Her Cowboy Boss

“You’re going to eat it?” she asked. “I’m sure I can rummage up something else for you.”

“It’s what’s for dinner,” he replied. “I’ll eat what my men are eating.”

And he wasn’t pleased about that. He was hungry—as were all the guys out there. They’d worked a long day, and they needed a decent meal at the end of that. He was grumpy, he was hungry and the glop in his bowl was possibly the worst stew he’d eaten in his life. And that included cattle drives where the one who drew the shortest straw had to cook.

“Breakfast will be better,” she said. “Eggs, bacon, corn bread...that’s hard to ruin.”

He’d thought the same thing about the stew.

“Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll meet you here at 4:00 a.m., and we’ll work on it together. We’ll have to make the pack lunches, too. At least that way, if the guys don’t like the grub, they can blame me, too.”

And at the very least, they’d get an edible lunch.

“But they seem to like it...” She looked toward the swinging door, her pale brows knitted. Had she really not figured out how gorgeous she was and what that did to the common male?

“Yeah...” He shot her a wry look. “They seem to.”

She wasn’t going to be sticking around Hope for long, but while she was here, maybe they could manage to get some decent grub.

Chapter Three (#u06abbb3a-0d0a-5a00-93c8-2a0ab46299ed)

The evening shadows stretched out long and deep, and Avery stood by a fence, her foot on a rail as she watched the sun sink steadily lower. The sky was turning a misty pink, crimson bleeding out along the horizon. The fields glowed gold in the sunset, cattle dotting the lush greenery. A couple of roads snaked across the land, empty and lonesome.

Should I even be here?

Today had been strange in every way. When she arrived in Hope, she hadn’t known what to expect. Her mother had always been secretive about who her father was, and when she confessed a name on her deathbed, that’s where she’d stopped. Louis Harmon. No more details. By Louis’s reaction to hearing her name, Avery was assuming that Winona had never told Louis about the daughter they’d made together. Why not? What could she have possibly gained by hiding Avery from him? Louis seemed kind. He was obviously respected by his employees. Hank sure seemed to think a lot of him.

It didn’t make sense, but at least Winona had given Avery his name before she died. That name linked her to a family she’d never known about—a family that very well might not want to know about her. It was strange to think about herself as orphaned at twenty-four, but that was how she felt. She’d counted on her mother for more than she realized—for her gut reaction to the guys Avery dated, for her optimistic view of the future, for her skill in running the flower shop. Mom knew how to make the perfect arrangement for that finicky bride. She knew how to comfort the bereaved family buying flowers for a funeral. She always managed to look right through whichever guy Avery was dating and figure him out before Avery even managed to. Sweetheart, he’s not as committed as you are. If he’s saying goodnight by nine, I’m willing to bet he’s got another date lined up for ten.

It had always been her and Mom against the world, and now it was suddenly just her. And while Avery was perfectly able to run her life, the hole her mother left behind was still raw.

A truck’s engine rumbled behind her, and she turned to see Louis pull up in front of the bunkhouse. The truck was new—glossy black with shining chrome. You could tell who the boss was around here. The older man hopped out of the truck and slammed the door. He spotted her by the fence and waved.

Avery headed toward him and shot him a smile.

“Evening,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied. “Nice night.”

“Sure is.” He shook her hand with that same crushing grip from earlier. “Are you settled in okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, thanks.” She crossed her arms. “Served my first meal.”

“I heard.” Something flickered across his expression. He must have heard how bad it tasted, too. So was this it? Was he going to fire her? She almost wished he would, then she’d be forced to tell him why she’d really come and get it over with.

“I know it wasn’t the best stew,” she began.

“I’m not worried about it. Hank assures me that it’s under control. He’s your boss, so he’s the one you need to impress.”

Great. She hadn’t done a great job in impressing him so far.

“Alright. Well...thank you for being patient with me.”

“Hank also mentioned you’ve got about two weeks here. We appreciate the honesty on that. It’s still good to have you here to fill the vacancy while we keep looking for a permanent cook.”

“I’m glad it will work for both of us,” she said. And she was. She hadn’t wanted to mislead them. “I should have mentioned it to you earlier. It all got away from me.”

Louis was silent for a moment, and he looked out toward the fields and the sunset. His weathered face softened.

“I knew a Winona Southerly a long time ago. Any relation?” he asked.

“My mother,” she said, and her voice trembled slightly as the words came out.

“Really?” Louis’s eyebrows shot up and he looked at her in surprise. “You’re Winona Southerly’s daughter?”

“Yes.” Avery smiled. “I’ve been told I look like her—if I were blond.”

“Hmm.” He nodded. “Yes, I can see it—I should have noticed before. Where is your mother now?”

“She passed away,” Avery replied. “Breast cancer.”

“Oh...” Louis’s expression fell and he shook his head. “I’m sorry. She was quite the gal. I knew her...well, a long time ago. What did she end up doing with her life?”

“She had me young,” Avery said. “She worked odd jobs for a few years and inherited some money when my grandmother passed away. She used it to open a flower shop in Salina.”

“Hmm.” He nodded slowly. “Sounds like a good life.”

“Too short, though,” Avery said. “She was forty-three. I’m actually here trying to find out a little bit more about her...and her relationships.”

An awkward look crossed Louis’s face. He was silent for a moment, then said, “She was a good person—fun, sympathetic. She was a good friend.”

Friend. Right. Obviously, she’d been a little more than that.

“So you knew her well?” Avery pressed.

“We were kids,” he said with a shake of his head. “When I knew your mother she wanted to marry a senator, learn some bull riding—” he smiled sadly “—and open a flower shop.”

Avery hadn’t realized that a flower shop had been part of her mother’s dreams back then. She knew her mother had opened the business so that she could be her own boss and be there for Avery after school. But she hadn’t realized that shop had been a dream fulfilled. The bull riding didn’t seem to fit, though.

“Did she get married?” Louis asked.

“Once,” Avery replied. “It lasted three years, and after the divorce she focused on me.” That made it sound like she didn’t have any other options, somehow, so she added, “There were a couple of other gentlemen from church who used to come by the shop and chat with her, though. If she’d not gotten sick, she might have married again.”

“Church?” Louis took off his hat and slapped it against his thigh. “And you came to find out about your mother’s time in Hope, did you?”

He’d been talking to Hank, it seemed.

“Yes,” she said.