“I’m sure—”
“That would have been my sister,” she said, cutting Jess short. “We look alike.” Setting a smaller kettle on the table, she said, “This is caramel sauce for the cobbler. It’s best eaten warm.”
The men needed no further invite than that, even Jess, and though Steve wanted a piece of that cobbler so bad he could taste it, his mind couldn’t get off why she was in his kitchen. Why she’d claimed she was going to Denver. His gaze settled for a second on each one of his men, wondering which one was responsible. Jess had been the only one he’d seen at the station, and was also the only one who’d been remotely taken with the idea of a bride.
“You sure—”
“Eat,” Steve told Jess, cutting short whatever the other man had been about to say. He’d get to the bottom of it, but feeding his men came first.
“You want cobbler, no?” Brett asked.
“Yes.” Steve took the dish, spooned a large portion onto his plate and then took the smaller pan and poured the thick brown syrup atop the cobbler. It was even better than the meal had been, and that shouldn’t have been possible.
Silence other than satisfied moans and groans surrounded the table again—and polite requests for more.
Once they’d all had seconds, and would have taken thirds if the pan hadn’t been empty, Steve nudged Henry and then nodded toward the door. His silent command circled the table. With obvious reluctance, one by one the men stood, thanked the woman generously for the meal and then exited the house, closing the door quietly behind them.
Steve contemplated his words and what might follow carefully before asking, “Why aren’t you on your way to Denver?”
She paused stacking the empty plates and met his gaze eye for eye. Hers were bluer than the Kansas summer sky, but they weren’t nearly as friendly.
“I—I—uh—”
“You are one of those brides.”
The gasp that sounded came from Brett.
“If you don’t want her, I’ll take her,” the blacksmith said. “She cooks like my ma.”
“No, I’m not one of those brides,” she snapped. “I had no intention of marrying anyone.” As she glanced toward Brett her gaze softened slightly. “Still don’t.”
Steve read around her answer. “But you are from Ohio. You are one of the girls the mayor paid to have sent out here.”
“If you don’t want her, I’ll take her,” Brett said again.
Flustered, Steve growled, “I never said I didn’t want her.” He bit his tongue as soon as the words were out. “As a cook,” he clarified. Mainly because her eyes had grown as wide as the plates she’d been about to pick up.
“Oh, Miss McCary!”
The shout was slightly elongated and slurred, but he recognized Rex’s voice and a hint of shame stung Steve’s gut. He hadn’t checked to see how the man was doing. Frowning at how Rex sounded, he pushed away from the table. She was already on her way into the room off the kitchen and Steve paused at the doorway.
“Can I have a little more tonic?” Rex asked, smiling at her.
A smile from Rex was as rare as the rest of the men washing up before eating.
* * *
With her cheeks still burning, Mary hurried toward Rex’s bed. So much for good luck. Bad luck was the cowboy from the train being Steve Putnam. She’d recognized him the moment he’d walked in the door and her entire being had been shaking—inside and out since that moment. “Of course,” she said to Rex. “Is your leg still hurting?”
“No,” Rex said. “But I don’t want the pain to come back.”
“This will help.” She picked up the bottle of tonic she’d left next to the bed and carefully poured a spoonful of the thick liquid. Rex had his mouth open like a baby bird waiting for a worm from its momma. That was how it normally was. It truly was a cure-all, just as Da always said. Of course, she’d seen it cure many ailments herself. Everything from gout to gas when administered correctly.
“I think I need two spoonsful,” Rex said. “I’m in pretty bad shape still.”
He certainly was. She’d changed the bandage on his leg earlier. Now was not the time to be stingy or think of profits, considering how badly Rex needed the tonic, so she filled another spoonful and fed it to him. Then, while replacing the cork in the small bottle, she said, “You can have some more in a little bit, before you go to sleep for the night.”
“Can I just suck on the spoon?” Rex asked.
She couldn’t help but giggle. The man’s face might be wrinkled and his hair gray, but he put her in mind of a little boy the way he was looking up at her. She handed him the spoon. “Of course.”
“What are you feeding him?”
Tingles shot up her spine. She’d momentarily forgotten the man who stood in the doorway—the one she’d lied to about going to Denver. The one whose lap she’d fallen into. No matter how hard she tried, that memory wouldn’t leave her alone.
“The best tonic I’ve ever tasted,” Rex said.
“Tonic?”
She turned around and held up the bottle as the man walked closer. “Yes. McCary’s Finest Recipe Tonic.”
Beneath a set of dark brows that were frowning, his brown eyes bore so deeply her hand shook as he took the bottle from her. “McCary? That’s your name? You made this?”
“Yes, that is my name. Mary McCary, and yes, I made it.”
He pulled out the cork and smelled the contents. His frown increased as he poured a small amount onto the tip of one finger and then stuck it in his mouth.
“Good stuff, isn’t it?” Rex asked.
Steve’s face filled with something she’d seen before. Disgust. And that turned her stomach hard.
“It’s snake oil,” he said while sticking the cork back in the bottle.
She snatched the bottle out of his hand. “Only ignorant people call it that.”
His hard stare never faltered as he said, “Only ignorant people think alcohol will cure what ails them.”
“It sure took away my pain,” Rex said. “And tastes a whole lot better than the stuff the doc left.”
“Because you’re drunk.”
“He is not.” Mary set the bottle on the table. “This tonic is an old family recipe and has been proven medicinal many times over.” Trying to convince men of that was next to impossible. Because doctors refused to prescribe it. That was only because it cured their patients. Her family had been run out of town by more than one doctor over the years. She drew a deep breath and asked, “Are you interested in hiring me as a cook or not?” Nodding toward the doorway behind him, she added, “If not, Brett and I need to head out before the sun sets.”
“Ya,” Brett said from the doorway.
Steve’s jaw twitched but he didn’t glance over his shoulder, just kept staring at her.
“I thought you already hired her,” Rex said. “I can’t cook for the boys, not in my condition.”
“I’ll hire you,” Brett said from the doorway.
This time Steve gave Brett a glare. “You don’t need a cook.”
“Ya, I do.” Brett looked her way. “I’ll pay you twenty dollars a month.”