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“That is very good,” Theron said. “A host is supposed to offer a guest a beverage and a snack. I like hot tea. What kind did you make?”
“Earl Grey,” Lucas answered.
“That’s a good one for this time of day,” Theron said. “Is it okay for me to look around before we have a break?”
“Of course it is,” Lucas answered.
Theron parked his suitcase at the end of the bottom bunk, dropped down on his knees, and stroked Tex’s head before he even took in the rest of the place.
“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Lucas whispered for Vada’s ears only.
“I just found out that he’s been studying analytical psychology on his own. I always know what high school classes he’s taking, but I don’t know what he’s ‘researching.’” She air-quoted the last word.
“Buttercup’s a real smart horse,” Lucas said with a smile. “She can listen to intelligent conversation or to babbling that doesn’t amount to anything at all.”
Theron rose, crossed the big room that served as kitchen as well as living and dining area, and stopped at the end of the sofa. “I have not been in very many houses, but I like this one. I’m ready for tea now.”
“I’m glad. Shall we sit around the table for tea?” Lucas asked.
“I would like that,” Theron answered. “And then can I go talk to Buttercup? Is she in the barn where it’s warm?”
“Yes, she is. Your mama and I can go with you out there, and you can spend as much time as you want with her.” Lucas poured three cups of tea and motioned toward the cream and sugar. “I like it plain, but you can fix yours however you like.”
Vada pinched her leg, and it hurt, so she knew she wasn’t dreaming. This child that she had all but given up hope of ever leaving her house was talking to a man he’d only met one time. She glanced over at Lucas and caught his eye. She wasn’t a bit surprised at the flutter in her stomach, or that her breath caught in her chest.
Good for you,her grandmother’s voice popped into her head.It’s about time you were attracted to a man, and I knew these boys. They’ve grown up to be good men.
But, Granny, I have to think of Theron,she argued.
Yep, but the way I see it is that he is beginning to think for himself, her grandmother said.
She didn’t have an argument for that. She took a sip of her tea and took in the whole bunkhouse with one glance. She could see into the bedroom. Lucas’s bed was made so tightly that she could bounce the old proverbial quarter on it. The bunk beds were straightened so well that she would have sworn that Theron had taken care of them. A blaze burned in a big stone fireplace that sat across the room from the sofa and a well-worn coffee table.
Just the basics,she thought.Maybe Theron and I both need just the basics.
Chapter Five
Vada awoke to a whispered, one-sided conversation between Lucas and Tex, along with the smell of bacon and coffee. Her first thought was that she was dreaming. She hadn’t woken up to someone in the kitchen since she was eighteen years old and left home for college. Her father had owned an air conditioning and heating business in Honey Grove, and her mother worked in the office for him. She had grown up eating a big breakfast because that’s what her folks both liked. They had died together in a car accident the year before Travis divorced her, and she still missed them terribly. She opened her eyes slowly to find it wasn’t a dream.
“Is this a bunkhouse breakfast?” Theron rubbed sleep from his eyes as he crawled down the bunk bed ladder.
Lucas turned around from the stove and nodded. “Cowboys need a good breakfast so they can get lots of work done. I’m making bacon, and eggs, oatmeal, and hot biscuits this morning. Does that sound good to you?”
“Yes, sir,” Theron said. “Can I help? I know how to set the table.”
“That would be great.” Lucas reached up into the cabinet and took down plates and bowls. Then he pointed toward a cabinet door. “Silverware is in there. Napkins are in the holder on the table.”
Vada threw her legs over the side of the bed. Lucas crossed the room in a few long strides, dropped down on his knees in front of her, and held out a bedroom slipper. She blinked back tears as she slipped her feet down into the fur-lined booties.
“That’s called spoiling a woman,” she said with a smile—still unsure if she was awake or if this was a beautiful dream.
“The woman is so worth it,” Lucas whispered.
He held out a hand, and she put hers in it. He pulled her up to a standing position, and gently squeezed her fingers. “Now your feet won’t freeze. These old wood floors are cold in the wintertime. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, I did,” she answered. No one had been that concerned about her since—well, she couldn’t remember a time. “What can I do to help with breakfast?”
Lucas turned and went back to the kitchen. “You could get the juice and the jellies out of the fridge.”
