Her Cowboy Boss

She paused a breath longer than necessary, then said, “My mom grew up in Hope, and I wanted to see it.”

“Alone?” he prodded.

“She passed away in April.”

Ouch. Hank shot her an apologetic look. “Sorry about that.”

She smiled in reply, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Hank pulled away from the house. The wheels of his truck crunched over the gravel and onto the drive that led away from the barn and toward the bunkhouse and canteen for the workers. Warm afternoon sunlight bathed the land. Bees circled over wildflowers in the ditches, and Hank slapped a mosquito on his arm. It was the season for them. He drove past the nearest pasture, and the cows looked up, chewing in slow, grinding circles, their liquid eyes following the truck as it passed them.

“So what was your mom’s name?” he asked. He was curious—if her family was from Hope, maybe he could place her.

“Winona Southerly.”

It didn’t ring any bells, but if Avery had never seen Hope, then her mother must have left town a good—he glanced at Avery from the corner of his eye—twenty-five years ago, in a rough estimation. He wouldn’t have known her mother—he’d have been ten at the time.

“You have any other family around here?” he asked.

“No, my mom was living with an elderly aunt who passed away when I was a kid,” she said. “But I wanted to see Hope. Mom used to tell me some stories about rope swings and swimming in a canal, back in the seventies when kids could roam feral.”

He smiled at the mental picture. Yeah, those were the days. He’d been a kid in the eighties, and he’d still been pretty feral. The town of Hope was small enough that people trusted each other—maybe more than they should.

“So you wanted to see it,” he concluded.

“With her gone, I just—” She pulled her hair away from her face. “I guess it makes it feel like she’s not completely gone.”

“Yeah, I get it.”

He knew a fair bit about loss, about dealing with that empty hole in your chest. He’d gotten divorced five years back, and that had been a gut-wrenching loss. Vickie had started up with some guy online. Hank used to be a whole lot more trusting. He’s just a friend turned into He understands me and you don’t even try, which eventually turned into her packing her bags and leaving. Vickie had been wrong—he had tried. He’d tried really hard to understand what she needed, what she wanted. He hadn’t been some passive guy letting his woman walk off—he’d done everything he knew how. It just hadn’t been enough.

“Do your parents live around here?” Avery asked.

He pulled himself back to the present. “No, they’re in Florida.”

“Hmm.” She smiled. “That’s nice.”

His parents loved Skype—always calling at inopportune times, crowding in front of their tablet so they could both beam at him from their motor home. They were so proud of that thing—they still gave him virtual tours. You wouldn’t believe how spacious it is, Hank! Look at the depth of these cupboards... Can you see it? Hold on, I’ll put on a light... Can you see it now?

Hank was approaching the barracks now—a long, low building on the crest of a hill, overlooking the pasture and a winding creek that watered it.

“Okay,” he said pulling himself away from personal topics. “I guess I should tell you the job requirements. First of all, Mr. Harmon has a rule against employees becoming romantically involved. There is no wiggle room there. If you’re caught, you’ll be fired. No second chances.”

She nodded. “Okay. Fair enough.”

“I really can’t stress it enough.” He eyed her, waiting for some sort of response, but she just met his gaze with mild curiosity. That was the biggest rule out of the way. “You’ll be providing breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for thirty-five employees. Breakfast is at 6:00 a.m. sharp, lunches are packed and supper is at five. You can’t be late—our scheduling relies on prompt meals.”

She didn’t say anything, but when he glanced over, she was chewing the side of her cheek. Nerves? So the cooking—that’s where he got a reaction from her?

“You think you can handle that?” he asked.

“Sure.” She shot him a smile that was just an eyelash shy of being convincing.

“We’re looking at high-protein meals, and don’t skimp on the carbs. The guys can eat a lot—they burn it off out there, so they have to be able to fill up. Obviously, we need balanced meals, but you’ve got to be able to cook according to a budget...”

As he talked, he could feel tension emanating from her through the cab, and when he pulled to a stop in front of the barracks, he eyed her curiously.

“You want to see your room first, or the kitchen?” he asked.

“Uh...” She looked out the window. “The kitchen, I suppose.”

They got out of the truck and he led the way toward the canteen. Their last cook had given notice, but Louis hadn’t been able to fill the position in time to fill the gap. This was the first day without a regular cook on premises, and the stock of muffins and sandwiches had been worked through pretty fast. He pushed open the door, leading the way past the tables and toward the kitchen in the back.

When they emerged into the quiet, cool room, the look on Avery’s face was pure panic.

“Exactly how much experience do you have?” Hank asked skeptically.

She heaved a sigh and shook her head. “Zero.”

What? He stared at her, aghast. She had absolutely no experience, and she’d applied for this job? What had she been thinking? And why had Louis hired her so quickly? He supposed they didn’t have many options—they needed someone, and one of the ranch hands would be just as bad as an inexperienced stranger. At least the ranch hand would be able to do his job out in the field if they had this woman in the kitchen.

“Let me get this straight...” he said slowly.

“Should I leave?” she interrupted, turning to look him in the face for the first time. Her green eyes glittered, and she crossed her arms across her chest—protective or defiant, he wasn’t sure which.

“Can you at least cook?” he asked. That would be something. Cooking in large batches could be learned...couldn’t it? If she could at least make some batches of oatmeal, muffins, fry up some burgers...

Avery visibly winced.

“Are you saying you can’t cook at all?” he demanded.

“I’m capable of cooking,” she retorted. “I’m twenty-four and I’ve fed myself for some time now.” She sighed. “I’ve just never been...good at it.”

He closed his eyes and suppressed a moan.

“I’ll go.” She moved toward the door. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

It wasn’t how pretty she was, or those glittering green eyes. It certainly wasn’t the smattering of freckles that drew his gaze as she turned away...it was the knowledge that without her here, a valuable ranch hand would be taken away from his work and set to manning the kitchen until they could find someone else, and after three weeks of advertising, she was the only one to show up.

“Wait,” he said gruffly. “You’re already hired. Let’s give you a try.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because you don’t need to do this. If someone else is a better fit—”

“There isn’t anyone else,” he said. “If you’re willing to learn, I guess I’ll teach you what I know, and we’ll get these guys fed.”

She pulled out her cell phone. “YouTube tutorials might help.”

So that was where they were at. This was going to be a long day, he could tell, but a suspicion nagged at the back of his mind. He might need to keep her on for now, but he also meant to keep an eye on her. After Hank’s divorce, the Harmon family had been really good to him, and he felt like he owed Louis more than just to follow his job requirements. And Avery gave off the vibe, back in the house, of a woman with an ulterior motive.

Now he discovered that she’d applied for a position she had zero experience for, and she was offering to walk away far too quickly for someone who needed the job despite her inexperience. His hackles were up. He didn’t know the real reason Avery had shown up, but he’d figure it out. He didn’t like secrets; he was the kind of man who wanted things transparent, out in the open. Secrets always hurt someone, he’d found. Hank knew firsthand what kind man Louis Harmon was. As ranch manager, it was his job to know what was going on, and he took that job very seriously.