Daisies in the Canyon(25)

The temperature felt like it rose by ten degrees when Cooper joined them in the kitchen. Abby wished she had one of those church fans with Jesus and the little lamb on one side and a funeral home advertisement on the other. Cooper smiled. “Smells good in here. Roast is one of my favorite meals. Mind if I join you, Abby? I need to wash up, too.”

“Ranks right up there next to pinto beans and ham, right?” Rusty said.

“That’s what I’ve got planned for tomorrow.” Bonnie smiled. “You should come back then, Cooper.”

“Well, thank you, Miz Bonnie. I’d be honored.” Cooper’s hip was plastered against Abby’s. His hands were with hers in the sink and they tangled up together as they rinsed the soap from them. Everything went so quiet that she feared her thoughts were sitting above her head in a bubble like in cartoons.

“What? Why is everyone looking at me?” she asked.

“What’s on the Wednesday menu? We were talking about food,” Rusty said.

“Frito pie.” She flashed a brilliant smile. “If you like it I’ll make extra, Cooper.”

“Why don’t we just issue a standing invitation, Coop,” Rusty said. “Anytime you can get away, you are welcome here. There’s three cooks, even if one says she can’t make anything but Frito pie.”

“Thank you, Rusty. I’ll try to make it by real often. A bachelor does appreciate good home cookin’,” Cooper said.

Did you hear that? the voice shouted at Abby. He said bachelor and he was staring at you when he said it. He’s content with his life and this wasn’t his first one-time stand.

“So are you one of those self-proclaimed bachelor-for-life-type men?” Bonnie asked.

“Are you about to ask him out?” Rusty teased.

“Not me. He’s not my type,” Bonnie answered.

“Ouch! What is your type?” Cooper asked.

“I’m not real sure what is, but I know what ain’t, and that’s a lawman,” Bonnie said. “Now let’s set down. Shiloh has done too much work for us to let it go cold.”

Dinner was served on the table, family style. Shiloh had arranged the roast beautifully with the carrots and potatoes surrounding it. The gravy boat had a matching plate under it for passing ease and to catch the drip. Rolls were in a napkin-lined basket. Leave it to Shiloh to do everything up all pretty. Lord, it had been years since Abby had been responsible for putting a full meal on the table. And now she had to compete with pretty plates and gravy boats?

“If you decide to leave this ranch, I’ll hire you to take care of my house and cook for me,” Cooper said.

Instant jealousy washed over Abby. If there had been a mirror in the kitchen she would have seen a lime-green face when she looked into it. If she hadn’t been so hungry and if roast wasn’t on her list of top ten favorite meals, she would have gone to her room and eaten dinner out of her candy drawer. She shut her eyes to get everything in perspective. Then Cooper’s arm brushed against hers as he reached for another helping of roast and there was another burst of warmth, making her all oozy inside.

Her eyes popped open so quick that the room was a blur until she could get things into focus. Bonnie bumped her knee under the table and when she glanced across the table, the insolent little shit winked as if she could read her mind.

Abby felt a blush starting on the nape of her neck. She downed half a glass of sweet tea trying to cool down from the inside, but be damned if Cooper’s leg didn’t touch hers under the table. She inhaled deeply, mentally tore down her Glock and reassembled it four times before she got control. Not once in all her life had a man affected her like Cooper Wilson. Not even the blue-eyed boy who’d been her first love while she was in high school. Or any of the military guys, and she’d always been a sucker for a man in a uniform.

“Save room for dessert,” Shiloh said. “I made iced brownies, but I didn’t know if everyone liked chocolate, so I put together an apple pie, too. Figured if we didn’t eat it for dinner, we’d have it for supper and as a bedtime snack.”

“I like both,” Rusty said.

“Me, too.” Cooper nodded.

“Lord, I’m going to have to take up jogging with Abby if we keep eating like this,” Bonnie said.

“I’m not runnin’ anymore. I figure as hard as we work, it’s as good as any workout program,” Abby said. “I’m having ice cream on both my brownie and my apple pie. I could never choose between those two desserts.”

Shiloh smiled. “Well, thank you, Abby. There’s plenty for everyone to have both. I cut the pie into six pieces and the brownies into a dozen.”

“You done good on these dinner rolls, Shiloh. You’ll have to teach me how to make them. Last time I tried, Abby could have used them as weapons of mass destruction,” Bonnie said.

“It’s in the technique, not the recipe. Maybe next Sunday we’ll make up a batch for cinnamon rolls just for practice.”

It was probably too late in the game for either of those women to be her sisters, but they could be her friends. She’d always made friends at every base she’d been assigned to. In the military a soldier needed friends to have his or her back. Sometimes when she left, she kept in touch with the people she’d known, but most of the time in the transitory world she’d occupied for twelve years, she’d simply moved on. This could be the latter. When the year was up, they might send a Christmas card occasionally or even call once in a while for the first year, but they’d move on. Still, it would make the year a lot more pleasant if they were friends.