whoa . Then I want you to climb off the same way you got on.”
“Aw.” Lester frowned at Matthew. “Can’t we keep going?”
“Better to make it short the first time and teach him to stop on command. Okay, tell him to whoa.”
Lester did as he was told and Houdini came to a halt as if he’d suddenly become a perfectly trained horse. Matthew knew better, and he was immensely relieved when Lester was back on the fence.
“I rode him.” Lester’s frown gave way to a look of pride. “I was the first person to ride that horse.”
“Yes, you were. If you want, I’ll talk to Emmett about giving you time this afternoon to try it again.”
“That would be great!”
“And if we can keep this on the down-low, you might be the one putting on a demonstration later instead of me.”
“Wow.” Lester’s eyes shone. “That would be amazing. I won’t say anything to anybody, I promise!”
“Good.” Matthew stroked Houdini’s silky neck. “Because it’s about time to go in for lunch, and it might be hard to keep that secret.”
“Nope. I can do it. But I wouldn’t mind skipping lunch. I hate the lunches here.”
“I have a feeling today’s might be better.”
“Boy, I hope so. Yesterday’s was disgusting.”
Poor Aurelia, Matthew thought as he and Lester walked Houdini back to the barn. She tried so hard, and her efforts were wasted because this wasn’t a sophisticated crowd.
They really would need to do a little menu-planning tonight. But he hoped it wouldn’t take long, because he had some other activities in mind.
5
A URELIA HAD HER misgivings about the meal she served for lunch. Substituting potatoes for eggplant in ratatouille seemed like a sacrilege, but she’d made the adjustment and also allowances for the varying cooking times of potatoes and eggplant. She had no recipe for corn bread other than Mary Lou’s, which was uninteresting, but she didn’t have time to get creative with the ingredients.
Matthew gave her a warm smile that jacked up her pulse rate as she put his plate in front of him. “Looks like a great vegetable stew,” he said.
That reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to mention the French name, although in all good conscience she couldn’t call it ratatouille without the eggplant. “I hope you like it.”
“Corn bread smells good,” said Bob Gilbert, one of the few cowboys she knew who wore glasses.
“Thank you.” She gave him his plate. “It’s Mary Lou’s recipe.” Maybe she imagined it, but she could swear someone let out a heartfelt sigh. She was beginning to think Matthew was right, and cowboys were vocal when they liked the food, but not so much when they didn’t.
She continued to get the food on the table along with help from Sarah, who’d recently begun pitching in to serve and clear the lunch meal. It gave her a chance to interact with each of the cowhands and underscored her position as the matriarchal head of the family. Aurelia was constantly impressed by the ways in which the Chance family kept the ranch functioning as a loyal unit.
As she moved back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room, she thought about Western movies she’d watched in which the cowboys ate whatever came from the chuck wagon, because if they complained, they’d get nothing. Apparently cowboys were both loyal and stoic. If she was the replacement cook, they’d put up with her, even if she’d been badly missing the mark with their meals.
Well, then, she’d be more open to whatever suggestions Matthew made tonight. But as she glanced across the room at him, she thought about what he might suggest that had nothing to do with food, and she retreated to the kitchen before someone noticed that she was blushing for no good reason.
Because she’d been so involved with converting the ratatouille to a potato-based dish, she hadn’t had a chance to come up with a creative dessert, either. At the last minute she’d fallen back on another of Mary Lou’s
“Aw.” Lester frowned at Matthew. “Can’t we keep going?”
“Better to make it short the first time and teach him to stop on command. Okay, tell him to whoa.”
Lester did as he was told and Houdini came to a halt as if he’d suddenly become a perfectly trained horse. Matthew knew better, and he was immensely relieved when Lester was back on the fence.
“I rode him.” Lester’s frown gave way to a look of pride. “I was the first person to ride that horse.”
“Yes, you were. If you want, I’ll talk to Emmett about giving you time this afternoon to try it again.”
“That would be great!”
“And if we can keep this on the down-low, you might be the one putting on a demonstration later instead of me.”
“Wow.” Lester’s eyes shone. “That would be amazing. I won’t say anything to anybody, I promise!”
“Good.” Matthew stroked Houdini’s silky neck. “Because it’s about time to go in for lunch, and it might be hard to keep that secret.”
“Nope. I can do it. But I wouldn’t mind skipping lunch. I hate the lunches here.”
“I have a feeling today’s might be better.”
“Boy, I hope so. Yesterday’s was disgusting.”
Poor Aurelia, Matthew thought as he and Lester walked Houdini back to the barn. She tried so hard, and her efforts were wasted because this wasn’t a sophisticated crowd.
They really would need to do a little menu-planning tonight. But he hoped it wouldn’t take long, because he had some other activities in mind.
5
A URELIA HAD HER misgivings about the meal she served for lunch. Substituting potatoes for eggplant in ratatouille seemed like a sacrilege, but she’d made the adjustment and also allowances for the varying cooking times of potatoes and eggplant. She had no recipe for corn bread other than Mary Lou’s, which was uninteresting, but she didn’t have time to get creative with the ingredients.
Matthew gave her a warm smile that jacked up her pulse rate as she put his plate in front of him. “Looks like a great vegetable stew,” he said.
That reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to mention the French name, although in all good conscience she couldn’t call it ratatouille without the eggplant. “I hope you like it.”
“Corn bread smells good,” said Bob Gilbert, one of the few cowboys she knew who wore glasses.
“Thank you.” She gave him his plate. “It’s Mary Lou’s recipe.” Maybe she imagined it, but she could swear someone let out a heartfelt sigh. She was beginning to think Matthew was right, and cowboys were vocal when they liked the food, but not so much when they didn’t.
She continued to get the food on the table along with help from Sarah, who’d recently begun pitching in to serve and clear the lunch meal. It gave her a chance to interact with each of the cowhands and underscored her position as the matriarchal head of the family. Aurelia was constantly impressed by the ways in which the Chance family kept the ranch functioning as a loyal unit.
As she moved back and forth between the kitchen and the dining room, she thought about Western movies she’d watched in which the cowboys ate whatever came from the chuck wagon, because if they complained, they’d get nothing. Apparently cowboys were both loyal and stoic. If she was the replacement cook, they’d put up with her, even if she’d been badly missing the mark with their meals.
Well, then, she’d be more open to whatever suggestions Matthew made tonight. But as she glanced across the room at him, she thought about what he might suggest that had nothing to do with food, and she retreated to the kitchen before someone noticed that she was blushing for no good reason.
Because she’d been so involved with converting the ratatouille to a potato-based dish, she hadn’t had a chance to come up with a creative dessert, either. At the last minute she’d fallen back on another of Mary Lou’s
Similar Books
