Chapter Thirteen – Emeline #2
The dinner ride was a tradition we’d started a few years back.
The last night, we had a dinner ride where the kids either got to ride on horses alone up to the site, or rode with one of the adults on their horse up to a site where we had a chuckwagon cookout.
The kids loved it, and everyone on the ranch was involved.
Everyone, even Caden, who was our designated campfire cook.
I couldn’t help but smile as I glanced around the camp.
Kids from each cabin were lining up at their meeting points.
We had the schedule down to a finely tuned machine, with some kids going to do archery, while others were heading for fishing or candle-making with Lilibeth.
Later, Levi would give a presentation on one of our pregnant mares.
The kids had been talking about it all day, most of them hoping she’d have the foal during the presentation.
“Emeline?”
Hearing my brother Caden call my name, I turned to smile at him. “Hey, what brings you to the other side of the ranch?” I teased.
He looked like he was in a bad mood, which was pretty common for Caden. He walked up to me, glanced around to make sure little ears weren’t about, then said, “I’m going to strangle that friend of yours.”
“Which one?”
“The overly peppy one who likes to get into other people’s business!”
“Did you forget her name?”
He nearly growled. “Lilibeth.”
I tried not to smile. The fact that Lilibeth riled my brother so much was amusing to me. “What happened?”
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “She asked what we were serving at the chuckwagon cookout. I told her we were having grilled steaks, cowboy beans, cornbread, and coleslaw, plus the veggie chili and baked potatoes. Then she asked about dessert.”
“So? Did you tell her the kids will have dessert waiting for them back at the cabins when we return?”
My mother and grandmother, along with other volunteers, always made the kids what they called mud cups. It was chocolate pudding in cups, topped with cookie crumbs for “dirt” and candy worms. They were adorable, and the kids loved them. They’d be brought to the cabins while we were at the cookout.
“Yes.”
“You told her about the mud cups?”
He frowned. “Yes, Emeline, I told her about the mud cups.”
“And…what? She didn’t like that idea?”
“She thought it would be fun to make a dessert over the open fire. I informed her it was too late to add anything to the menu.”
“What kind of dessert is she thinking?” I asked.
“Peach cobbler!” He practically shouted it at me.
“Why are you yelling?”
Caden closed his eyes and appeared to be counting. When he opened them again, he said, “Peach cobbler, Emeline.”
“I heard you the first time when you yelled it out. I don’t see what the big deal is. We can make two fires and use a couple of Dutch ovens for the peach cobbler. The kids would probably love that.”
“I’m not making peach cobbler. Not tonight, not next month, never.”
“Oh my gosh, why are you being such a jerk about this?”
“Did you tell her?” he asked.
“Tell who what?”
“The peach cobbler. Did you tell Lilibeth?”
The look of hurt that passed over my brother’s face nearly took my breath away. It was then that I realized why he was throwing such a fit. It actually had nothing to do with adding the dessert. It was because peach cobbler was Rachel’s favorite…and the day he proposed, he’d made it for her.
The day she told him she could never marry him.
My hand slowly came up to my mouth. I shook my head before dropping my hand. “I didn’t tell her, Caden. I wouldn’t do that to you. And I totally forgot. I’m so sorry.”
He pushed a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “I thought she was doing it on purpose. I got so angry with her. I told her to mind her own damn business, that she probably shouldn’t even come tonight.”
I put a hand on my hip. “I know Lilibeth, and she’d never purposely cause anyone harm or intentionally try to hurt them.
She probably just thought it was a cute idea for the kids, Caden.
I’m sorry, but…not everything revolves around you.
Lilibeth’s been having such an amazing time this week, and she’s doing me a huge favor by volunteering so much. ”
He closed his eyes and cursed.
“Why do you hate her so much?”
Snapping his eyes back open, he stared at me in surprise. “I don’t hate her.”
“Really? Could have fooled me. Every time she comes around, you’re glaring at her or saying some smartass remark. And you call her ‘sweetheart’ when you know she doesn’t like it.”
“She doesn’t seem to give a shit what I say, since all she does is smile and go out of her way to try to be so damn…happy!”
I laughed. “Because she’s a bubbly person.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. But I’m not doing peach cobbler.”
Before I could say anything else, he stomped off.
“What was that about?”
I spun around to see Levi staring after Caden. He was looking so handsome that I almost let out a moan. His black cowboy hat made his eyes stand out and gave him a boyish appearance. I longed to remove the hat and run my fingers through his thick hair.
“Caden doesn’t like Lilibeth because she’s too happy.”
Levi laughed. “Why am I not surprised by that?”
“How do you not like someone because they’re happy?” I asked with a shake of my head.
Levi looked back to my brother. “I think he likes her.”
Shocked by that statement, I asked, “You think Caden likes Lilibeth?”
He nodded. “I do. I think she’s the polar opposite of Rachel, and something about her clearly drives Caden insane. If he isn’t glowering at her, he’s staring at her pretty intently.”
My brows lifted. “Is he? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Yep, he sure is.” He glanced down at me and smiled. “And how has your day been?”
Smiling at him, I replied, “It’s been good. Long, but good. The kids are all excited about the dinner ride and the chuckwagon cookout.”
“So am I, if I’m being honest.”
“You’re going to love it.”
We started to walk toward the barn. Levi stepped closer, and every part of me wanted him to take my hand.
It was silly, I knew. We hadn’t even been out on an official date yet.
We talked every night, though. If he wasn’t here at the camp, we texted back and forth.
Today, he helped his father for half the day at the vet clinic.
“How did it go at the clinic today?”
“It was good. I spent most of the morning shadowing my father. I did see a couple of patients right before lunch.”
“Really? Did your dad go easy on you?”
He laughed. “He did. It was a kitten due for her first shots, and a golden retriever there for an annual checkup, and a few shots as well. Easy-peasy.”
“And how did things go with the staff?”
Levi frowned. “Everyone was great.”
“You don’t sound like you mean that.”
He rolled his eyes as he sighed. “Logan Miller is going to be a challenge.”
A tinge of jealousy ripped through my body at the idea of Logan getting to spend hours at a time with Levi. “How so?”
“She’s an endless flirt. Either my father’s going to have to talk to her, or I’ll have to talk to her myself. If she doesn’t stop, I don’t see her working for me for very long. That is, after I take over for Dad.”
Surprised, I asked, “Did she flirt with you that much?”
“Let’s just say she was a little handsy, as well.”
That made my blood boil. “She touched you inappropriately?”
“No, just light squeezes on my arm, a playful tap on my chest. Things like that. But it’s not professional, and something I won’t put up with at all.”
“I don’t blame you. How would she like it if you did that to her?”
His brows rose, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, so she might like it, but any normal person wouldn’t.”
He chuckled, then grew serious. “I’m going to have to talk to Dad about it. But for now, I don’t want to think about any of that. I want to enjoy this evening. How did Rhett do today?”
“From what I could tell, he did great. He’s made a lot of new friends and everyone adores him.”
Levi smiled. “That makes me happy.”
“It’s about time you got here,” Ensley said as we reached the barn, hands on her hips. “We have a lot of horses to get ready for the ride.”
I held up my hands in defense. “I’m sorry!”
“Put me to work,” Levi stated.
“Everyone is out in the paddock; follow me.”
When Levi looked at me, he winked, and my stomach fluttered. I smiled, followed my sister, and willed my heart to stop acting like a damn teenager.