The Unexpected Wife(33)
His face split into a wide grin. “Good.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out two pieces of licorice. “Mind if I give them to the boys?”
Quinn and Tommy’s smiles were radiant. “Please, please,” they shouted.
“Of course,” she said, unable to deny them the rare treat. Before either could bite into the candy she added, “And what do you say?”
“Thank you.”
The boys hurried off toward a tall poplar tree that often served as their special fort. It gave them some privacy, but it was close enough for her to keep an eye on them from the kitchen window.
“Looks like you might be taming those young fellows,” Holden said.
Her heart warmed as she looked past him and watched Quinn and Tommy comparing their candies. No doubt they were checking to see who had gotten the biggest piece. “They’re good boys.”
“That they are.”
She should be mad at him for the part he had played in this deception. But the truth was that despite the mess of this situation, she’d never felt more alive than she had in the last week. “I should have Mr. Barrington shoot you.”
He grimaced. “He may well do that, anyway.”
She shook her head. “Well, then I best feed you supper first. Can you stay? I’ve a stew on and bread in the oven.”
He grinned, his white even teeth contrasting with his dark skin. “I’d be obliged. It’s been a good while since I had a hot home-cooked meal.”
The idea of company buoyed her sprits. She’d cleaned her grandmother’s tablecloth but with two young children and Matthias to feed, she’d not bothered to set the table with it yet.
“You have any passengers?” It would be nice to see another woman.
“Not this time. Just hauling parcels and supplies for the railroad this time. But rail companies looking to put lines in, I’m willing to bet I’ll be hauling a good many scouts and surveyors sooner than later.”
“Well, if you ever need to stop, you’re welcome any time. I’ve always enjoyed cooking for a crowd.”
He nodded, staring at her with a more serious eye. “I’d be willing to take you up on that. Matthias is always good for fresh horses—has the best stock in the valley—but he or Frank weren’t much for cooking or welcoming strangers. We always stayed just long enough to change our horses.”
She remembered her very long ride into town. “The day I arrived we didn’t stop here.”
He rubbed his chin, ducking his head. “I thought it best we take a different route that day. Seemed only fair to you that you meet Matthias in town. Just in case.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Just in case he sent me packing?”
“He can dig his heels in when he don’t want to do something.”
“Yes, I’ve learned that about him.”
“Well, he must like you, because he doesn’t waste a moment on people he doesn’t like.”
“For now our arrangement is strictly business. I’m broke and he needs a housekeeper. After his roundup, he pays me twenty-five dollars and then I can buy a ticket to someplace else. You and Mrs. Clements and the others have backed him into a neat little corner.”
Holden laughed. “Nobody ever backs Matthias Barrington into a corner. The man does what he pleases. If he didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here.”
If he weren’t a guest or if she knew him better, she’d have pressed him for more details. Instead she nodded toward the house. “Come inside. Sit. I made a pie this morning.”
Pulling off his hat, Holden followed her into the cabin. He glanced around, amazed. “I wouldn’t have recognized the place.”
In the last week, she’d mended the laundry, dusted every piece of furniture and swept the floor. “It took some doing to put the place into order.”
She sliced a piece of sweet potato pie and poured a glass of milk, setting both on the table in front of him. Before she sat, she took a quick glance out the window toward the boys. Licorice cords in their mouths, they were lying on their backs, staring at the clouds, their feet propped up on the tree.
She handed him a fork. “Please eat up. You must be starved after the long ride from Butte.”
He dug into the pie. “I swear if I had to dip another piece of hard tack into a plate of beans, I’m sure I’d go crazy.” He put the piece of pie in his mouth. He closed his eyes and for a moment seemed lost in ecstasy. “Ma’am, if the rest of your cooking tastes as good as this, I’ll be stopping by regularly with passengers.”
The idea of seeing people regularly made her smile. She enjoyed the boys but sorely missed adult conversation. “Guests are always welcome.”