LITMIR.BIZ

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away,” Hallie yelled over her shoulder as she shoved open the front door.

      She went straight to the kitchen, hoping Serenity would have some of that willow powder she used to make soothing teas. At the kitchen door, she heard Ben say something in a low voice, then Serenity’s musical laughter.

      She found Ben and the girl standing side by side near the table, Serenity’s face aglow, Ben’s hand at her elbow as she smiled into his eyes.

      They turned in unison when Hallie stepped inside, their expressions changing at once. Serenity darted several uneasy steps away from Ben, keeping her eyes downcast.

      Ben glanced at her, then scowled at Hallie. “I thought you were checkin’ the herd.”

      “Obviously.”

      “What’s wrong with you?” he asked, before Hallie could say anything more. “You’re walkin’ like you haven’t been off a horse for a month.”

      Hallie opened her mouth, only to close it as Jack strode up beside her and shot Ben a look that clearly warned the boy to mind what he said. “I’m happy to see you here, Ben,” Jack said. “You can help me and Miss Serenity with the cooking tonight.”

      “What…cooking?”

      Hallie jerked her hat off and turned to stare hard at Jack. “I told you, I’m fine.”

      “You know, I might believe that, if you’d agree to take care of yourself.” Trying to appeal to her in a way she might accept, as an equal, he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, we’re partners, and while I know you’d rather kiss a wild boar every morning than accept that, this is a chance for me to have some time alone with everyone.”

      Hallie shook her head, not willing to give him the slightest advantage over her. “I’m sure you mean well, but I told you earlier, thanks but no thanks.” Stepping out of his reach, she turned to Serenity. “We’ll use the spring peas and the rest of the ham from last Sunday’s supper. Oh, and I moved the peas we put up early to the front of the top shelf of the pantry.”

      Not quite meeting Hallie’s eyes, Serenity nodded and scuttled past them out the door.

      “I’ll give you a hand,” Ben called after her, eager to flee from his sister before she changed her mind about Dakota’s idea and had him cooking supper.

      Crossing his arms over his chest, Jack refused to back down. “Changing the subject won’t make it go away. The men will have to accept me sooner or later, but I’d like it to be sooner, and on peaceful terms. Come on, Miss Hal,” he coaxed, holding out his hands. “It’s supper, not a cattle drive.”

      Hallie yearned to say no. While she knew it was stupid of her not to rest her backside and properly tend to her injuries, a small, jealous part of her didn’t want to give up any of her responsibilities at Eden’s Canyon to Jack Dakota.

      Still, turning him down seemed more spiteful than anything. And she did hurt enough to cringe at the idea of standing up to fix supper and then sitting down to eat it.

      “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “This once, my kitchen’s all yours.”

      Jack nodded and held the door open for her, watching as she slowly and painfully made her way to her room.

      He supposed he should feel good about winning their latest battle. But he was left with the uncomfortable sensation that he’d done more damage to Hallie’s dignity than he’d helped to heal her wounded backside.

      “I can’t believe I rode the biggest one. Can I do it again tomorrow?”

      Hearing the excitement in Ethan’s voice, Jack turned from the griddle on the stove to see his son come into the kitchen, glued to Tenfoot’s side.

      “You must have talked your way onto one of the horses,” he said, smiling at his son’s happy grin.

      It struck him that he’d never seen Ethan smile like that, and Jack found himself wishing from somewhere deep inside that it had been he, and not Tenfoot, who had put that smile on his son’s face.

      “You should have seen me,” Ethan said. “I was ridin’ that big brown stallion all around the corral, wasn’t I, Mr. Tenfoot?”

      “Just like you were born to it,” Tenfoot answered. His eyebrows arched up as he took in the sight of Jack, a dishcloth slung over his shoulder, flipping eggs at the big black cast-iron stove. “Looks like your pa got himself a new job while we was out. Don’t think I’ve ever seen the likes of you in this kitchen in my thirty-odd years here.”

      Jack didn’t have time to explain as Charlie and Eb came in behind Tenfoot. Instead of taking their usual seats at the table, they, too, stopped to stare at Jack.

      “Don’t wait to be invited. Come on in and sit down,” Jack ordered, waving them in with his spatula.

      Serenity, working with Ben to get the table set, put a pile of plates into Ben’s hands and let the men get settled as she went to fetch the platter of ham.

      “Where’s Hal?” Charlie asked, eyes narrowed as he looked around the room.

      “She had a little run-in with an unfriendly cactus today,” Jack answered over his shoulder, “so she’s resting.”

      “Rest? Hal?” Eb shook his head doubtfully as he took his usual seat at the far end of the table. “That don’t sound like her. She ain’t dead, is she?”

      Jack smiled to himself as he remembered Hallie and him together. “She’s about as far from dead as anyone can be. Don’t worry, she’ll be back in the saddle tomorrow. But for tonight…” he bent to pull two trays of king-size biscuits from the oven “…I’m doing most of the cooking. And since the only thing I can cook worth eating is breakfast, breakfast it is tonight. How do you want your eggs?”

      The men sat in silence while Jack searched their faces, one by one, for a response. At last Ben lifted his plate and handed it across the table toward Jack. “I’ll take four, fried on both sides.”

      Jack reached for the plate. “Done.”

      One by one, hunger got the better of the others, and they surrendered their plates as well. As they ate, the tension in the room relaxed and Jack found it easier to ask them about the day’s activities.

      Even Ethan opened up enough to tell him a little about his ride on Tenfoot’s horse. And he also managed to put away his share of eggs and ham.

      Jack filled the biscuit basket for the third time, and Big Charlie reached for them before the basket hit the table. Glancing to the doorway and lowering his voice, the burly cowboy muttered, “Don’t be giving me away to Hal, but I gotta say, these are some of the best durned biscuits I ever ate.”

      Eb, his mouth crammed with ham, nodded in agreement, giving Jack the first real sense of gaining ground since he’d come.

      “I won’t tell her because then she’ll be having me in the kitchen all the time,” he teased. “I’d better save a few for her, though.”

      “I’ll take her a plate,” Serenity said, shoving away from the table.

      “No, I’ll do that,” Jack replied in a tone he knew she wouldn’t question. “Ben will stay and help you clean up, won’t you, Ben?”

      “Me? Wash dishes?”

      Serenity turned her sweetest smile on him. “You can dry, Ben. I’ll do the washing.”

      He flushed from foot to forehead, and a round of raucous laughter filled the kitchen. When it died down, Jack turned to Ethan, who sat as close to Tenfoot as space would allow. “How was your supper?”

      Ethan didn’t look up from his nearly empty plate. “Strange havin’ breakfast for supper.”

      “Well, I guess it’s better than an empty belly.” Jack didn’t press Ethan any further. The fact that the boy had said anything to him

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