Lydia's Twin Temptation (12 page)

“Yeah, Lydi?”

When he came in the dining room, she was standing between the china cabinets. “Are these sets for special occasions? Who did they belong to? They are all vintage china and I don’t want to take a chance on using and possibly chipping dishes that are special. I didn’t think about this when we were in town.” She seemed concerned, and he wanted to put her mind at ease.

“Lydi, Grandma and Mom both believed in using the good china all the time. The women in my family didn’t stand on ceremony with possessions like that. They would want you to use them.”

“But if they are old and one of them gets chipped tonight I’d feel awful.”

“It wouldn’t be any big deal. That’s what Grandma would tell you. See?” He squatted down and opened up a cabinet door that concealed a large set of dishes stacked carefully inside. They were chipped and worn. “These were my great-grandmother’s. Once they got too chipped they were put away and new ones used. I want you to suit yourself.”

Together they removed the set of newer white-and-floral-trimmed dishes that had been his mom’s, and he began setting the table as she said, “I own a set of dishes that belonged to my grandma. Ace is storing them for me because I didn’t want to part with them when I went to school.”

“Planning on contacting him to get them?”

Lydia smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, just as soon as I figure out how to—”

The timer went off in the kitchen, and she hurried back in to check the oven. She moved efficiently from task to task, and he admired the way she took charge. She sighed happily as she put the hot bread inside its old-fashioned metal warmer on the table. The
fajitas
were sliced and resting in the warming oven, and everything else had just been removed from the heat to cool.

Lydia leaned back against the island in the center of the kitchen and smiled at him when he handed her an ice-cold beer from the fridge. The kitchen had heated up while she’d been working. She held the bottle to her neck and smiled at him as he leaned against the island next to her.

“You’re a good helper, Clayton. Thank you.”

“My pleasure, Lydi.” The pleasure in watching her work her magic had definitely been his. She’d seemed very happy and in her element, and he’d drawn a lot of enjoyment from observing the efficient and energetic way she worked.

He also admitted to himself that he liked that she seemed to have taken to their home so easily. He hoped she didn’t retire immediately after supper like she’d done the night before but stayed up with them for just a bit instead. Besides meals, the three of them had not had any “downtime” since her arrival.

She placed her beer on the butcher-block island and, after a couple of seconds of hesitance, surprised him by putting her arms round him. He grinned and returned the gesture. He didn’t like clingy women, but he enjoyed very much that she was a hugger. Kissing the top of her head, he caught the lavender scent of her shampoo as he stroked her outer arms and her back.

He’d teased Chance for buying her all that girly-scented lavender stuff, thinking that it was a waste of money and she would think he was desperate for being so generous with his gifts, but Clayton must have been wrong about that, too. Now he equated the scent of lavender with Lydia.

“Today was a good day, cowboy,” she murmured with a happy sigh as he slowly stroked the muscles in her back.

“It’s not over yet, Lydi.”

Chapter Twelve

She looked up at him, and Clayton decided to seize the opportunity to kiss her again before the ranch hands showed up with Chance. He tipped her chin up with a fingertip and gazed into her turquoise-blue eyes. “I think your eyes are pretty.”

Her cheek warmed as he stroked it and she smiled up at him. He leaned toward her to steal that kiss just as the back door opened. Clayton was a little surprised when she gasped and turned toward the door. She glanced at him and whispered, “Sorry.”

He thought she almost looked guilty, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She was still a little skittish. It also occurred to him that getting caught necking was probably not the first impression she wanted to make on the men.

Several of the hands had filed into the kitchen, and Chance grinned when he saw Lydia standing there. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy color now, and Clayton noticed Chance glance at him and then back to her. His eyebrows raised just a hair as though he were curious what they’d been up to, but not in a negative way.

When all the hands had come through the door, Chance announced, “Guys, this is Lydia Webster. She is the lady who made your supper tonight and the newest addition to the Rockin’ C. We hope her stay is indefinite.”

Lydia said, “It’s nice to meet you all. If you haven’t done so already, go wash up at the sink. I need to get the
fajitas
from the warmer.” She smiled up at Clayton tentatively and then turned back to her work.

