After reeling in one last catch, Millie sat back and watched as Gideon secured their poles beneath the seats. Too happy and full of fresh air and spring fever to pretend otherwise, she boldly watched as he rowed back to the dock.
Aware of her gaze, he winked at her. “What are you watching, Toots?”
“A thing of rare beauty,” she replied.
Gideon glanced behind him to check the landscape for a blossoming plant he’d failed to notice or wildlife that had wandered onto his property.
She laughed and allowed herself the luxury of basking in the warmth of his smile as he flipped the rope around the post at the dock and hopped out of the boat. When Millie had both feet firmly on the dock, Gideon leaned down and pulled up the basket of fish.
Once the water drained from it, he lifted it in one hand then held the other out to Millie.
“I’ll introduce you to the rest of the fellas then get started on lunch.” He led her past the barn to a bunkhouse where a young man with a mop of blond hair and an easy-going smile greeted them.
“Howdy, boss. I heard you were fixin’ to make us lunch today.”
“That I am, Rod.” Gideon handed him the basket of fish. “Just as soon as you boys filet those fish.”
“There’s always a catch,” Rod said, giving Millie a fun-loving wink.
Gideon settled a possessive hand on Millie’s back as he looked to his employee. “Miss Millie Matlock, this is Rodney Hansen, one of best ranch hands you’ll find in Umatilla County.”
“Shucks, boss, you’ll make me blush,” the young man said, tipping his head to Millie. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Matlock. Aren’t you one of the hello girls in town?”
“I am, Mr. Hansen. I’ve managed the telephone office for six years.”
Rod whistled. “Shoot. I didn’t know they’d hire little girls. You couldn’t have been more than a baby when you started working there since you look barely out of pigtails now.”
“Aren’t you quite a flatterer, Mr. Hansen?” Millie gave him a pleased smile.
Although Gideon knew Rod meant nothing with his teasing, jealousy washed over him, leaving him annoyed.
“Bring the fish up to the house when you’re done, Rod,” Gideon said, turning around and taking Millie’s hand in his.
Taken aback by his possessive touch and the abrupt way he turned away from his employee, she followed without saying a word. He guided her up the porch steps to the front door and pushed it open. “Please go on in, Millie.”
Inside the entry foyer, light spilled across the shiny wooden floor. Millie moved further into the foyer and let her gaze travel over a parlor to her right. Although the furniture was very masculine and heavy, the pale walls and sunbeams glistening through the windows made it seem light and airy.
To her left, she glanced into a room lined with bookshelves. A big desk took up a good portion of the floor space.
“I’ll give you a quick tour before I start lunch preparations,” Gideon said, taking her hand in his and walking down the hall. He showed her the dining room and pointed to the kitchen. Three bedrooms and a bathroom were located down the hall.
At the back of the house, a big light-filled room drew Millie’s interest. A massive burled walnut bed with a matching dresser, washstand, and chiffonier gave the room an elegant appearance. The buttery yellow coverlet and matching damask wallpaper created an atmosphere that was lovely and welcoming.
“Oh, it’s wonderful, Gideon.” Millie walked inside the room, admiring the view of the cattle grazing in the pasture through the windows. She spun around and smiled at him. “It’s absolutely fantastic.”
A vision of her on the bed with the river of her black hair flowing around them made him suck in a cleansing breath and back out of the room.
“Let’s go see about rustlin’ up some grub, as Ezra likes to say.” Gideon waited until she left the room to move down the hall to the kitchen.
He handed her a waist apron and she tied it on then washed her hands at the sink. After rolling up her sleeves, she placed her hands on her hips and gave him an inquisitive look.
“I still can’t do much more than make tea or toast, so what is it you think I can do to help with lunch?”
Gideon washed his hands then set a bowl of eggs on the counter along with some cornmeal.
“Can you crack eggs without getting the shell in them?”
“That I can do.”
He handed her a fork and set out two pie pans. “Crack about four eggs into one of those and give them a good beating.”
