Reaching around Molly, the cowboy called Lance drew down the large bags of flour. “It won’t take long, ma’am, to know how much we like to eat. The pizza was a good idea, there just wasn’t enough. We could probably each eat a whole one,” he said gently.
Josh glared at him and nodded toward the stove. Lance smiled, touched his forehead with two fingers in a mock salute and moved slowly away.
Molly wished the floor would open up and swallow her completely. At least she had something to do and the men hadn’t complained about having to do their own cooking. Though she knew they must be mad as hornets. They'd worked hard all day and come to dinner expecting a hot meal. She’d fed them tidbits. Now they had to make their own suppers.
She darted a quick glance at Josh. He hadn't said a word of reproach.
In fact, he seemed to be surprisingly calm about the entire episode.
Yet she knew it would be reason enough to fire her. More than enough after lunch. No sense in waiting for the replacement that wouldn’t come. He'd seen enough incompetence to fire her on the spot.
Molly ignored the rough teasing and laughter the men shared. She concentrated on making the biscuits, watching each batch cook to make sure they turned out perfect. She wanted to make amends, but wasn’t sure how. She wanted to prove she could do this job, but wasn’t sure she’d get another chance.
Josh seemed a hard man, not one given to forgiving repeated errors in judgment.
When the omelets had been cooked and the first two batches of biscuits were on the table, the men sat back down. Josh came across the room and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her from watching the stove to push her toward the chair next to his.
“We have timers for that. Sit down and eat.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. I want to make sure the biscuits don't burn.” She didn’t deserve his kindness. She’d made a mess of dinner.
His hands pushed her down into the chair. They were warm and hard, and when he removed them, she felt a chill. He sat at the head of the table and nodded toward her plate, which had been piled high with a fluffy cheese, ham and vegetable omelet. One of the men tossed a hot biscuit on the plate and another poured her a cup of coffee.
“Eat,” Josh ordered.
“Mrs. Montgomery said you were bossy,” she muttered as she reached for some butter.
“She’s got you pegged, boss,” Lance said, giving a slow smile across the table to Molly. “What else did the employment agency say? We know Josh is hell on wheels with housekeepers. He hasn’t kept one for longer than a couple of weeks.”
Molly looked up, tempted to relate all Sarah Montgomery had said, but she held her tongue. Josh was her boss and deserved her loyalty.
She smiled and shook her head. “Just that he was bossy. Which makes sense since he is the boss, right?”
“You could add slave driver,” Carl mumbled, his eyes on his plate.
“Or stubborn,” Dennis threw in.
“How about opinionated?” Jack said slyly, throwing Josh a knowing look.
“I like relentless, myself,” Pete said.
“And I like it quiet at dinner,” Josh said, frowning.
When everyone laughed, Molly knew the men really liked and respected her new boss. It said a lot for him that the cowboys were comfortable enough around him to tease him. Something inside her reacted. She knew she still had to answer for the poor dinner, but maybe Josh would be generous and give her one more chance. She would not repeat the mistake of too little food again.
As the men ate, conversation centered on the ranch and the different tasks and chores still to be done.
Molly tried to match names to faces. Lance was the foreman. A man about the same age as Josh, he maintained just enough distance from the men to keep the chain of command, yet from the easy way the others related, he obviously was also well liked.
Jack was older, his hair liberally sprinkled with gray. Billy was the youngest and looked to Molly like he should still be in school. The others ranged in age and size, yet all had the same undefinable characteristic of a cowboy, a bit wild, a bit untamed, men in their own right who signed on to work the open land as their forebears had done a hundred years before.
Molly found them fascinating. She soaked up the conversation like a sponge. Afraid to ask questions, she tried to glean the meaning from everything without appearing stupid. Once or twice someone explained things to her, but for the most part, she had to guess at the meanings of some words.
When everyone had their fill of food and conversation, they began to drift out. Josh left first and Molly wasn’t sure whether to be glad or not.
At least her reprimand would be delayed, or had he gone to write a check for her services and fire her? She hadn’t done much her first day. She hoped she'd have more time.
She cleaned up the kitchen, checked where the cowboys had stored the food and tried to plan the next day’s menu. Obviously she hadn't bought enough food to last a week. Still she had plenty for the next couple of days.
The first thing she planned to do when she hooked up her computer was make a list of groceries, of meals, of snacks. Then she would have a better idea of quantity amounts to order.
Finished with the dishes, she headed toward the stairs to find her room. She still hadn't seen Josh since dinner. Dare she unpack?
If he planned to fire her, wouldn't he have done so immediately after dinner? Or even as they were preparing the second part of the meal.
She paused in the doorway, her eyes taking in the pretty room. It was large, with high ceilings and tall windows, which gave a spectacular view of the rolling fields. Starched Priscilla curtains framed the view. Slowly she stepped inside. The bed was to one side, a dark burgundy coverlet adding a splash of color against the white walls. The rug in the center of the room gave beneath her feet when she walked on it. A dresser and a desk were on one wall. The closet door was ajar. And the adjoining bathroom guaranteed privacy. She'd be very comfortable here. It was much more than she expected.
As she opened drawers in the high chest, she wondered which room was Josh’s. Hers was at the top of the stairs. There was a door opposite, and three more farther down the hall. Time enough to discover his when cleaning, changing beds, and the other tasks ahead of her.
If she stayed.
Molly put away the last shirt, snapped closed her two bags and shoved them under her bed. Turning, she heard Josh’s tread on the stairs. Her door stood open so she could catch him when he came upstairs. She crossed her room reaching the opening to the hall just as he reached the top of the stairs.