The hands greeted her, and several of them eyed Lydia with apparent interest as she took a dish out to the dining room. Once she was out of earshot, Clayton added quietly, “She’s already spoken for. Just so you know, guys.”

Kade Parker asked, “Who does she belong to?”

Clayton had been on the fence about this new hire, and those few words said a lot. None of the other men said a word out of respect once he’d made his declaration, but Parker was new in town and needed it spelled out for him. “Us, Parker.”

The ranch hand’s eyebrows shot up. “But, she just got here.”

Gil James turned to Parker and said, “Lydia has known the Carlisles for months. Don’t go there.”

Parker wouldn’t let it go. “I don’t get it. You
both
just claim her?”

“We invited her to come here. She is a trained chef. She is already spoken for. Those are the pertinent facts, Parker,” Chance murmured as he glanced toward the dining room where Lydia was puttering.

Parker had questioned the way things worked at the ranch since hiring on the month before. Clayton didn’t mind explaining the workings of the ranch to him, but Lydia was a different story. He minded very much talking about her behind her back and disliked having to explain his actions to this man.

Clayton made eye contact with him and held it, silently daring him to voice his opinion. Parker said nothing else and followed the other men who went into the dining room. Clayton glanced at Chance and caught him frowning at Parker’s back.

When Lydia returned, Clayton rolled his eyes as Gil James volunteered to lift the large ceramic platter from the warming oven for Lydia. He knew Gil was just trying to be a gentleman but wondered how many of his ranch hands would have crushes on Lydia by the end of the meal. They said that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, and Lydia was fixing to knock them for a loop with her cooking.

Chance sat at the head of the table, with Clayton to his right and Lydia to his left. Once everything was on the table and Lydia was seated, Chance said a blessing over the food and then sent the platter around the table. Clayton was slightly impressed when the men didn’t just start grabbing but waited until the food was passed to them. Suppressing amusement, he surmised that they were all on their best behavior so she would want to stay and keep cooking for them.

She passed the bread around, and once they were all served she began eating. Clayton knew they’d all worked hard and were hungry but was damned near floored that they’d remembered to wait for her to begin eating.

It got very quiet around the table, and Lydia looked across at Clayton and raised her eyebrows slightly.

“How does it taste, Gil?” Chance asked with an amused look on his face.

Gil James chewed his bite slowly, swallowed, and said, “Ma’am, this is better than my mama’s cooking. And my mama is an excellent cook.”

Lydia smiled brightly and said, “Thank you, Gil. That’s awfully nice of you to say.”

Robert Martin said, “It’s true, ma’am, Miss Lydia, I mean—Miss Webster. This is melt-in-your-mouth good. I hope you stay forever, ma’am.” Others voiced their opinions, and then they all ate.

As the meal progressed, Chance pointed around the table and introduced each hand to Lydia. Clayton was impressed that she made a point of speaking to each of them and using their name as she did so. Conversation picked up around the table, and she didn’t seem to have any difficulty drawing the shy ones out and getting them all talking to her. Lydia ignored Kade Parker when he made a couple of flirtatious comments.

“Make sure and save room for dessert.”

“Dessert?” George Kunkel asked, his fork midway to his mouth.

Jim Cappell paused in buttering a second slice of her freshly baked bread. “What’s for dessert?”

Lydia grinned and said, “I hope everyone likes banana pudding.”

Someone groaned in blissful delight.

By the time the meal was over, judging by their reactions, Clayton expected half of them to start making declarations of love to her, if not marriage proposals. Clayton wouldn’t have been surprised if one or two of them had licked their dessert bowl clean. Her cooking was phenomenal down to the last mouthwatering bite.

After the meal, the men carried their empty plates into the kitchen, and several insisted on staying to rinse the dishes and load the dishwasher for her. The table was cleared and the kitchen cleaned in a matter of minutes.

“Guys, I really appreciate all of your help in here, but don’t think you need to do that every night, okay? You all worked hard during the day and I have a helper starting tomorrow. Thank you for doing this, though. I feel very welcomed by you all.”

The men assured her they didn’t mind and hoped she liked it on the ranch and decided to stay. Clayton knew it was mostly their happy bellies talking but also thought he caught at least a couple pairs of puppy-dog eyes amongst the men.

