LITMIR.BIZ

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but nothing compared to her aunt Essie’s homemade dressings.

      By the time the oven timer dinged, she had the dining room table set for five, the salad tossed in a big silver bowl, and butter and sour cream and chives on a serving tray awaiting the potatoes. She headed out to the patio with a platter for the steaks. Perfect. The slight char on one side would just make them that much better. She found some sauces in the refrigerator and set them out too.

      She heard voices and looked out the dining room window. The man in the apron and the younger guy were heading back with the goat. She smiled at Goatby, who looked quite pleased with himself and his little escapade. Three other men, of various ages and all in cowboy hats and jeans, were coming from one of the other barns.

      She stepped outside. “Dinner’s on the table.”

      The five men stopped and stared at her. The one in the apron said, “Dinner’s on the table?”

      “Sure is,” she said. “Come see for yourselves. I wasn’t sure what y’all wanted to drink so I set out the beer and the pitcher of iced tea.”

      He stared at her, then switched the tongs from his right hand to his left. “Jake Morrow,” he said, stretching out his right hand.

      She shook it. “Emma Hurley.”

      The men followed her into the dining room. She heard someone whisper, “She’s a Hurley, and all Hurleys can cook.”

      “Hank,” Jake said, stopping in front of the table. “Do you see what I see or is this some kind of mirage?”

      “Oh, I see it,” said the fortyish one with the thick red hair. “I don’t believe it, but I see it.”

      The eldest one, with the wild gray-brown hair and beard, added, “Me too, Boss.”

      Emma smiled at them. “Sit and eat before it all gets cold.”

      They sat down, stared at the food for a moment, then grabbed at sauces and filled their glasses with beer or iced tea.

      “Are you some kind of fairy godcook?” Jake asked, taking a bite of the steak. “I thought these were goners.”

      She laughed. “Does wonders for my ego to hear.”

      “Please, sit down,” Jake said to her. He went to the sidebar and got a plate, then cut his steak in half, split his potato and handed her the plate. “Least I can do.”

      That sure was nice. “Thanks. I’m starving.”

      “Hey, Jake, I thought you said no one had answered the ad for a cook since the last fake who was really one of CJ’s broken hearts,” said the eldest of the five men, the tall, large one with the unruly hair and beard.

      CJ shot the older man a glare with his very blue eyes.

      Jake took a bite of salad. “No one has.”

      “Then where did this gorgeous creature come from?” CJ said, sliding a killer smile over to her.

      She ignored the faux flattery and swiped her bite of potato in sour cream. “I’m staying with my great-aunt Essie—she owns Hurley’s Homestyle Kitchen in town. Know of it?”

      Jake smiled. “Know of it? We’re there half the week.”

      “I work in the kitchen part-time,” she said, then took a sip of her iced tea. “But the reason I’m here is that I heard a cowboy named Joshua—Tex—works at the Full Circle. I’ve come to see him on personal business.”

      Every one of the men stopped eating. Stopped talking. They looked at one another, then at her.

      “Miss—ma’am,” Jake said. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but Tex had an accident about three weeks ago. He didn’t survive.”

      She felt the blood drain from her face. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

      She felt Jake’s hand on her shoulder. “Miss?”

      She closed her eyes and put down her fork. “Oh.” That was all she could manage.

      “Was Tex a friend of yours?” another of the men asked. “I’m Grizzle. We’re the crew here at the ranch,” he added, gesturing at the guys at the table. “We all became great buddies with Tex, even though we’d only been working here together for about a week when he died.”

      “I’m Hank Timber,” said the redhead with a nod at her. “The foreman at the Full Circle.” He tilted his head and stared at her. “His death left us dumbstruck too back when it happened.”

      “I’m pregnant with his baby,” she blurted out. Five set of eyes stared at her, a few open jaws. She hadn’t meant to say it, but it just came out. “I’ve been looking for him ever since I found out. We met at the rodeo in Stockton in January, but then...lost touch. When I found out I was pregnant, I tried to track him down but I only knew his given name.”

      “Joshua Smith,” Jake said. He had a look of reverence in his expression that told her he’d gotten close to Joshua too. Based on how close she’d felt to the guy in one night, she could imagine how these men had felt after even just a week of working long days together on a ranch.

      The cowboys ate quickly, then all nodded at her, said they were “real sorry for her loss,” and practically ran from the dining room, leaving her and Jake Morrow.

      The foreman, Hank, came back. “Sorry for the baby’s loss too. That’s real sad.” Then he turned back and hurried from the room.

      Jake turned to her, his green eyes full of sympathy. “I own the Full Circle. That was the entire crew, including my brother CJ. He’s the one who helped me bring back the goat. Tex—Joshua—was one of the hands and we all liked him a lot. He was an old soul and wise for his age, all of twenty-seven. Even though his nickname was Tex, Grizzle referred to him as Owl.”

      She found herself unable to speak again. She hadn’t even been sure what to expect when she would finally lock eyes with Joshua again and tell him she was expecting his baby. She’d been pretty sure he’d run for the hills, disappear the way he had after their one great night together. But part of her thought he wouldn’t, that he’d at least say, “Okay, this baby is my responsibility, and I don’t duck out on that.” Of course, now she’d never know.

      Jake stared at her for a moment. “He talked about you.” He seemed to be remembering something, then nodded. “One morning he was preoccupied, and that wasn’t Tex’s way. He finally told us he’d sneaked out on a woman in the middle of the night without leaving his name or a number and that he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d said if he’d been a settling down guy, he would have chosen that ‘smart, interesting woman with the honey-colored hair and the biggest blue eyes he’d ever seen.’ That was exactly how he put it.”

      Emma did have honey-colored hair, or so Joshua had referred to it many times the night he’d run his fingers through it. And she did have big blue eyes, like her mother’s. So he must have been talking about her. She appreciated the “smart” and “interesting.” Plus the timing was right.

      And now the rancher knew every detail of her failed romance with Joshua Smith.

      “I’m very sorry,” Jake said again. He seemed about to say something, but then took a gulp of beer.

      Now it was her turn to say “oh hell,” except the two words just kept echoing in her head. Along with Now what?

      She didn’t want to leave. She still had her apartment a town over in Oak Creek, but her lease was ending this month anyway, and when she thought of Oak Creek she thought of her father and how he’d reacted when she told him she was pregnant, that she was keeping the baby and, yes, she knew who the father was but not where, exactly.

      Oh for God’s sake, Emma, Reginald Hurley had said. Now you’ve really done it. A baby out of wedlock. What the hell will people think? He’d shaken his head, a few times for good measure, then had added, I’ll start a list

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