“Can you tell me what you and the other guys ate this week? I’m just curious.” He looked as though he felt like hell, and she wondered if his diet didn’t have something to do with his headache as well.
“Well, a lot of us run into town for meals.”
“Restaurants or fast-food drive-thrus?”
“Both, but mostly drive-thrus, I think. A lot of hamburgers, sandwiches, and tacos. We eat a lot of frozen food, too. Canned chili and soup. There used to be a guy working here that liked to cook but when he moved on from the area nobody took over the job. None of us is much good in the kitchen.”
The microwave dinged, and she asked, “How do you take your coffee?”
He looked at her in confusion but replied, “Black with a spoonful of sugar, why?”
“I’m fixing you a headache remedy,” she said with a small smile. “Will you do me a favor?” She found the sugar bowl and put two big spoons full of sugar in the steaming mug and stirred it.
“Sure.”
She didn’t bother trying to explain her presence there on the ranch because she didn’t know what Clayton had already told them and wasn’t quite sure how the brothers planned to explain her presence. Gil seemed well enough mannered to not ask.
“I’m going to be cooking a big meal tomorrow night for all the men here on the ranch. Would you spread the word for me, please? Tomorrow night at seven o’clock.”
Gil got a big smile on his face and asked, “What are you going to cook?”
Lydia smiled at she dumped the strong, hot, sweetened coffee over the crackling ice in the travel mug, put the lid on, and shook it gently. “I haven’t decided, but it will not be frozen and it won’t be takeout food. Why? Did you want to make a request?”
“Are you kidding? If it’s home cooked I’ll eat it. What’s this for?” he asked as she handed him the travel mug.
“It’s old, strong coffee over ice. It should help your head.”
He grinned and replied, “I hope that was this morning’s coffee and not yesterday’s.”
Lydia burst into giggles and said, “For your sake, I hope it is, too. I hope it helps.”
Gil held up the mug and said, “Thanks, ma’am! I’ll bring the cup back later and spread the word for you.”
“Call me Lydia!” she hollered as he made his exit.
From the screened porch she heard him call, “Yes, ma’am!”
Soon, the vegetables were all chopped and combined into a salad and the sauce and pasta were simmering on the stove.
She sneered at the loaf of frozen Italian bread she’d found in the freezer, wondering just how old it was. She didn’t mind using spaghetti sauce out of a jar tonight because she could doctor it up with ingredients she found in the pantry to make it special. The bread was another story.
Opening it, she promised herself that the next time she served garlic bread it would be made fresh. She scraped the ice crystals off, applied the garlic spread she’d made, wrapped it in foil and hoped for the best as she placed it in the oven. That’s where she was when Chance walked in the kitchen.
He rubbed his belly and groaned in delight. “What have you been up to, baby? And what is that delicious aroma?”
“Supper,” she said with a giggle. She didn’t hesitate when he offered her a hug. Chance closed his strong arms around her, and she breathed in the manly scent of his clean, honest sweat combined with leather.
“You’ll be happy to know that Gunther is at Divine Auto Repair in town and that the mechanic thinks he can fix it. He’s going to give it a thorough going-over and see what all needs to be done. We trust him to do a good job on it.”
She sighed in relief and replied, “That’s good news. I really didn’t want that shady relative of Mr. Cortez’s working on it. I’m so glad I didn’t have to take Gunther to him.”
“Me, too, baby. Can I have a kiss?”
His sexily voiced request drew a chuckle from her. “Of course.”
All of her worries faded away when his lips pressed against hers, and she gave herself to the kiss entirely. Groaning softly, Chance wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the floor as she put her arms around his neck. Returning his kiss was a pleasure, and she shuddered when his big hands slid down to cradle her hips against him.
It felt like the most natural thing in the world for her to do when she wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her ankles together. As she did so, his hands slid down to grip her ass. Gasping for breath, she released his lips and laid her head against his shoulder.
“It feels good to have you right here, baby.” He squeezed her and pressed his warm lips against the side of her neck. “I could eat you up. Mmm!”