Page 59 of Luna

“Sure.” He went on to explain cooling down, currying, and caring for horses as they removed the saddles, brushed down the animals, then turned them out to pasture with Dally’s big horse, Ben, and Nik’s horse.

“Let’s go see if Dally is awake. I’m ready for some ice cream.”

Together, they walked around to the back door of the house. They took turns washing up in the kitchen, then made their way to the sitting room where Dally continued to sleep on the couch and Nik had fallen asleep with a medical textbook on his lap in one of the side chairs.

Hunter motioned for Luna to back out of the room and led the way to the kitchen. He added pieces of ice to two glasses and filled them with water, and they adjourned to the back porch.

“Do you know how to make ice cream?” Hunter asked as he set the glasses on a side table.

“I do. Does Dally already have the mixture ready to churn, or does it need to be mixed?”

Hunter gave her a bewildered look, and they returned to the kitchen, where Luna looked through the contents of the refrigerator and found a bowl full of a creamy mixture.

“I think this is it,” she said, holding it out to Hunter.

He stuck his index finger in the liquid, then licked the tip of it. “Yep. That’s vanilla ice cream. She said she was going to add peaches to it.”

“Okay. We’ll just need a few peaches then.”

Hunter retrieved two peaches from a bowl on the counter and watched as Luna peeled and sliced them. She cut them into small pieces and stirred them into the ice cream batter.

“Do you have an ice cream freezer and plenty of ice?” she asked.

“Sure do. The freezer is on the back porch, and the ice is down in the fruit cellar. I’ll go get it and be right back.” He hustled off to get the ice. Luna went outside and found the ice cream freezer on the porch, wondering how she’d missed seeing it earlier, then decided it was easy to get distracted when Hunter was nearby. He was unbelievably handsome but more than that, he was kind and caring, funny, and smart. He made her feel beautiful and witty, and Luna realized she enjoyed the way he made her think and challenged her.

She removed the inner can from the freezer and carried it into the house. After washing it out, she poured in the ice cream mixture, screwed on the lid, and took it back outside. Luna had just set the can into the freezer when Hunter appeared with a block of ice and a burlap bag.

He stuffed the ice into the bag, set it down on the lawn, then lifted a mallet and began pounding the ice into chunks.

Luna watched, transfixed by the play of muscles beneath Hunter’s cotton shirt. Her mouth felt dry, and she swallowed hard. When he glanced up at her and grinned, her heart melted like she anticipated the ice cream would if left too long in the sun.

“Let’s get to cranking,” Hunter teased as he carried over the bag of ice chunks. He dumped a layer into the ice cream freezer. Luna layered in salt, and he added more ice until the freezer was full. He sat on the top porch step and began turning the handle. She could hear the paddle inside swishing the liquid around and around.

Luna sat on the step, her back against a porch post as she watched him work.

He looked over at her and grinned again. “I see, of all the skirts in my sister’s wardrobe, you somehow managed to choose a purple one.”

“The color is aubergine, and it happened to be the one that fit.” She didn’t bother to tell him she’d only tried on two.

He gave her a pointed look. “Call it aubergine or eggplant, or mulberry, or what have you, it’s still purple.”

“What is your point, Hunter Douglas?” she asked, feigning exasperation.

“My point is that you look quite fetching with your cheeks all rosy and your hair windblown and your eyes full of mischief.”

“My eyes are not full of mischief.”

“Are you certain about that?”

Luna glanced away from him, looking out over the thick carpet of the lawn. “Absolutely.”

He might have believed her had a giggle not escaped from her throat.

“Thought so,” he said, and tossed a chip of ice at her. She grabbed the burlap sack of ice pieces, fished out a small sliver, and dropped it down the neck of his shirt.

He grabbed for her, and she squealed, then pressed a hand over her mouth and looked at the screen door.

“When Nik’s tired, he could sleep through a dynamite explosion. By the time the ice cream is ready, he and Dally should be awake.”

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