I didn't feel threatened, well mostly, the Scranton men intimidated me just a little, but there were no alarm bells going off in my head.
Mikey, the youngest, was a year or so younger than I, and seemed sweetly shy.
"Something sure smells good in here Miss. Amanda, may I call you Mandy?" He gave me a cocky grin that I was sure melted all the girls and my lips twitched.
"It's Amanda or Ms. Stone young pup." Caleb piped in before I could answer.
There were a few snickers and foot shuffling before I caught him out the corner of my eye giving his men the stink eye.
"Pie's almost ready if you gentlemen would care for a slice."
There was a chorus of ‘don't mind if I dos’ before they all trudged towards the kitchen table.
Their relaxed manner told me this wasn't their first time inside, so I didn't feel too much guilt about inviting them in even after Caleb mumbled under his breath about fucking pie thieves.
I dished up the pie with some vanilla ice cream I found in the deep freeze. Needless to say the apple was finished in one fell swoop.
From the grunts and grumbles that came my way I thought it prudent to get started on another one. I love it when people enjoy my efforts in the kitchen. It gives me such a great feeling of accomplishment.
Caleb had a big silly grin on his face as the men sang my praises as though he had something to do with it.
"So what's for dinner?" Simon I think his name was, who seemed the most reserved of the bunch, asked that question.
"Pot roast with all the trimmings."
"We'll be back, let's go boys let's let Ms. Stone get settled in, much obliged ma'am."
Each of them doffed their hats as they passed me by and headed out the back door leaving me alone with hunkalicious.
Chapter 5
CALEB
She bakes a kick ass pie, she looks like sex on legs, and her voice is like melted chocolate. Either the ex is a brain dead fuck, or he was just plain mean.
Whatever the case I had a feeling little Ms. Stone was going to be adding a whole new element to the Bar C Ranch.
Yes indeed a woman like that could go a long way to keeping me warm on long lonely nights out here on the ranch.
First I have to test the waters I didn’t want to scare her. Though on second thoughts she didn’t seem as skittish as I first believed, she was still getting over a horrible situation, one that was going to take time and patience.
I have lots of experience with skittish babies. I’ve nursed a foal or two here and there over the years.
I had to shake my head to clear it of my runaway thoughts. I must be really hard up, too long out on the range without any action, for me to be reacting this way to her. I usually keep a cooler head when it comes to affairs of the flesh.
I might have to have a talk with young Mikey before long though. The boy seemed a bit dreamy eyed as he talked to her if you ask me.
Not that there was anything wrong with that, except that she just got here and knowing what she's running away from, I needed to make sure that she wasn't made to feel uncomfortable in any way.
Sure Dunbar, it doesn't have anything to do with the green-eyed monster that poked you in the ass when she smiled her sweet smile at him. Whatever!
I made myself scarce the rest of the day. I was supposed to have gone out to the far pasture to rewire some fencing, but I think I'd stay closer to the house for the next few days.
Instead I took one of the quarter horses I was in the middle of training into the corral to put him through his paces.
This is what I considered the fun part of my business. People from all over the world brought their horses to us for training.
This particular beauty belonged to a spoilt little twit whose father had more money than sense, and was wrapped firmly around her little finger.
She was due here any day now to check up on the animal, and I was dreading that visit. The last time she'd been here I'd had to rebuff her, and the sweet little darling had hurled some epithets at my head that would've made a sailor blush.
I was not looking forward to one Cecily Crane’s visit in the least little bit. If she got on my nerves too much, I'd have to do something I've never done before, and that was give her and her dad their money back and sever all ties.
I wasn't about to be ruled by some infernal female who thought all she had to do was bat her lashes at any man she wanted and bring him to heel.
***
AMANDA
I can see him in the distance with the horse. It's like watching something out of an old cowboy movie the way he moves.
There was grace and beauty in the way he runs and jumps on the animal's back, it's so...manly, the way he seemed to master the animal and bring it under his control.
Damn, maybe it would be best if I stayed away from windows for the time being. It was a good thought but I kept getting drawn back to it time and time again.