Millie did as he asked, watching as he grated cheese and chopped dried herbs, adding them to a bowl. She could see flour in it and watched as he poured in milk. As he dropped rounded spoons of dough in a baking pan, she realized he made biscuits.
She finished beating the eggs as he popped the biscuits into the oven and wiped her hands on her apron.
“What’s next?” she asked.
He handed her a knife and pointed to a pile of potatoes in the sink. “Can you slice those for me? Make them thin. They’ll cook faster that way.”
While she sliced potatoes, he placed two large skillets on the stove and dropped a big spoon of lard in each. When it sizzled and popped, he added the potatoes to one, along with a generous sprinkling of salt, and then placed a lid over the top of it.
Rod tapped on the kitchen door and stepped inside, carrying a pan with the filets. “Here you go, boss.”
“Thanks, Rod. Tell the others lunch will be ready soon.”
The cowboy nodded and hurried back outside.
“Here, Millie. You can help me with the fish.” Millie watched as Gideon dredged each filet in cornmeal, dipped it into the beaten egg mixture, and dredged it through the cornmeal again. He dropped the fish into the hot skillet, frying it to a golden brown. While Gideon fried the fish and kept an eye on the potatoes, Millie took over battering each filet.
“We make a pretty good team,” she observed, once the last filet was battered and in the skillet.
“I reckon we do.” Gideon affected a drawl as he continued cooking the fish. He pointed to a cupboard. “The plates are in there, glasses are in the next cupboard over, and you’ll find cutlery in the drawer at the end of the counter.”
Millie hurried to set the table then filled the glasses with cold well water. By the time she finished, Gideon removed the biscuits from the oven and dropped them into a cloth-lined basket.
She set butter on the table and carried over the bowl full of potatoes, fried to a crispy brown. Her mouth watered as the aromas from the food filled the air.
A tap at the kitchen door announced the arrival of Ezra and the ranch hands as Gideon set the platter of fish on the table.
The hands filed in and started to sit at the table, but a glance from Gideon kept them all on their feet until he seated Millie.
Once she draped a napkin across her lap, Gideon looked to Ezra. The man cleared his throat then offered up a heartfelt prayer of thanks.
After their combined amen faded, Millie smiled at the older man and helped herself to a fluffy biscuit.
The men talked about spring calving, the horses they were training, and Gideon’s plans for Carbonado before they thought to include her in the conversation.
“What’s it like working at the telephone office, Miss Matlock?” asked a brown-eyed young man named Darren.
“Most days, I enjoy it immensely. We don’t just connect calls. Many people call to check the train schedule, or find out where Doc Reed is, or what show is playing at the theater.” Millie looked around the table with a smile. “We keep the community in touch.”
“I see you talked the boss into keeping us in touch,” Ezra said, pointing to the recently installed telephone on the kitchen wall.
“If I ever need to reach one of you, the telephone is certainly faster than riding out here,” Gideon said, winking at Millie. “Although I doubt any of you would come in the house to answer the telephone. I suppose I should have a tel
ephone installed in the bunkhouse or barn.”
“You should boss,” Rod said, considering the prospect of being able to use the telephone anytime he needed to place a call without traipsing into Gideon’s house.
“Do you ever listen in on the lines?” asked David, a cheeky cowboy who looked barely old enough to shave.
“Not intentionally. On occasion, we have to monitor a line when the call has gone on exceedingly long, keeping others from utilizing the party line.”
“It seems like an awful lot of nosy busybodies listen in on the party lines,” Rod observed, helping himself to another piece of fish. “Do you find that to be true?”
Millie nodded and dabbed her lips with a napkin. “I do. Some people are unable to mind their own business. One subscriber sits by her phone every morning from nine until eleven, munching crackers and listening to her neighbor’s calls. We’ve done everything we can think of to get her to stop, but short of canceling her subscription, I’m at my wit’s end.”
“I betcha if ya whistled real loud in her ear, she’d think twice about listening in.” David grinned at Rod.
Millie assumed the two of them probably stirred up all kinds of trouble at the Second Chance Ranch.
