As Julia slid into the passenger’s seat in front, the two girls scrambled to the back and sat. On the short ride to the ranch, all Julia heard was Paige and Ellie whispering. She couldn’t figure out what the children were saying, but she got the feeling it was about Evan and her. No doubt they sensed the tension between them.
Yes, she was grateful that he’d come and picked her up, but he didn’t have to be so high-handed. He fit right in with the military personnel she had worked with while in Prairie Springs, taking command, inflexible in his attitude, with an air of authority.
Please, Lord, let my Mustang only need one new tire. I don’t have a thousand dollars for the deductible if the damage is extensive.
Evan parked by the barn. “I have one more stall to finish, then we can go up to the house. Do you mind?”
The man stared straight at her with a penetrating look that for a few seconds robbed Julia of any coherent thoughts.
One of his eyebrows shot up. “Do you, Miss Saunders?”
She would have to explain, and the reason she had told him in the first place—practically a stranger—was to discourage any further interest in her. She’d never done anything like that, surprised at her statement to him almost as much as he had been, because she guarded her privacy, especially her lack of marital status.
“No, of course not. I’ve missed dinner with Anna as it is. I called her and told her I couldn’t come after I called you earlier.”
Paige leaned forward. “Good, then you can stay and eat with us after Ellie and I ride. Daddy, you didn’t forget you promised us we could after you finished your chores?”
His mouth tilted into a grin. “If I had, I wouldn’t admit it now. But we aren’t eating here at the house, Paige. I don’t have anything. Grandma comes tomorrow with our meals.”
“Comes with your meals?” Julia asked before she realized she was sticking her nose into his business, and she definitely didn’t want to give the impression he interested her. Which he didn’t.
“I am the first person to admit that I’m a lousy cook. Paige’s grandmother prepares our dinners and a couple of lunches and delivers them to us twice a week.” His grin notched up another degree. “I can manage breakfast. It’s not too difficult to pour milk over cereal or pop a frozen waffle into the toaster. So I’m not totally inept in the kitchen.”
“I probably wouldn’t let Carmella’s know about your skills. I don’t know how you could handle being a chef and a rancher.”
His eyes narrowed. “I think you’re making fun of me.”
“There is no thinking about it. You are a single father. You should know how. I would be glad to give you a few lessons, that is if you are up for it.” The second the words were out of her mouth, Julia wanted to snatch them back. Why in the world had she dared him? He was the type of man who couldn’t resist a challenge. She wanted to spend less time with him, not more.
“You’ve got yourself a pupil.” He shoved open his door. “When do you want to start?”
“Tonight?” Could she teach him everything he needed to know in one short lesson?
“Not gonna happen unless we want to eat at midnight. I don’t have any food in the house to cook, unless you can whip something up with a box of cereal, some milk, chips, soda and ketchup.”
“I’m good, but even I can only do so much.”
“Then we go out for dinner and delay our lesson till some other time.”
Over the hood of the truck Julia asked, “How about tomorrow afternoon? Tell you what. I’ll bring some groceries over then and give you a lesson.”
Paige and Ellie shouted their enthusiasm for that plan.
“Daddy, that means Ellie can have another riding lesson tomorrow.”
Ellie gave Paige a high five. “Yeah! Two in one weekend!”
The two girls wheeled around and raced for the last stall. Bessie poked her head out, and Ellie stroked her.
Evan removed his wallet from his back pocket and took some money from it. “Here, use this to buy the groceries.”
Julia observed the huge smile on her daughter’s face and shook her head, realizing where all this had been going. “If you’ll teach Ellie to ride, I’ll teach you to cook. Fair?”
Evan stuffed his money back into his wallet. “You’ve got yourself a deal.” A chuckle slipped past his lips. “But I think I got the best part of this deal.”
She didn’t. She hadn’t seen her daughter so happy since they had moved from Chicago. Coming to a new town hadn’t been easy for either of them, but she had been determined to start over, fresh, without the past hanging over her head. Chicago held too many memories for her. In the past five years, her mother had seen Ellie three times. Her father had never seen his only granddaughter, and yet they had lived just ten miles from them. That had been difficult to explain to her daughter, that Julia’s father had disowned her and Ellie because of Julia’s mistake.
Standing at his back door leading into the kitchen, Evan shouted at the retreating figures racing toward Paige’s bedroom, “I want you two to wash your hands before we leave for dinner.”
His daughter abruptly stopped in the entrance to the hallway and put her hand on her waist. “You have to, too, Daddy.” She waited until he made his way to the sink before whirling around and continuing on to the back of the house.
“I suppose I’d better, or Ellie will nail me when she comes back in here.” Julia stepped up next to Evan, and found his scent of leather and hay surprisingly pleasant.
“Yep. Nothing slips past them.” He finished and placed the dish towel on the counter for Julia.
She ran the warm water over her hands. “I want to make it clear before they return that I’ll pay for my dinner and Ellie’s.”
“I invited you.”
“No, you didn’t. Your daughter did.”
“That’s the same thing.” His sharp gaze drilled into her, his mouth firm in a hard line.
“Sorry, I pay my own way.”
“Did anyone ever tell you that you are stubborn?”
“On a number of occasions.”
Evan glanced toward the doorway that led to the hall. “While they’re still gone, I have a question. Why did you correct me earlier when I said Mrs. Saunders?”
Thankfully, she’d prepared herself for this question. In the past when people asked her about her name, she didn’t go into too much detail other than to say she was single. Most didn’t pursue the topic, especially since she didn’t encourage them. “I am a single mother and always have been. I didn’t want there to be any confusion concerning that.”
“I get the feeling you’ve had to defend your choice to others.”
My choice? Being a single mother hadn’t been her choice. She wanted to marry Ellie’s father—he was the one who had run off, disappearing from her life. Julia lifted her chin. “No, because I won’t. It’s something that’s personal, and if someone has a problem with it, then I’m sorry but it won’t change the facts. Ellie is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I know what you mean. That’s the way I feel about Paige. Ah, I hear them coming.”
Relieved that was over with, Julia rinsed her hands and dried them as the two girls came into the kitchen. Her gaze strayed to Ellie. Her daughter looked a lot like her father, and he hadn’t even cared. A child hadn’t been in his master plan, so he’d conveniently vanished right before Ellie was born, leaving her to deal with everything