Judy Christenberry - The Rancher Takes A Family

“Mommy?”

“Oh, yes, honey, I’m sorry. Let’s go find that snack.”

She’d assumed she’d find the cupboard bare if this man—her new husband—was so broke he couldn’t pay for anyone to help him. However, she found his penniless state didn’t apply to the kitchen. The refrigerator was stocked and a nearby freezer was full of frozen beef.

Checking the clock, she removed some meat for the evening dinner she was expected to prepare. Then she found some crackers and peanut butter for Andy.

“I like peanut butter,” he said, smiling for the first time since they’d gotten off the plane in Casper that morning.

“I know you do, sweetheart.”

“Eileen didn’t like to give me peanut butter,” Andy muttered. Her mother had insisted Andy call her by her first name so people wouldn’t realize she was a grandmother.

Debra leaned over to brush back a wisp of Andy’s hair. “I know, sweetie. That’s one good thing about living here. No Eileen.”

“Really?”

“Really, Andy. You get to stay home with me and your new sister, Betsy.”

He frowned. “But she’s a girl.”

She couldn’t stifle a laugh. “So am I, young man. You’ll grow to love Betsy. Her daddy says she’ll be up soon and then you’ll really get to meet her. You’ll see. It will be great.”

As Andy ate, Debra moved about the kitchen, locating equipment and ingredients, mentally inventorying the pantry, that was well organized. If John’s wife had done all this, she must have been a good cook.

In the monitor on the table Debra heard the sound of a baby stirring.

“Betsy’s awake,” she told Andy. “Wait here and I’ll go get her.”

When she entered the baby’s room, Betsy was standing in her bed, holding on to the rails, beginning to get unhappy. Debra crossed over to her and picked her up. “Hello, there, Betsy. I’m your new mommy. Let’s see. Ah, yes, you need a diaper change, don’t you?”

She laid the baby down in her crib and found a clean diaper in the holder at the end. “Your daddy has everything organized, doesn’t he? He must be a good daddy, Betsy.”

And that was the first thing she found to like about John Richey.

John rushed as he rubbed down his horse. “Sorry, Beauty, but I’m in a hurry,” he whispered.

“Did you say something, boss?” Mikey asked, peering around the dark horse John was working on.

“Uh, no, Mikey, nothing.” Mikey was young, but a hard worker.

“You sure the missus don’t mind us coming to the house for dinner tonight?” Jess, his other cowhand, asked.

John hurriedly looked away from Bill’s worried frown. “I’m sure. I told her we’d all four be there. But I don’t know what kind of cook she is, so blame Bill if it’s awful.” He figured even Jess wouldn’t have the nerve to question Bill. Both guys were just a little afraid of him.

“Can’t be worse than our cooking,” Jess grumbled.

“I’m sure Debra will have a good meal ready,” Bill said with bravado. “I mean, she used to be a cook. How bad can it be?”

“I’m hungry enough to eat a bear, so let’s just hurry,” Mikey said.

All four men walked to the house together. John was beginning to wish he hadn’t planned on all of them coming to the house to eat this evening. He was beginning to fear that the woman might have done nothing just to pay him back for his rudeness to her earlier. She could completely humiliate him.

Betsy.

He’d walked out on Betsy and left her with a stranger. That thought hadn’t struck him until just now.

How could he have done that? Betsy was the most important part of his life. And he’d trusted her to his new wife.

Speeding up, he reached the house before his men.

When he entered, he ignored the warm fire in the fireplace, the delicious aroma in the air, the place settings on the table. All he could think of was his child.

When Debra walked out of the kitchen, all he said was, “Where’s Betsy?”

“SHE’s already in bed. Is there a problem?”

Debra stared at John’s worried face. Had she done something wrong?

“I’ll go check on her,” he said.

She stepped in his way. “I thought maybe you’d all like to shower and change into clean clothes before dinner.”

“What’s wrong? Don’t we smell pretty enough for you?”

Her back stiffened, but her voice remained calm. “I was only thinking of your comfort.”

“Well, I might have clean clothes here, but the others don’t,” he snapped.

She already knew the answer to her question, but she let her eyes widen with innocence. “You mean all the laundry I did today was yours?”

He started to speak but promptly shut his mouth and stared at her. Finally he said, “You did all the laundry today?”

“Yes.” She walked into the mudroom where she heard the other cowboys and her uncle. She told the men, “I divided the clothes into stacks by size, since I didn’t know what belonged to each of you.” She gestured toward the shower stall. “I thought you might be more comfortable if you showered and dressed in clean clothes that you could put on again in the morning and work in. Does that seem like a good idea to you?” Without awaiting their answer, she continued. “And while you’re doing that, I’ll put dinner on the table.”

The men all nodded and immediately grabbed their clean clothes. Debra delicately withdrew and pulled the door behind her. Only John was on this side of the door.

He stood there against the wall, his arms crossed over his wide chest, his blue eyes narrowed to mere slits. “Very clever of you, getting them on your side.”

Swallowing a retort, she turned her back on him and walked into the kitchen.

Once there, she drew a deep breath. She’d worked hard all day, but it was work she loved. The best part was that she’d had Andy and Betsy for company. The entire day had been so much better than her life in Kansas that she’d decided the thing to do was to make the best of the situation and see where it led.

But John apparently wasn’t going to make it easy.

She began putting the meal on the table. The centerpiece was a giant roast beef she’d cooked until tender, flanked by bowls of gravy, homemade biscuits, whipped potatoes, broccoli and red beans.

Just as everything was in place, the door to the mudroom opened and four men emerged. She moved to the kitchen door and extended her hand to the two men she hadn’t formally met. They were both young, in their early twenties, but they looked strong. “Hello, I’m Debra. Welcome to my kitchen,” she said with a smile.

The men introduced themselves, but she could tell they were distracted by the large amounts of food ready for them. All she did was nod in the direction of the table and the four men took their seats and dug in, no doubt ravenous after their workday.

“Man, this is the best food I’ve ever eaten, Miz Richey.”

“Thank you, Mikey, but please, call me Debra.”

“I’ll call you anything you want for a meal like this,” the cowboy returned.

“Debra will be fine, Mikey,” she said through a smile.

“Thank you for the clean clothes, too,” Jess added between bites.

“My pleasure. If you’re in the saddle all day, I don’t see how you’ve managed to get anything else done. I’d be exhausted.”

“True,” Jess said as he buttered a biscuit. “And we’re mighty grateful to you.”

Those two were completely won over, Debra thought. Unfortunately, her husband wasn’t. She noted that John’s face was growing stormier every moment. He obviously hadn’t counted on her doing her job. He’d immediately gone up to check on Betsy before his shower. Did he think she hadn’t taken care of her? Who could resist such a sweet baby?