Amused, she wondered why Gideon gave both his saloon and his ranch the same name. Did he really think both enterprises were his second chance at something or was it merely a phrase he liked?
Contemplative, Millie missed the knowing looks Gideon’s men gave him as she buttered another fluffy biscuit and took a bite. The cheese and herbs he’d added greatly enhanced the flavor of a biscuit as good as any she’d ever eaten.
“You’d make someone a wonderful wife, Mr. McBride,” she mused as she took another bite of her biscuit. The realization she spoke the words aloud hit her as the cowboys slapped the table and guffawed.
Immediately, her cheeks seared with the heat of embarrassment and she offered Gideon an apologetic glance.
He merely cocked an eyebrow at her and tipped his head. “I assume you meant that as a compliment, Miss Matlock. At least I’ll take it as such.”
“Oh, it was. I just meant that your cooking abilities are unparalleled.”
Gideon grinned. “I’ve heard you’re quite partial to the lasagna Mrs. Rawlings makes and the crispy fried chicken Mrs. Nash prepares.”
“I am,” Millie admitted then leaned forward, as though she shared a secret. “But if Mrs. Campanelli ever offers you something to eat that she’s made, run the other way or plan to stop by the drugstore for a packet of dyspepsia tablets. We’re both horrible cooks, but I’m not sure you could say which one of us is the worst. I’ve merely boiled a pan of eggs dry, but she almost burned down her building with a loaf of flaming bread before she married Mr. Campanelli.”
The men howled with laughter, shocked to meet a woman who freely admitted she couldn’t cook.
“If you manage the telephone office and don’t cook, do you do anything for fun, Miss Matlock?” David asked.
“I do enjoy embroidery work. I find it soothing after a strenuous day of answering calls.” Millie smiled at the young man and took the last bite of the bass filet on her plate.
“And Miss Matlock is in charge of the local temperance committee,” Gideon explained. As the words left his mouth, he wished he could retrieve them. The four men around the table gaped at him and then Millie.
“You mean she’s the one who’s been stumping around town trying to shut you, Drake, and the others down?” Darren questioned. “Miss Matlock is the temperance tempest?”
Gideon nearly choked on his drink of water and coughed into his napkin at Darren’s comment. Before he became quite so enamored of Millie, he recalled telling his crew about the beautiful tempest who marched through town leading the temperance efforts.
Millie had blushed before when she’d made the comment about Gideon being good wife material, but her entire face turned red right down the roots of her hair at Darren’s words.
She quirked an expressive eyebrow at Gideon and gave him a look that said she’d deal with him later before calmly setting her silverware on the edge of her plate.
“Looks like it’s about time for us to head back to work,” Rod said, mindful of the charged tension in the kitchen. “Thanks for a great meal, Gideon.”
“Anytime, boys. Cookies are in the basket there by the door. Snatch a handful on your way out.” Gideon’s hired hands set their dirty dishes in the sink before grabbing cookies and hurrying outside.
Millie helped clear the table and wash the dishes. When they finished, Gideon talked her into going for a horseback ride to see the rest of his property.
Upon their return to the house, he handed her a clean apron and gave her a knowing look. “There is no reason in the world you can’t cook, Millie Matlock, other than you don’t want to.”
“Maybe I never had a good teacher.” She swung the apron around by its strings in her hand instead of putting it on. “Maybe I never had a good reason to learn how to cook.”
“And maybe you’d rather eat someone else’s cooking,” Gideon said, taking the apron from her hand. He moved behind her and draped the apron in front of her. Unhurried, he pulled the strings around her waist and leaned close against her as he looped them back around to the front, tying them in a bow.
His breath teased the tendrils of hair that danced around her ear and the warmth of his body penetrated her back, leaving her languid.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a whisper, flustered by his nearness. Slowly lifting her gaze, all she could see was his tempting mouth hovering above her shoulder.
“Providing your first cooking lesson. Pay close attention,” he said, and then pecked her cheek. He took milk and eggs from the refrigerator and set out butter, cornstarch, vanilla, and sugar.
