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“Ellie just had a bit of an accident. I’m afraid she’s a tad clumsy, but don’t worry, the dinner I’m preparing for this evening will more than make up for it.”
Ezra looked around and shook his head. “So, no hot lunch, I take it?” He asked the question they were probably all wondering.
“Well, I’m afraid Ellie’s mishap kinda put paid to that and it will have to be a sandwich instead, but like I said I’m preparing a fabulous beef wellington this evening and it’ll be so good you won’t have a single regret.”
Cody hoped to god she was right about dinner.
“So where is Ellie then?” Syrus asked, looking around with a frown as Cora placed a plated sandwich in front of each of them.
“Oh, I sent her out to the garden to get her out of the way before she caused any more mishaps. I need some nice fresh veggies to go with the dinner I’m making.”
The three of them ate silently, each with their own thoughts, while Cora busied herself picking up the pieces of broken plates. They were just about finished when a pained shriek reached them.
All three jumped up from the table, but Cody gestured his brothers to leave it. “I’ll deal with whatever’s happened now, you two get on with things, or we’ll be working into the night.”
While Syrus and Ezra left, Cody found Cora in the kitchen, crouched among some wicked looking shards with blood seeping from one of her fingers.
Sighing, hehelped her up. “Here, let’s get that seen to,” he said softly. He picked his way across to the sink and ran the wound under the tap while Cora’s bottom lip wobbled, and she turned her big blue eyes on him.
“Oh, it’s nothing, just a little nick.”
Cody scrutinized the wound as he dried it with a tissue. She was right, it wasn’t serious, but the mess and now the blood peaked his irritation all over again.
He’d considered that Ellie, out of all three of the girls, had more of an air of practical about her, but it looked like he’d been wrong. And that was a damn shame, since he’d been attracted to her the most. There was something about her that had instantly appealed to him, and he suspected that his brothers both felt the same way.
“You pop up to the bathroom, find the first aid kit and get that covered. Even small cuts need to be protected from infection on an out of the way ranch like this.”
Cora nodded. “I’ll do that before I finish preparing dinner.” But before she did, she launched herself against his chest and his arms instinctively went around her. And that was how Ellie found them when she returned from the garden.
“Oh um…” She stood in the doorway and shuffled from foot to foot, clearly embarrassed at what she obviously perceived as an intimate, private moment.
Cody peeled Cora away from him. “Go and deal with that cut,” he told her before turning to Ellie as she made her way out of the room, cradling her injured hand.
“Clean this goddam mess up,” he said curtly.
“Oh, but Cora…”
“Cora’s cut herself, so now you can sort out your own damn screw-up.”
With that he stomped back outside, stoically ignoring the look of surprised hurt on Ellie’s face. A glower on his own.
A ranch like this was no place for someone who couldn’t knuckle down and muck in.
Perhaps this was a good time for his own penchant for spanking to make itself known to all the women. He had been thinking he’d take it easy on that count, but really, it was probably better that they knew how things were going to proceed right from the start.
The thought cheered him immeasurably. Oh yes. Little Ellie would be feeling the decline of his palm this evening. Maybe that would help get things on track.
For all of them.
Chapter Five
As the rest of the day passed, Ellie tried not to take Cody’s attitude personally, even though it had felt personal. She told herself he was just worried about Cora and annoyed by the mess, and she guessed she couldn’t blame him for that.
She picked up the rest of the crockery and swept as best she could, even though each swipe of the broom puffed another cloud of flour into the air to coat everything all over again. Her included.
She considered trying to find the others to come and help her, but after an initial shout got no reply, she decided it would just be quicker to do it all herself, especially since she didn’t know which rooms were theirs, or even if they were in them. After this morning’s fiasco, she didn’t want anything to delay dinner. This was her time to shine.
Finally, she had made the pastry, assembled the dish and got it into the oven. She had the vegetables prepared; the last of the washing on the line and what was already dry folded into piles. She put away her own clothing and the towels and left the rest in the utility since she didn’t know who it belonged to.
