Chapter Twenty-Two
“There you go, Anna.” Mrs. Mason pulled the pie out of the oven and placed it on the table. “Pumpkin pie. You were lucky we still had some left.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Mason.” Anna hugged her. “I appreciate you helping me with this. I haven’t done this sort of pie before.”
“Of course. And when you said it was Travis’s favorite, I knew I had to help.” The cook winked at her. “That lad is a real sweetheart, isn’t he? A gentleman through and through.”
Anna merely smiled back. She didn’t know how to answer that, not when her lips were still tingling from the kisses they’d had the day before. She wasn’t about to tell Mrs. Mason about that, not when she was still trying to turn it over in her head.
She just knew that this practical arrangement was going to get more complicated now that feelings were involved. Anna couldn’t deny that she really liked Travis. But she didn’t know what he thought about her. The kiss might not mean the same thing to him.
And yet she was sure there was something there. That was not good. It meant things were going to get messy, and Anna couldn’t afford that right now.
“What’s that smell?” Travis appeared in the doorway, his hair wet and his jaw clean-shaven. He blinked in surprise when he saw the pie. “That looks delicious.”
“It’s pumpkin pie,” Anna said, suddenly feeling shy. “I thought you might like it for breakfast.”
“Really?” He looked stunned. “That’s my favorite. I didn’t…”
“Peggy told me when she was here. She told me what you liked, and I thought you should have something you enjoyed.” Anna twisted her fingers together. “Just as a thank you for helping me out yesterday.”
She was aware of Mrs. Mason looking at her curiously, but ignored it. She wasn’t about to entertain her look as if she were ten years old. Travis tilted his head to one side and regarded her curiously. Then he smiled, his eyes twinkling.
“That’s really kind of you, Anna. Thank you.”
“What’s that gorgeous smell?” Edwin appeared behind Travis and practically pushed him aside. His eyes widened at the cooling pumpkin pie. “That’s our breakfast? Perfect!”
“You’re not supposed to be in here,” Mrs. Mason said sharply. “You’re meant to be eating in the bunkhouse with the others.”
“But this is the family home,” Edwin pointed out. “My family home. I can come and go as I please.”
“Not when it comes to specific things, you can’t.”
Anna didn’t want to deal with him right now. Even though he’d actually helped out the day before with the clearing up after the tornado, that wasn’t enough to trust him, not when he was still being obnoxious.
“Travis and I are about to have breakfast,” Anna said tightly, glaring at him. “Alone. So how about you go and have breakfast elsewhere?”
“I already have. And I’m still hungry.” Edwin made a smacking noise with his lips. “That looks delicious.”
But Mrs. Mason picked up a towel and flapped it hard in his direction, the corner catching him on the hand as he reached out. Edwin jumped back.
“Ouch!”
“Don’t even think about it, you little… you’ve had your breakfast, and now you leave the husband and wife to enjoy theirs alone.” She began to shoo him back out of the room. “Go on, away with you!”
“That’s not fair!” Edwin protested. “This is my home, too!”
“When your uncle was alive, but not now. And if you’re going to be disrespectful, you don’t deserve to sit at the table with your cousin.”
His protests could still be heard as they went back through the house. Travis looked at Anna, his mouth curving in amusement.
“Now that was… interesting.”
“Edwin can’t take a hint, and Mrs. Mason was making it very clear that’s all.” Anna picked up a knife. “Would you like a slice? We’ve got plenty of other things to eat, but I thought you might like this.”
“I have a feeling I’m going to be needing plenty of food today with everything going on.” Travis sat down. “This is very kind of you. You didn’t need to go all out for me. I know pumpkin is not easy to accommodate this time of year.”
“You let me worry about that.”
He stared at her for a moment. And then he smiled, making Anna’s pulse skitter. Her mind went back to the kiss he gave her, and she wished that she hadn’t been so shocked, that she’d kissed him back instead of giving him a kiss moments later.
It felt like she’d missed an opportunity.
Breakfast passed by pleasantly, and Anna felt a sense of calm wash over her.
Today, things weren’t awkward. In fact, she and Travis were able to have a conversation easily without fumbling over their words.
It was nice, and Anna could feel the tension coming off her shoulders.
Something had happened yesterday, and the two of them were aware of it.
Things were different now, and Anna hoped they would stay like that.
Of all the people she needed on her side, her husband would be right at the front. She should learn to trust him more. Travis was right about that. They would need to trust each other to get through. She could do that.
