"You need anything?"
"Yeah. Do they have any special meals? Special days?" A thought occurs. "Do cowboys need certain amounts of anything, like bodybuilders do?"
"Bodybuilders?" He chuckles. "Hell no. They're cowboys, Letty. They'll eat whatever you put in front of them, whenever you put it in front of them."
"Cool," I whisper, nodding. I can definitely work with that.
"I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need anything." He pauses. "Or find Walker. He'll be around."
"I'd rather die."
"Figured you'd say that, but I'm serious," he says, his tone softening. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to go to him. He went about things all wrong yesterday, but he was coming from a place of concern for your safety. We have a lot of drifters come through here during calving season. We try to weed out the worst, but the system isn't perfect."
"Fine," I sigh. "If anyone gives me any problems, I'll let him know."
"That's all I ask."
It takes Wade alot less time to unload my truck than it took me to load it. Within half an hour, all my stuff is piled in my new living room, and I'm alone.
I plug my phone into the speakers, turn up the music, and spend half the day unpacking and putting everything away. Byfive, the only thing left to do is to hang up my clothes, but I'm not in any big hurry to do that. I hate doing laundry.
I leave the clothes in boxes, drop them off in the closet, then head across to the mess hall to figure out dinner. I'm nervous as hell about cooking for everyone tonight. Working in a restaurant is different. There's always help there, someone else to step in if things go wrong. Here, it's just me.
I don't want to mess up, especially right out of the gate.
I poke through the fridge and cabinets to see what I've got to work with and make a few notes on my phone about things we need to order.
I quickly decide to keep it simple tonight and make tacos. Everyone loves tacos, and it's hard to fuck them up.
There's enough meat in an industrial-size freezer to feed a small village. I grab several packages of beef and chicken and put them in water to thaw. There are also vegetables everywhere. I pick out what I need, think better of it, and grab a few more of each, arranging them on the workstation in the center of the kitchen.
By six, the meat is marinating, the vegetables are chopped, and I'm making churros for dessert. The kitchen smells like spice, cinnamon, and sugar, and I'm in my happy place.
Right up until I hear heavy steps thudding across the floor behind me.
I wheel around with a piping bag in hand to find Walker sauntering toward me.
"Smells good in here," he mutters.
"Surprised?" I arch a brow at him, instantly annoyed…both because he's hot and because he's here.Whyis he here?
"Nope." He plants a hip against the fridge, watching me. "Came to check on you."
"I'm fine. Been here all day, and guess what? Zero cowboys have tried to mount me," I retort, turning back to my churros.
He grunts, and I'm not entirely sure if the sound means he's glad to hear it or if it means he wants to spank me. I kind of hate that I want it to be the latter. Don't ask me what that's about since I don't evenlikehim. Clearly, my dreams are still impacting my judgment.
"You need anything?"
"Yes." I peek at him over my shoulder. "I desperately need to know how your parents had a son like Wade and one like you. The math is not mathing."
His lips press into a thin line, something hard flitting through his expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that you two look a lot alike, but he's actually amazing. Very sweet and funny. You're what I imagine a bear is like after hibernation." I cock my head to the side, hitting him with a bright smile. "How do you think that happened?"
"Easy," he growls. "Wade was dropped on his head as a baby. He's also a eunuch."
I damn near drop my piping bag. "What? Seriously?"
