Page 34 of Home to the Cowboy's Arms

“It was an honest answer. That’s refreshing. And now you are in the next phase of your life…gentleman rancher? And you still haven’t settled down.”

“No, but there is always hope. I realize that.”

“I see. Hope as in the woman I saw you with? Thinking of finally settling down?”

“I might be thinking of settling down, but the lady is still a question mark. And it certainly would not be Selena. Marrying your half-sister isn’t exactly where it’s at for me.”

Silence.All manner of words had rushed to her brain when the door had been opened to the subject of “that other female,” but none were relevant at that moment. Because there was no other woman—at least not one who posed an issue that had been built up in her brain. Since she witnessed the hug and cheek kiss. She had prepared herself for that one. But somehow the termhalf-sisterhad just punctured that balloon in her mind.

“I see. You have a sibling named Selena. But she doesn’t live here…at least I guess not? I haven’t heard too much mention of her.”

He shook his head. “No and that is the way it has been since she and her mother moved to Dallas when she was in middle school. Her mother and my father had a fling, for want of a better word, that lasted about six months. When it became evident that he wasn’t going to toss off my mother, his wife, for her when she turned up pregnant, she opted to top off her bank account and leave. Selena and I saw each other on holidays when she could come back to the ranch per the visitation clause that went along with the money her mother received from my father. And then when she was old enough to make her own decisions and her mother had moved on to greener pastures with a banker in New York, she spent more time with my grandfather and me on the ranch. When he died, he left her land and funds to start her own dream, which was a winery and vineyard. Which she turned out to be quite good at. Now we see each other when we can, which isn’t all that often. And there you have the story of the mystery woman in my life. The only one there is, for the record.”

It was time to turn her attention to the food and not his personal life or the fact he was thinking of settling down with the right person. He just hadn’t found that person evidently. Tori’s appetite seemed to have fled.

The dessert course came and he shook his head after looking at the menu.

“You don’t see what you want?” she asked.

“I know what I want; it’s not on this menu.”

“What would that be?”

“Well, I know this woman who makes the most delicious pecan pie. That would be the fitting end to this meal.”

She shook her head. “You sound a lot like my brother. I tell him to just come out and tell me what he wants. Things would go a lot faster.”

“Does that advice go for most things? Just tell you straight out what I, or he, wants? Cut to the chase so to speak?”

Why did that sound like a trick question?She should back off. But then she didn’t take her own advice sometimes.

“I have a fresh pecan pie at home. I can offer you a slice with a cup of coffee if you would prefer that.”

“What are we still sitting here for?” He smiled and she would swear it had a triumphant upturn to it.

*

“Your inn isquite welcoming. Everything looks like the perfect country accommodation. I’ve heard it’s quite popular.” He made the remark while she plated the slices of pie and poured the coffee. She sat them on the small kitchen dining table. He took the seat she indicated.

“Thank you. I couldn’t manage without my housekeeper-slash-major domo Miss Minnie. She and her son keep the place running, the tenants taken care of, and the gardens filled with beauty. They came here about ten years ago and ended up staying on to help me expand this business. They are extended family, so to speak.”

“And it’s also your home. It has that feel to it…warmth, welcoming, a good place to sit a spell in one of those rockers on the porch and watch the sunsets.”

Cade was pleased to see that his words brought a soft smile to her face and a gleam to those blue eyes.

“That was my dream when I settled here. I added the individual little houses with mini kitchens around the garden and now the main house here is just the family home. We do serve dinners on Sunday evenings and breakfast on certain mornings buffet-style in the glassed-in sunroom for the guests,” Tori said. “Sorry but this isn’t as fancy as our earlier meal.”

“It’s better.” He stated that just before taking a bite of pie. Then there was another.

It wasn’t long before there were just a few crumbs left on his plate.

“Where did you learn to bake like this?”

“I watched and listened to my grandmother. She was a great cook. Everything from scratch. And after we ended up in foster care, I realized that I could bake cookies and cakes for others and they would pay me. That was money I could save for when we would all need a place to call home. As I grew older, I found I could sell to others in the community and expanded my menu items.”

“Well you can certainly cook. I was most impressed the night Matt brought me to dinner even though I wasn’t exactly welcome. You fed me and didn’t try to poison me.”

“You were lucky. I couldn’t do it with the sheriff present.”

---