Page 31 of Combust
Elle chuckled. “Why, this coming Sunday is Cade Hunter’s birthday.”
“Oh.” Maggie blinked. “I…see.”
“Is there a problem, dear?” Grandma Elle asked.
“No, of course not,” Maggie answered quickly. She took a deep breath. “Should I bring the cake with me on Sunday, or would you like me to deliver it earlier?”
“Bringing it on Sunday should be fine,” Grandma Elle assured her. “See you then.”
After the call ended, Maggie stared at the phone.
Her grandmother clearly hadn’t found Cade’s behavior at dinner as off-putting as Maggie had.
And then there was the fact that Dad liked Cade, too.
Maggie knew she should be grateful for Cade’s assistance in changing her tire, but the whole encounter had left her shaken and at war with herself.
I never understood the true meaning of “raging hormones” until now, she thought, and smiled bitterly.
“Who was that?” Mom called from the back, where she was still busily cracking eggs into the bowl. Forty pounds of Stollen dough required alotof eggs.
“Grandma Elle. She wants us to make a Strawberry Chocolate Celebration cake and bring it on Sunday,” Maggie replied.
“Oh!” Mom exclaimed. “Is that for Cade’s birthday? Elle mentioned wanting to do something special for him.”
“Why?” Maggie couldn’t help the question. “He’s notreally…” She let her voice trail off, realizing the next words out of her mouth were going to be petty.Andmean. She hastily edited her comment. “I mean, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who enjoys people making a fuss over him.”
“Heisa bit prickly,” Mom agreed. “But your father told me that Cade lost his entire clan in a terrible accident when he was still a boy. It’s probably been years since anyone celebrated or even remembered his birthday. I think we should go ahead and do something nice for him, and see how he reacts.”
“Better to ask forgiveness than permission?” Maggie asked, now thoroughly ashamed of her initial, ungenerous reaction.
Mom nodded. “Especially with someone as much pride as our new foreman. And who knows? We might bring him a bit of happiness.”
Maggie wondered what Cade looked like with arealsmile on his face instead of his usual glower. She decided to make him the best cake he’d ever tasted.
* * *
Grizzly Creek Ranch
Sunday, November 16
In preparation for showing up at Elle’s place, Cade showered and changed into his pair of brand-spanking-new jeans and a dress shirt, both purchased at Wallace’s Home and Ranch Supply with his first paycheck.
His beard was growing in nicely, so he trimmed it a bit, combed his damp, curling hair into some semblance of order, and called it good.
He couldn’t wait to see Maggie. She’d made herself scarce all week, and he wondered if she was avoiding him.
Maybe she’s just busy working.
Lord knew, his own job was keeping him busier than a one-legged man at an ass-kicking convention.
He loved the wild mountain scenery in these parts, but the rugged slopes did make rounding up the cattle and transferring them from one hilltop paddock to another every couple of days a mite more challenging than it had been in dusty plains of Texas.
And each time they moved the cattle, he and the ranch hands had to pull down the temporary electric fencing and put it up again in a different location.
The food at this week’s dinner was every bit as tasty as last week. Two large prime rib roasts from the ranch’s own beeves were roasted to perfection, and served with all the fixings.
Best of all, no one rode herd on him this week for about joining up with the fire department. The conversation over stayed focused on ranch business, with a side of neighborly doings and some of the happenings in town.
