Felicity and Hilde were there, as she knew they would be—Hilde up to her elbows in flour, punching the dough in the bowl to remove any air bubbles, and Felicity rinsing the vegetables they’d have with dinner. The smell of a roast in the oven—Felicity’s favorite recipe and the one she loved to make—filled the air. Since Felicity had come to stay, she’d taken over much of the cooking, something she enjoyed doing. Truthfully, Evie was happy to let her.
Jenny and Esmeralda, who both sometimes helped in the kitchen, were nowhere to be found, but Ramón was in his highchair by the table, happily munching on a carrot. The sight made her smile.
She grabbed an apron from the hook on the pantry door, slipped it over her head, and tied the strings around her waist.
“How was your picnic with Mr. Parrish, dear?” Felicity asked, as she put the clean vegetables in a bowl and brought them to theworktable in the middle of the room, then grabbed a knife from the drawer and handed it to Evie.
Evie took the paring knife and picked one of the potatoes from the bowl. “It was lovely.”
Hilde sniffed, then swiped at her nose with her wrist, leaving flour on her face. “That’s it? Lovely?”
“What more would you like me to say?” The truth was, she’d spent most of the picnic thinking about Jake instead of Ryland, wishing she was back on the ranch with him. That wasn’t to say Ryland was boring, he was anything but. Charming and funny, he’d regaled her all afternoon with stories of the people he’d met and the hotels he’d refurbished, and though she liked Ryland very much, he was just a friend.
“Do you like him?” Felicity asked, as she joined her at the worktable and started arranging pieces of broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots on a baking sheet.
“I do.” She finished peeling the potato, quartered it, and tossed it into the pot, then chose another from the bowl. “He’s charming. And very funny. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.”
“Will you be seeing him again?” Hilde removed the dough from the bowl, halved it, and arranged the dough into pans for baking, then pushed them aside to allow for the last rising. She covered both pans with dish towels, then turned her attention to Evie, an expectant smile on her face.
Evie nodded. “He invited me to a concert next Saturday. I thought I’d stay with Lucy that night and come home the following morning.”
Hilde gave her that look, the one that said if she played her cards right, he could be the man she married.
Evie shook her head, denying what she saw in the woman’s eyes. “No, Hilde, he doesn’t plan on staying in Serenity. In fact, as soon as the hotel is finished, he’ll be moving on. The mandoesn’t like to stay in one place for very long. He does his work and heads off to his next adventure.”
“Oh.” Hilde said, with such disappointment in her voice, it was hard to ignore.
“But while he’s here, I see no reason why we can’t be friends. In fact, I’d like that very much.”
“Tia Evie!” Savannah ran into the kitchen, interrupting their conversation. She let the door slam against the wall in her exuberance. Like Toughie, she had mud on her face and clothing, some of it dry, but not all of it. Her hands were clean though, which surprised Evie. “I found this on the table outside under a rock. It’s you!”
Evie stopped peeling the potato, wiped her hands on her apron, and took the sheet of paper from her grandniece. Itwasher, cutting roses. She remembered that evening, remembered what she’d been feeling at that moment, which was mostly guilt with a little bit of wistfulness thrown in for asking Jake to kiss her. Whoever had drawn this had managed to capture that.
She studied the sketch, looking for a signature or initials to tell her who had drawn it. There was none.
“Let me see,” Felicity moved around the table to get a closer look.
Evie held up the paper.
“Oh, it’s beautiful. Whoever drew this has talent. Raw talent, but quite good just the same.”
“Did you see who put it on the table?” Evie asked, as her eyes took in every detail, from the basket hanging from her arm to the lace on the collar of her blouse.
Savannah shook her head, then grabbed a piece of cut broccoli from the tray and popped it into her mouth. “No, ma’am,” she mumbled around the food in her mouth. “Me and Miguel and Toughie, we were…playin’.”
Evie chuckled. “Yes, I heard about the hole you were digging.”
“They took my best spoons to do it, too!” Hilde declared as she gave Savannah a look meant to show her disappointment but failed. Savannah simply grinned at her, showing the space where her front tooth had been up until a week ago.
Evie moved to the window, the drawing still in her hand, and looked outside. The horses were in the corral, the milk cow grazed on fresh hay in her little paddock, and the chickens pecked at the ground, except for Lucifer, who perched on top of the chicken coop. Aside from Miguel, still digging in the dirt, she didn’t see another human being.
Who could have left this for me?
None of the ranch hands had ever shown a proclivity toward this sort of thing, and she’d known most of them for a long time, which left Jake and Oscar, the two she knew the least about. Had one of them left this for her? Whoever it was, the gift was rather thoughtful. And different. Never before had she received anything like this. She had a fondness for peppermints and received tins of the candy before, but this...this was special, something that would last, not like candy or flowers.
“You should put that in a frame.” Felicity sidled up beside her. “Hang it up.”
Evie glanced at her and said, “Yes, I think I will.”
