Page 26 of Luna

However, he’d concluded if he was stepping into adulthood with both feet, it was time to look more like a responsible landowner and less like a man who might rob one.

Hunter ducked into his room and snagged a clean shirt, ramming his arms in the sleeves on his way down the stairs. He rolled back the cuffs and stepped into the kitchen, only to hear a gasp.

His gaze lifted and collided with Luna’s as she stood at the sink, filling a pitcher with water. She gawked at him like he was a remnant from the circus acts they’d seen a few weeks ago while water overflowed the pitcher.

With a few quick strides, he crossed the room, turned off the faucet, and smiled at her. “Hello, Luna.”

“Hi,” she said, sounding rather breathless as she spoke. “I … uh, we … the ladies … thirsty.”

Effort was required to swallow his chuckles. Hunter hastily buttoned his shirt as Luna continued to ogle his form as though she’d never seen a man’s bare chest before, but he knew that couldn’t be true. Not with the number of Campanelli relatives she had back in New York.

He lifted the pitcher from the sink and held out his arm to Luna. Her glance flickered from his arm to his face, then back to his arm before she lightly placed her hand on it.

Without a word, he led the way into the dining room, where the women had a bountiful meal on one end of the long table, and a plethora of catalogs, magazines, fabric and wallpaper swatches, as well as paint samples spread across the other.

“Hello, fair ladies. I found a member of your flock splashing in the water in the kitchen,” he said, winking at Dally.

His sister scowled at him, knowing without asking why he’d come to the house for lunch instead of going with Rowdy to the bunkhouse.

“I was not splashing in the water, Hunter Douglas,” Luna said, taking the pitcher from him and walking around the table to pour a glass full for Dally.

“Perhaps not,” he said, glancing from the food to the falderol and back to the food. “What’s going on?”

“Dally asked us to help with ideas for the baby’s room,” Aundy said, looking at Hunter over her shoulder. “We brought lunch and decorating ideas.”

“I see that.” Although hunger gnawed at his belly, Hunter walked over to the magazines and catalogs lying open and looked at the cute ideas. A wallpaper border of various animals appealed to him, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Dally was the one who needed to decide what she liked best.

She tapped her finger on the catalog, and Hunter grinned, feeling that odd connection to her that no longer surprised him. Without either of them saying a word, they had both chosen the same wallpaper border.

“What color will you paint the room?” he asked as he thumbed through the various paint samples.

“I was leaning toward a pale shade of yellow, like Luna’s dress,” Dally said, motioning to the girl who stood behind Caterina’s chair, water pitcher still in hand.

Hunter refrained from saying how the dress suited her and made her look like a ray of sunshine. “Yellow is very nice. Cheerful. Quite pretty,” he said, then moved toward the other end of the table.

“There’s plenty of food, Hunter. Join us,” Cornelia said, rising from her seat and handing him a plate from the cherry buffet behind her that matched the china cupboard across the room.

“I won’t interrupt you ladies, but if no one protests, I’ll fill a plate. I believe the bunkhouse lunch menu is beans and more beans with a possible side of cornbread.”

“Help yourself,” Caterina said, motioning to bowls and platters heaped with food.

Hunter spooned baby potatoes cooked with new peas in a cream sauce on his plate, added a few pieces of tender roasted lamb, helped himself to a scoop of chicken salad and one of macaroni salad, and even took a serving of marinated mushrooms with artichokes because he didn’t want anyone to feel slighted if he ignored the dish they contributed. After slathering two yeasty rolls with butter and fresh strawberry jam, he edged toward the door.

“Thank you, kind ladies, for sharing the bounty of your table.” With a polite dip of his head, he retreated to the kitchen where he could eat in peace. Hunter poured a tall glass full of cold tea, sweetened just the way he and Dally liked it, then sat at the kitchen table, offered a silent word of thanks for the wonderful meal, and tucked into the food. He knew the lamb had to come from Aundy, and the marinated vegetables were likely from Caterina. Ilsa couldn’t cook, so he assumed her contribution was the box of Oreo cookies sitting on the counter because they were something Dally frequently craved these days.

Dessert offerings included a white sheet cake, brownies, and a cream pie. Hunter sampled all three, grateful there were many good cooks in their circle of relatives and friends. Satisfied and full, he set his dirty dishes in the sink, then walked back into the dining room, where the women chatted about cribs and the best brand of flannel for diapers.

“I just wanted to thank you all for sharing the wonderful food you prepared with me, even if I wasn’t invited to your party.” He affected a boyish pout and wasn’t the least bit shocked when Dally lobbed her napkin at him, catching him in the face. He took no offense, knowing none was meant, and handed the napkin back to her. “Have fun, little mama.”

Hunter waved to the others, although his gaze lingered on Luna. She appeared quite breathtaking as she sat in a swath of light streaming in the window. Her entire being seemed to be surrounded by a beautiful glowing aura. He could have remained in the doorway, gaping at her the rest of the day, but Dally would certainly never let him hear the end of her teasing if he succumbed to the urge.

With one final look at Luna, he strode down the hallway, grabbed his hat on the way outside, and headed back to work, even if his thoughts lingered all afternoon on lovely Luna.

Chapter Nine

“He is smitten with you.”

“Who?” Luna’s gaze swiveled from taking in the pretty countryside around them to Caterina as she drove her automobile back to Pendleton. Luna and Ilsa had ridden out to Dally’s place with Caterina that morning. Aundy and Marnie had traveled together in Marnie’s auto and met them at the B Bar D Ranch.

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