Millie watched him place a saucepan on top of the stove.
He motioned for her to join him. “You’re going to make chocolate pudding,” he said, handing her a measuring cup.
“I am?”
“Yes, you are. You need three-fourths cup of sugar and two cups of milk. Pour it right into the pan.”
Millie measured the sugar and milk then stirred it while Gideon cracked eggs and separated the yolks from the whites. He whisked the yolks until they were pale yellow. After setting the bowl aside, he chopped a bar of milk chocolate into fine little pieces.
“Keep stirring the milk. See it starting to foam? As soon as it bubbles, you’ll add the chocolate.”
A minute or two passed.
“It’s bubbling,” she said.
Gideon spooned in the chocolate while she continued stirring. “Once it’s all melted, you’re going to measure out half a cup and we’ll temper the eggs.”
Millie tossed him a sassy look over her shoulder. “Temper the eggs? Does that mean they’re being punished? Have they been terribly naughty?”
Gideon rolled his eyes and popped her bottom with the flat of his hand. Caught off guard, she gasped and glared at him, but kept stirring the milk.
He pointed to the eggs. “No smarty. It means if you pour hot liquid into the eggs without tempering them first, you’ll curdle them.”
“Okay, the chocolate is all melted,” she said, dipping in the measuring cup and filling it half full.
“Slowly pour that into the eggs, stirring it constantly.” He took over stirring the chocolate milk while she carefully poured the contents of her cup into the eggs, gently stirring it until the eggs and milk were blended. “Very good. Now, pour the eggs into the milk mixture.”
Gideon kept stirring as she poured in the eggs then he handed her the spoon. “Stir it gently, but don’t stop. You don’t want it to scorch or stick.”
“I’ve scorched pudding before.” She scraped the sides of the pan as she stirred.
“And it stinks to high heaven. The boys will be mad you ruined the pudding I promised them if you do that today.” Gideon quickly stirred cornstarch into a bit of milk, making a slurry. “Just keep stirring as I
pour this in.”
Millie stepped to one side. He poured in the mixture and she continued to stir. She sped up her motions and a little of the mixture plopped out of the pan, sizzling as it hit the hot surface of the stove.
“Careful. Take it slow and easy,” Gideon instructed, placing his hand over hers as he sidled close behind her. “Steady and smooth.”
Just like his voice, Millie thought. She might not know how to cook, might not really care to learn, but a cooking lesson from Gideon McBride was too good to pass up. She had enough experience in the kitchen to know how to stir the mixture properly, but he certainly didn’t need to know that.
With a contented sigh, she took a tiny step backward until she brushed against the warmth of the man who had wholly captivated her. The alluring scent of him blended with the rich aroma of the chocolate pudding. Millie wasn’t sure what made her mouth water, but she leaned more toward Gideon’s masculine aura and entirely charming presence.
She glanced over her shoulder at him and noticed the heat flickering in his green eyes. They looked like forbidden pools of emerald water in an enchanted forest. Drawn to the depths and entranced by his dimpled smile, her knees weakened.
His hand continued to guide hers around and around the pan as they stirred the pudding. Suddenly, he lifted the pan and jutted his chin in the direction of a small dish he’d set aside with butter and vanilla.
“Dump that in here, Toots.”
Millie hurried to do his bidding.
Gideon finished stirring the pudding then poured it into six stemmed dessert cups. “We’ll let that cool a few minutes then add some whipped cream. We could also make meringue with the egg whites we didn’t use, but I’ll not bother with it today.”
He set the pan on a folded dishtowel on the counter. Unable to resist, Millie swiped her finger inside and licked off the sweet, creamy confection.
“Mmm. That’s good,” she said, closing her eyes to savor the flavor.
“I suppose I better taste it before we serve it to my men.” Rather than dip his finger in the pan, Gideon slid one hand around her waist and the other splayed against her back, drawing her close to him.
Millie (Pendleton Petticoats Book 7) Page 13
