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“We could do something with outdoor cooking,” he mused. “Dutch ovens one time. Wood-fire pizza ovens another.”
“Little Nick has a ton of cobbler recipes for the Dutch oven,” Blake said. Heaven knew he’d listened to Little Nick brag about his multiple ribbons in Dutch oven cooking from the State Fair more than once.
“We’ve already decided a recurring class doesn’t work,” Jesse said.
“The guests don’t care,” he said. “We just have to remember not to build on previous classes, and we should be fine.”
“We can call it an outdoor cooking series,” Adam said.
“I think Holly just hired someone who’s good with a grill,” Blake said. “Steven or Scott or something with an S.”
“An outdoor cooking series,” Jesse said, his brain obviously whirring. “With different methods each week.”
“Or the same method—Dutch ovens—” Adam said. “With different types of food. Savory versus sweet. That kind of thing.” He crouched at the corner of the table and looked between Blake and Jesse. “I like this idea.”
“Who’d teach this?” Blake asked. “When do we offer it? Evenings? Our evenings are jam-packed as it is. No one wants to cook in the afternoon, and we serve dinner besides.” He didn’t want to waste food. Mama would be all over his back about the budget for a food class, as those always came with waste.
“Ashley’s gone by three,” Blake said. “Holly’s not a kitchen manager.” She managed the entirety of the lodge in the evenings, and she was darn good at it. They didn’t have a kitchen manager in the evening, because their daytime administrative person handled everything before she left.
Usually. Ashley wasn’t as good as Starla, but she got the job done. Blake looked between his brothers again. “Morning? After breakfast?”
“No one wants to cook after breakfast,” Jesse said. “They’re ready for trail riding and outdoor activities.”
“This is an outdoor activity,” Blake argued.
“There’s some things to work out,” Adam said. He stood, groaning. “Holly says it’s Silas who can cook, but she’ll kill us all in our sleep if we take him from Guest Relations.” He looked up from his phone. “I guess he’s really good with people.”
“So he’d be a good teacher,” Jessie said. He rubbed one hand down his beard. “Let me think more on this, okay?”
Jesse could stew over an idea for weeks before Blake heard from him again, or he could call in ten minutes with the solution laid out. No matter what, Blake got to his feet. He had plenty of other things to do today. He hadn’t even arrived at the lodge yet, and there was always about ten emergencies once he did.
He and Adam left the cabin together, which gave Blake the opportunity to ask, “How’s he doin’, Adam? For real?” They paused at the top of the steps, only the tips of their boots in the sunshine. Once they committed to going down to the sidewalk, the brutal sun would reach them.
“He’s okay,” Adam said quietly. “He gets angrier faster. Like he was after Annika left.”
Blake nodded, his jaw too tight. Jesse was still talking to Starla, he knew. He wasn’t sure if Adam knew, so he said nothing. Jesse worked as the general controller for the ranch, and that meant he had his finger in a ton of stuff at the lodge. Guest Relations. The website. The budget. He wanted the Texas Longhorn Ranch to be the best it could be, and he worked like a dog. Blake wasn’t going to betray his confidence.
He did take the first step down to the sidewalk, the rest coming quickly so he could get to the truck and blessed air conditioning. “Keep me updated if something changes,” he said over his shoulder. “Or if y’all have any more great ideas.”
“Will do,” Adam called to him.
Blake arrived at the lodge a few minutes later, and he went inside through the back entrance. A couple of chefs squabbled about something, but Gina and Ashley came in from the dining room area with smiles and empty pans. Breakfast service was going well enough.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Blake grinned at his wife, who’d left their house hours earlier, and swept his arm around her. He kissed her quickly, because she didn’t like public displays of affection, and she was busy right now.
“You’re coming in late,” she said as she held onto his arm.
“I stopped by Adam’s and Jesse’s this morning.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Can’t wait to hear how that went.”
“Bring me a boxed lunch later?”
She agreed, and Blake left the kitchen. He went down the hall, around the corner, and down another hallway. The table in the staff break room housed a few cowboys eating their breakfasts, and he said hello to all of them. Down the last hall sat his office, along with his mother’s, one other family members shared, and then Becks’s. She ran all of their online activities, and her job overwhelmed him if he thought too hard about it.
His office sat almost directly across the hall from hers, so he’d gone by her door and through his before he heard the sniffles. He paused, his heartbeat suddenly booming through his whole body.
Becks was his cousin, and he loved her like a sister. Getting her to come here from her government cybersecurity job had been a major win for the ranch and Blake, and he couldn’t just continue to his desk when he’d heard her crying. Could he?
