’t some of Walker’s well-trained cowboys come east? I’d love to have Doug and Hinney working for me.”
She’d even considered offering them a bonus if they’d leave Ryan Walker, but she refused to stoop to that level. It was tempting.
She pulled into the driveway, noting the lack of lights, but she checked to discover the truck he drove was parked around back. She got out of her car and climbed the steps to the porch, knocking on the front door.
She thought there wasn’t going to be an answer, but the door slowly opened. She had to look down to find who’d opened it. “Beth!”
“Hi,” the little girl said, smiling at her.
Suzanne thought she was adorable, but as a responsible parent now herself, she knew it was dangerous to let children of this age answer the door. “Um, does your daddy know you answered the door?”
Beth shook her head no.
“Is he here?”
“He’s on the back porch, talking to Doug and Hinney,” Beth said.
That information caught Suzanne by surprise. Did the men report in each evening? That hadn’t occurred to her. “Well, why don’t you close the door and go back to bed, and I’ll walk around to the back porch, okay?”
“Okay,” Beth said and slammed the door shut. Suzanne heard little feet padding down the hall.
With a smile on her lips, she walked around the house, regretting wearing her high heels. When she got close she heard male voices talking, but she didn’t stop. She wasn’t going to listen in on a private conversation again. The last time, though enlightening, had led to a disaster.
Rounding the house, she came to a halt. “Mr. Walker?”
The three men on the porch had been casually sprawled in some chairs and they almost toppled over.
Ryan Walker immediately stood. “Ms. McCoy.” His stiff greeting obviously surprised the other two men.
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but I need to talk to you.”
“How did you know I was back here?” he asked, his voice gruff, as if he were accusing her of sneaking around.
She looked him straight in the eye. “Beth told me when she answered the door.” She paused, then couldn’t resist adding, “I don’t consider that safe behavior for a child that young.”
The moment she’d said Beth’s name, his head had snapped around to the back door. “I’ll be right back,” he growled and stomped into the house.
“Hi, guys. You haven’t gotten in trouble for working for me, have you?”
“No, Miss Suzanne,” Doug said, grinning. “Boss might fire us if we keep putting on weight, though. Your cooking is so good, we’re getting fat.”
“Nonsense,
