Page 69 of Sweet Poison

He waved my apology away. "Because of you, I got to spend time with my daughter.” He looked at Anya and winked. “And we both improved our skills, and you just get to share in the end result."

When he put it that way, the meal became more special and I wished I too had been part of creating the food we were about to enjoy.

Chapter 41

Cole

Anya’s enthusiastic reception of Montana surprised me. For one, I hadn’t ever seen her receive anyone that excitedly, and it made me wonder what was going on with her. Was it because she was lonely? Was she missing her mother so much she was trying to bond with another female?

And as the evening progressed, I watched both of them and how they interacted, and more than anything, I quickly realized that Anya was not behaving like a kid. She was behaving like a mother hen with Montana.

This was amusing and startling to me that I just stayed out of the way, watching as Anya carefully offered her loud vibes to tastes as well as refreshments and, most surprisingly, inquired about her state.

“You had an upset tummy yesterday, Miss Moore, how is your tummy today?”

Even Montana looked surprised that Anya was aware of it. “It's okay. I’m fine,” she said. “I wouldn’t have come over otherwise. I would have stayed home and used Tolstoy as my hot water bottle.”

Anya laughed uproariously. “Why didn’t you bring him?”

“He doesn’t like leaving the ranch. In fact, he generally doesn’t even like people.”

“Doesn’t he like me?”

“Oh no. He let you fall asleep with him in your arms. That means he LOVES you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

She turned eagerly to me. “Daddy, when can we go see Tolstoy again?”

“Why don’t you ask Miss Moore,” I said casually.

“You’re welcome any time, Anya,” Montana said with a smile.

“Did you hear that, Daddy? Miss Moore said I can go any time to Shadow Wolf Ranch.”

“I heard,” I said dryly. “Wine?” I asked Montana as I headed over to the fridge to grab a bottle.

“Actually. I’ll stick to cranberry juice along with Anya.”

“Okay.” I poured her a glass and handed it to her. “Tour first or food first?” I asked.

She didn’t have to think. “Food first, definitely. I skipped lunch because I knew I was coming here, so right now I am starving.”

“Excellent choice because everything is ready,” I said and began to carry the dishes out to the table on the patio.

As soon as the food was put on the table, Anya and I were ready to tuck in, but Montana stopped us in our tracks with her request. “Do you mind if we say grace?”

“Sure,” I said. “We can say grace. Why don’t you do it?”

Montana smiled and put her hands out to us. I placed my hand in hers and Anya, who learned about saying grace for the first time when we went to Shadow Wolf Ranch, put her hands in both of ours. I closed my eyes and assumed she had too.

“Bless us, oh Lord, for these gifts that we’re about to receive from thy bounty through Christ, our Lord. Good bread, good meat, thank you, Lord. Let’s eat. Amen.”

We all dived into the meal. I watched with amusement as Montana waxed lyrical about the deliciousness of the steak.

“It's perfectly done,” she declared.

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