Billionaire Bachelors 3 ; The Billionaire Falls(6)

"He's no problem, Emily. I enjoy hanging out with the lad and no boy wants to hang around the kitchen until the food is all done. Come on Trevor, you can pick your favorite horse to ride. The boys love training young ones. We have to let the men know when dinner is ready anyway," Joseph said. He led Trevor out of the room, before Emily had a chance to protest any further.

She knew Joseph wasn't the type of guy who was told 'no' too often. She figured if he got frustrated with her son, he'd bring him back in. She started humming to herself as she began several large pots of chicken and dumplings with fresh bread.

Mark was in an unbelievably bad mood as he returned to his hotel room, which was unusual for the normally happy go lucky guy. Anyone who knew him knew he was far more likely to crack a joke than ever raise his voice.




 

 

He threw his cowboy hat onto the bed and stared at the blinking light on his phone indicating he had a message. His business deal fell through since the guy he'd been speaking to over the last several months had neglected to tell him the ten thousand head of cattle he was trying to sell were on the brink of death.

One of the few things Mark couldn't tolerate was animal abuse. He could understand one guy punching another but to abuse an animal was uncalled for. A man didn't abuse an animal, or ever hurt a woman. Those were pretty basic. When he dealt with scum like the guy he'd dealt with that evening, it took everything in him not to revert back to his teenage years and whoop the guy one.

He poured himself a drink and let the warmth spread down his throat to help calm his nerves. He then finally listened to his voicemail.

"Great news son, I found you a new cook. She's absolutely perfect. She made dinner for the crew tonight and I think the men gained a few pounds. By the time they had nibbled every last crumb from her apple cobbler, we almost had to have a crane brought in to lift them from the table. Call me back when you get in," his father's overly loud voice came across the phone.

"Good deal. One less thing I have to worry about," Mark said aloud to himself. He sat down to return his father's call.

"About time you called back," Joseph's voice boomed over the line.

"I'm great and how are you, Dad?"

"Yeah, yeah how are you and so on," Joseph joked back.

Mark really loved his father. He loved his entire family, including his sister-in-laws and beautiful nephews and nieces. His family had grown over the last few years and he was starting to feel a bit of loneliness, watching the clear love between his brothers and their wives. He would never admit that to his matchmaking father though.

"Did you get the cattle?" Joseph asked him.

"No, the guy turned out to be a real crook," Mark answered, feeling his anger start to boil up again as he explained the story to his father.

They talked business a while longer and then Mark told him he needed to get some rest. "I will see you tomorrow. I'm coming home early since there's no need to stay here any longer," Mark told him.

"Good deal son, I'll drive back out tomorrow. I'll call the rest of the clan and we can have a family get together. It's been a few weeks now, which is way too long," Joseph said with complete seriousness.

"I agree with you, call the gang and we can have a barbeque. I'll talk to you tomorrow," Mark said hanging up the phone. He was already feeling better. There was nothing that made him feel as good as being with his family.

Chapter Two 

"Can you make some side dishes for the family barbeque tonight? They are bringing everything else," Edward said to Emily when she came downstairs.

"Of course," Emily answered. She was incredibly nervous. Her boss was going to be home that night and not only him but his entire family. She really hoped she didn't lose her job once Mark found out his new cook had a son.

She made the crew of men breakfast and lunch and then spent most of the day in the kitchen preparing a variety of dishes for the meal later that evening.

"Mom may I please swim now?" Trevor asked, as he came running into the kitchen, wearing his swim trunks and a hopeful expression on his face.

"How can I say no to that face?" she replied. "Let me run upstairs and change and then we can swim for a while,"

The pool was just what she needed to relax her muscles and stressed mind. There was a diving board and floating toys. She played with her son in the shallow end, enjoying his laughter. They were in the middle of a splashing war when Mark stepped out onto the patio.

He sucked in his breath when he caught sight of his new cook. She was stunning and he found himself trying to control the tightening of his body. He stood in the shadows and watched as she played with the young boy. Her laughter carried over to him, making him want to strip down and join them.