He’d teased Chance for buying her all that girly-scented lavender stuff, thinking that it was a waste of money and she would think he was desperate for being so generous with his gifts, but Clayton must have been wrong about that, too. Now he equated the scent of lavender with Lydia.
“Today was a good day, cowboy,” she murmured with a happy sigh as he slowly stroked the muscles in her back.
“It’s not over yet, Lydi.”
Chapter Twelve
She looked up at him, and Clayton decided to seize the opportunity to kiss her again before the ranch hands showed up with Chance. He tipped her chin up with a fingertip and gazed into her turquoise-blue eyes. “I think your eyes are pretty.”
Her cheek warmed as he stroked it and she smiled up at him. He leaned toward her to steal that kiss just as the back door opened. Clayton was a little surprised when she gasped and turned toward the door. She glanced at him and whispered, “Sorry.”
He thought she almost looked guilty, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She was still a little skittish. It also occurred to him that getting caught necking was probably not the first impression she wanted to make on the men.
Several of the hands had filed into the kitchen, and Chance grinned when he saw Lydia standing there. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy color now, and Clayton noticed Chance glance at him and then back to her. His eyebrows raised just a hair as though he were curious what they’d been up to, but not in a negative way.
When all the hands had come through the door, Chance announced, “Guys, this is Lydia Webster. She is the lady who made your supper tonight and the newest addition to the Rockin’ C. We hope her stay is indefinite.”
Lydia said, “It’s nice to meet you all. If you haven’t done so already, go wash up at the sink. I need to get the fajitas from the warmer.” She smiled up at Clayton tentatively and then turned back to her work.
The hands greeted her, and several of them eyed Lydia with apparent interest as she took a dish out to the dining room. Once she was out of earshot, Clayton added quietly, “She’s already spoken for. Just so you know, guys.”
Kade Parker asked, “Who does she belong to?”
Clayton had been on the fence about this new hire, and those few words said a lot. None of the other men said a word out of respect once he’d made his declaration, but Parker was new in town and needed it spelled out for him. “Us, Parker.”
The ranch hand’s eyebrows shot up. “But, she just got here.”
Gil James turned to Parker and said, “Lydia has known the Carlisles for months. Don’t go there.”
Parker wouldn’t let it go. “I don’t get it. You both just claim her?”
“We invited her to come here. She is a trained chef. She is already spoken for. Those are the pertinent facts, Parker,” Chance murmured as he glanced toward the dining room where Lydia was puttering.
Parker had questioned the way things worked at the ranch since hiring on the month before. Clayton didn’t mind explaining the workings of the ranch to him, but Lydia was a different story. He minded very much talking about her behind her back and disliked having to explain his actions to this man.
Clayton made eye contact with him and held it, silently daring him to voice his opinion. Parker said nothing else and followed the other men who went into the dining room. Clayton glanced at Chance and caught him frowning at Parker’s back.
When Lydia returned, Clayton rolled his eyes as Gil James volunteered to lift the large ceramic platter from the warming oven for Lydia. He knew Gil was just trying to be a gentleman but wondered how many of his ranch hands would have crushes on Lydia by the end of the meal. They said that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, and Lydia was fixing to knock them for a loop with her cooking.
Chance sat at the head of the table, with Clayton to his right and Lydia to his left. Once everything was on the table and Lydia was seated, Chance said a blessing over the food and then sent the platter around the table. Clayton was slightly impressed when the men didn’t just start grabbing but waited until the food was passed to them. Suppressing amusement, he surmised that they were all on their best behavior so she would want to stay and keep cooking for them.
She passed the bread around, and once they were all served she began eating. Clayton knew they’d all worked hard and were hungry but was damned near floored that they’d remembered to wait for her to begin eating.
It got very quiet around the table, and Lydia looked across at Clayton and raised her eyebrows slightly.
“How does it taste, Gil?” Chance asked with an amused look on his face.