He looked tired. Yet when he saw her waiting, he straightened and raised one eyebrow.
“I thought you might be asleep by now. Breakfast is at six,” he said.
“I thought I might be fired by now.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “No need. You’re here temporarily. As soon as the agency finds someone else, you’ll be gone. As you pointed out, I might as well take advantage of what you can do in the next few days.”
“I plan on pancakes for breakfast, about fifteen for each man. Will that hold everyone?” she asked, disappointed by his continued conviction she would be so soon gone. Though in all fairness she'd hardly impressed anyone today.
He smiled and nodded. “Probably.”
“I’m sorry I made such a mess with dinner. I thought two or three slices of pizza would be enough. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Something else, no doubt,” he murmured. His gaze roamed over her face, her hair.
“No doubt.” She grinned. He was being nicer than she expected.
“Where did you get the pizzas?”
“At a take-and-bake place near the supermarket. I was running late and thought they’d do.”
“They let you charge it?”
She shook her head. “I bought them.”
Josh studied her for a long moment. “How much experience do you have being a housekeeper?” he asked, moving to lean against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. Molly knew he'd stay for a while, so there was no hope a quick answer would turn him away.
Leaning against the doorjamb, she put her hands in her pockets and tried to find an answer that would be truthful, yet give him the comfort he needed to know she could do the job.
“I kept house for a number of years,” she began slowly.
“For a dozen men?”
She shook her head. “Just one, actually. Though we often had guests.”
“Your dad?”
She nodded.
“Where is he now?” Josh’s eyes narrowed as she fidgeted in the doorway.
Molly felt the subtle change from polite questioning to inquisition. She wanted to say goodnight and shut the door, but couldn’t without raising suspicions she wanted to avoid.
“He lives in Houston.”
“Why did you take this job?”
Dare she hint at the reason? He probably sympathized with her father. He reminded her of her father, yet he was different. She didn’t think her father would have come up with a plan for the evening meal when she failed to deliver. He would have sat back, waited for her to come up with something, then lectured her for hours on how inept she was.
Josh had not said a word. She almost wished he would. His kindness sat uneasily upon her. Boiling anger she was used to, kindness she was not.
Josh counted the minutes as she stalled, obviously searching for some answer to appease him. For a moment suspicions flared. He didn’t want to be fobbed off with some politically correct response, he wanted to know why she was working as a housekeeper on a ranch miles from anything when she should be in some town, building a career, dating.
Frowning, he found he didn’t like the idea of her dating, which was totally illogical. He didn’t want to become involved with her or any woman. He’d tried that route with Jeannie and look at the heartache that had caused.
Nothing good came of women practicing their guile on unsuspecting men. He had a ranch full of single men and he didn’t need some pretty young woman causing havoc. The sooner she left, the better.
“If it takes you as long to think up a plot for your book, you’re going to be an old lady before you get the first manuscript done,” he drawled sarcastically. Pushing away from the wall, he started down the hall.
“Get some sleep, 6:00 am comes early,” he called over his shoulder.
When he entered the farthest door on the left, Molly sagged in relief. At least she’d made it through the first day.
Slowly she entered her room and shut her door. She was an idiot. Now that the moment had passed she realized she should have had all her answers ready. Why would someone want to keep house at the back of beyond? She didn’t ride particularly well, nor care for horses that much. She knew nothing about cattle. And she knew even less about cowboys and their appetites.
But she still planned to remain for the duration. Tomorrow she’d get the house organized, set up her computer and begin working again on her book.
In the meantime she'd go to bed like Josh suggested and forget about the less than enthusiastic welcome she’d received.
And ignore the shimmers of attraction that played between them. He was her boss for the foreseeable future, nothing more. She was happy to keep things that way.
Not that it would hurt to just imagine how he would talk to her if he cared something for her. Not that it would hurt to imagine how his skin would feel beneath her fingertips, how his mouth would feel against hers, how his arms would feel holding her.
Shivering, she shook her head. It might not hurt, but it wouldn’t change anything. She needed to be practical now. Her future depended on it.
By the time eighteen men had eaten breakfast and left for the day's work, Molly was almost ready for a nap. She'd risen early to prepare the meal. Pleased to note she had everything ready when the ranch hands filed in.
And she’d done it right.
There was plenty of pancakes, sausages, even a couple of eggs fried for Jack when he asked. She made two pots of coffee and had to quickly brew a third before they were filled.
Now the kitchen would take an hour or more to set right. And she still had to explore the rest of the house to make sure it was tidy before she could set up her computer.
Conscientious, she had to give her first efforts to her job. Her own time and projects had to wait.
Then she had lunch to see to and dinner to plan.
Sipping from a cup of lukewarm coffee, she wondered where all the free time was she'd expected. At the rate she was going, it would be the weekend before she even unloaded the computer from her car.
Determined to give her best to the job, however, Molly didn’t hesitate to plunge right in. Once the kitchen was clean, she wandered through the downstairs rooms. On the wall in the big living room, family pictures clustered. She studied them. They showed a happy family frolicking in the snow, on a picnic somewhere, on horseback, mother, father, three children. Then only pictures of the children. She noted the progression as they all grew up. The most recent pictures showed new family groups. Obviously Josh’s brother and sister were now starting families of their own. Why hadn’t Josh married?
As if her thoughts of him conjured him up, he appeared in the archway to the hall.