Page 43 of Wounded Cowboy
April nodded, and reached for Kelsey’s hand, then her sister’s. Spring’s strong, callused fingers closed around Kelsey’s other hand, and an electric tingle ran up her arm from the contact.
April bowed her head and recited:
“Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat,
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you, God, for everything. Amen.”
“Amen,” Kelsey echoed, along with Abby and Spring.
Spring gave Kelsey’s hand a brief squeeze before releasing it.
Kelsey’s heart began pounding in shock.
“All right, everyone,” Spring announced, as if the moment had never happened.“Let’s dig in! April, will you hand me your plate?”
He spooned some of the steaming casserole onto her plate and followed it with a generous heap of tossed salad with homemade balsamic dressing.
“We harvested all the salad ingredients from the vegetable garden,” April announced proudly as he handed the plate back to her.
“Really?” Spring’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.“That’s great. Now, Abby, your plate, please.”
As he served up the next portion of the casserole, his daughters eagerly described how they’d helped Kelsey shop for the ingredients and prepare the balsamic dressing for the salad.
As he filled her plate, Kelsey tried to calm her unsettled nerves. She reminded herself that Spring wasn’t her type. Sure, he was incredibly attractive. But he was also a control freak. And her client.
When Spring took a bite of the casserole, Kelsey held her breath, waiting for his reaction. She didn’t have to wait long as Spring’s eyes lit up and a genuine smile spread across his face.
“Wow, this is fantastic,” he said, looking at her with appreciation.
“It’s yummy!” Abby chimed in.
“Delicious!” agreed April.
Kelsey felt warmth rush to her cheeks as she smiled back at them.“Thank you. I’m really glad you all like it. I’ll tell my mom it was a hit.” She hesitated, then said,“If you like, I could add weeknight dinners to my regular duties. I love cooking, and it’s boring to just make dinner for myself.”
And she really enjoyed eating with Spring and the girls. It felt homier than a solitary meal in her cottage.
Spring nodded.“I’d like that, Kelsey. It would be a real luxury to come home to a homemade dinner every night after work.”
“And it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to teach the girls more about cooking.”
“Yeah, I want to cook us dinner, too,” April said.
Abby nodded.“Me, too!”
After dinner, Spring loaded the dishwasher while Kelsey put the leftovers away, and Abby and April gathered up the tablecloth and took it outside to shake out the crumbs.
“Kelsey, would you mind staying for a little while after I put the girls to bed? I’d like to go over Monday’s schedule with you.”
“Sure,” she replied without hesitating.
Her workday had officially ended an hour ago, but she’d enjoyed her dinner with him and the girls. She wasn’t ready to go home to the silence of her cottage yet, and spend another evening watching cooking shows by herself before going to bed.
∞∞∞