Once it was just the three of them in the house, she leaned against the counter and said, “I’m beat. I think that was a good first meal and introduction.”

“I think so, too,” Chance said with a chuckle. “Half of them looked ready to propose after the first bite.”

Lydia giggled and rolled her eyes at Chance’s praise of her cooking. “I had a good helper this afternoon.”

Clayton smiled at Lydia and stroked her shoulder. “I enjoyed getting better acquainted, too.”

“Good,” Chance replied. “Think you’ll like it here? Missing Fort Stockton yet?”

Lydia grinned and said, “I love it here. Your kitchen is my dream come true.” Growing more thoughtful, she added, “I don’t miss Fort Stockton much, but I do miss my friends a little. LuAnn and Simone did a lot to make life more bearable for me.”

“You should call them and remind them the invitation to visit was sincere.”

“I will. I was up awful early this morning to get a head start on my day so if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go upstairs, now that the kitchen is all done for me.”

Clayton said, “Lydi, we usually stay up until after the news is over, if you ever want to relax with us in the evening. This is your home, too, okay?”

Lydia smiled and nodded as she hugged Chance. “I’ll remember that. I’m just really tired.”

Clayton was a little disappointed because he’d wanted her to stay downstairs with them a while. There was a line between her eyebrows as she looked up at him with some emotion he couldn’t identify. He smiled at her, hoping she’d feel reassured as he hugged her without reservation and then released her.

“Good night,” she murmured.

They both stood in the kitchen doorway and watched her hurry up the stairs. Chance beckoned him into the kitchen and said, “How about a cup of coffee and another serving of that banana pudding?”

Clayton chuckled. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

Chance started the coffeepot, and Clayton retrieved the covered casserole dish from the refrigerator and said, “The guys didn’t leave much, did they?”

“They like Lydia’s cooking,” Chance replied as they served themselves from the dish, splitting what remained, and then put the dish in the sink. The decaffeinated coffee trickled noisily into the glass carafe as the coffeepot hummed and burbled.

“I think they like Lydia, too.”

“Yeah, I saw the puppy-dog eyes, too. They really should get out more often,” Chance said with a chuckle. “Lydia is good with people. They do seem quite taken with her.”

“Some more than others. What did you make of that crack from Parker?” Clayton asked quietly. He tended toward jealousy and wanted Chance’s point of view on the man.

Chance shrugged and said, “Give him time. He’s still new.”

“Reckon it was a good idea to announce that she was claimed by both of us?”

Chance retrieved the pot from the coffeemaker after it finished brewing and poured coffee into their empty mugs as he said, “Remember what Grandma would say? Begin as you mean to go on.”

Clayton replied, “Of course. I just want to make sure she is shown respect.”

“Parker and the others know now. I have no doubt they’ll be mannerly toward her. I’ll keep an eye on Parker and I’m sure Gil will deal with it or let us know if anything else gets said about it.”

Changing the subject Clayton said, “I wish she’d have stayed downstairs a while longer. It’s still early.”

“I know, but I think she’s still exhausted and probably just wanted to catch up on her rest. If we give her space and time, I’m sure she’ll start relaxing with us in the evening. How are things between the two of you?”

“It was good to spend some time with her this afternoon. She’s so cute. You should see the way she hustles around this kitchen. She’s like a little…fairy or something—the ways she flits around. The radio was on and she was singing along and dancing a little bit, and…” Clayton rubbed his hand across his chest as a swelling sensation filled his throat.

A knowing grin crossed Chance’s face, and he said, “I know.”

“She’s just so damned adorable.”

Chance chuckled. “She has a way of just wiggling herself into your heart, doesn’t she?”

“She said she can already tell us apart.”

“Really? Wow.”

Clayton filled him in on the day, including the fact that she got to meet Grace, Adam, and Ethan.

Clayton poured a second cup as he said, “I think Grace started to clue in on the resemblance between Lydi and Ace. It won’t be long before she figures it out. I hope Lydi contacts her brothers.”

Chance shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Let’s give her a few more days. I don’t want to push her right now.”