Page 34 of Wounded Cowboy
“Well, that’s your right to insist,” Nick said, his tone diplomatic again.“But don’t you get sick of eating the same stuff all the time?”
“I stick to my meal plan because it uses up stuff from my garden and meat from my freezer. I don’t have time to go grocery shopping in town every day.”
“Why don’t you ask Kelsey do the grocery shopping?” Nick suggested, a glint of amusement in his eyes.“Work with her on a weekly meal plan and let her do the legwork on the ingredients if she wants to cook something that you don’t usually make.”
The idea caught Spring off guard. He hadn’t even considered that option. It sounded… reasonable. He nodded.“That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to her about it tonight.”
With that decision made, Spring felt a small weight lift from his shoulders.
Maybe relinquishing a bit of control to Kelsey wouldn’t be as bad as he thought.
We’ll see how things go.
Chapter 9
Dinner and a Movie
April and Abby were busy setting the table for dinner as Kelsey pulled a pan of teriyaki chicken breasts out of the oven. She had a pot of brown rice sitting on the stovetop, and a big bowl of tossed salad on the counter—all items he’d specified for dinner tonight.
While she waited for Spring to come home, Kelsey glanced over the day’s list of activities stuck to the fridge door, and realized she’d only completed about half of them. At least she and girls had completed all the educational items.
But April and Abby hadn’t been interested in the arts and crafts project Spring had suggested, so Kelsey had taught the two girls the fundamentals of how to crochet, using a set of crochet hooks and a bag of yarn that Kelsey found stuffed into the back of the hall closet. She wondered whether the crochet supplies had belonged to Laura, and hoped that Spring wouldn’t be angry with them.
The girls had easily gotten the hang of chain stitches and single crochet. But double and triple crochet stitches had proved more difficult, and Kelsey had promised they could practice more tomorrow.
However, she had followed Spring’s meal plan to the letter, including making the promised fish and chips for lunch. Despite their earlier claims of disliking fish, both girls had enjoyed the batter-fried steelhead fillets and oven-baked fries.
As much as Kelsey hated to admit it, having a daily meal plan made things much easier for her.
In the past, she would find herself halfway through preparing a dish only to realize she was missing a vital ingredient and had to make a last-minute run to the grocery store. That wasn’t a big deal in a place like Bozeman, Helena, or Butte. But out here on the ranch, the nearest grocery store was a twenty-minute drive away.
Substituting ingredients worked sometimes, but the results weren’t guaranteed. With a plan made in advance, everything seemed to fall into place effortlessly.
When the front door opened a few minutes later, the girls chorused,“Daddy!”
Kelsey looked up to see the girls rushing Spring.
His face lit at the sight of his daughters, and he bent to sweep them both up into his arms. Her heart skipped a beat at his rare smile.Holy crap, he’s so gorgeous when he does that!
Most of the time, he appeared either reserved or stressed. Kelsey couldn’t help but wonder what undiscovered tenderness hid beneath his tough exterior.
“Welcome home, Spring,” she greeted him cheerfully.“Your timing is great. I just pulled the chicken out of the oven.”
“Thanks for cooking, Kelsey,” he replied, his voice warm and appreciative.“It smells great in here.”
After Spring had washed up and changed out of his work clothes, they all sat down together at the dining table.
They all joined hands around the table while Spring said grace. Then Kelsey watched anxiously as Spring took his first bite of the meal she’d prepared.
Relief flooded through her when his stern expression melted into one of pure satisfaction.“This is delicious. I think I’m definitely gonna have seconds.”
Kelsey cut into her own chicken and ate a mouthful. Yup, it had turned out perfectly—cooked through but still juicy, with a delectable salty-sweet glaze.
“How did the renovations on the goat pen go?” Kelsey asked, genuinely curious.
“Really well,” he replied, taking another bite of his chicken before continuing.“Nick turned up this morning to give me a hand with the project. He had a great idea for adding an angled barrier to the top of the fence to keep Daisy from climbing out.”
“That’s great, but I thought Nick and Winnie were in the middle of filming their movie theater restoration project for Season Four ofReviving Snowberry Springs,” Kelsey said, puzzled.