Hopefully, her trust wouldn’t be rattled.
“Anyone in?” Emily appeared in the doorway from the back porch, giving both of them a warm, friendly smile. Anna brightened at the sight of her friend.
“Emily! I didn’t know you were coming over!”
“I thought I’d come and see how you were. I heard about the tornado.” Emily jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “The hen house is upside-down, did you know?”
“What?”
Travis groaned. “How did we not notice that?” Anna asked.
“Edwin was supposed to…” Anna pinched the bridge of her nose. “Honestly, I thought he meant it when he said he’d gone over the rest of the ranch and found everything in order.”
“Well, we know what Edwin is. We should’ve listened to that initial opinion.” Travis stood up, shoveling the last of his pie into his mouth. “I’d better go and sort it out. I’m sure the hens aren’t too happy about their home being in a state.”
“They didn’t seem too bothered when I looked in,” Emily said. “I think a few have already laid eggs, and they’re rolling around the coop.”
Sighing, Travis headed to the door. “I’ll deal with it.”
“I can do that…” Anna said, starting to get up, but Travis waved her away.
“No, you’re going to sit down and rest.”
Anna blinked. Had she heard him correctly?
“What?”
“After yesterday, I saw how worn out you were, and you’re still showing signs of exhaustion. You’ve been pushing yourself too much over the last few days.” He gave her a smile. “I’ll take care of things while you take it slow.”
Anna wanted to protest. She had lots to do, so why was he telling her to rest? He knew they couldn’t sit still for now. Emily was nodding along in agreement.
“Travis is right, Anna. You need to rest and relax for a while. The ranch isn’t going to go wrong if you stop for a day or two.”
“Even so…”
“Anna.” Travis wagged a finger at him. “Please. You’ll feel better for it. And you’ll agree with me later.”
He was insistent on this. Anna could tell he wasn’t about to let her get on with anything. And, if she was honest, she was very tired, and the thought of doing her chores and tasks around the ranch was not enticing to her. Sighing, she sat down again.
“All right. But just one day.”
“Two.” Travis glanced at Emily. “Make sure she doesn’t even get herself a mug of coffee. She’s to rest completely.”
Then he was gone, shrugging into his coat as he went. Emily sighed and wafted a hand in front of her face.
“Be still my beating heart,” she giggled. “That was so sweet.”
“Sweet?” Anna asked.
“He’s looking out for you. He’s got a good heart under all those rugged good looks.” Emily pulled out a chair and sat down. “By the way, what’s going on with Mrs. Mason? I saw her chasing Edwin around the front yard with a tea towel.”
Anna laughed.
“Edwin tried to get in the way when Travis and I got ready to have breakfast. And he’s already eaten! Mrs. Mason is just telling him off.”
Emily giggled.
“It serves him right. You wouldn’t think he was a grown man with the way he behaves, would you?”
“He’s still pushing it. And he’s not even doing his tasks, if the upside-down hen house is anything to go by.” Anna picked up her coffee. “How is it in town? It’s not bad, is it?”
“There are several broken windows and shutters, and the restaurant had a tree go through the roof at the back. Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt.”
She paused a moment.
“There are lots of bruises and scrapes, and a couple of head wounds from men who tried to be heroes and go back outside when they shouldn’t, but nobody’s died.” Emily pressed a hand to her chest. “I will admit that it was a very scary time. How was it here?”
Anna bit her lip.
“We lost some of the cattle, and one of the horses was injured in the stables. It’s lame, but it should recover. Everyone else seems to be fine, although Travis and I are still picking splinters out of our hands from fixing fences.”
“At least nobody was badly hurt.” Emily reached for the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. “It’s nice to see things are improving between you and Travis. You were very stiff with him the last time I saw you. You weren’t even sure how to react around him.”
“Well…” Anna cupped her hands around her mug, unsure how to respond. “I suppose… things are improving between us.”
“Oh, are they?” An impish look appeared in Emily’s eye. “Sounds like you’re giving in to the fact he’s handsome.”
“I’m not!” Anna said.
“Then why are you blushing so much that your entire face has gone red?”
Anna groaned and put her mug aside, burying her face in her hands. Emily giggled and patted Anna’s arm.
“You don’t need to be worried about anything, Anna. It’s perfectly natural to find your husband attractive. And from the look of it, he’s going to be able to make sure you take a moment instead of working yourself into the ground.”
“I don’t do that.”
“You might not see it, but you do. Travis will be good for you, whether you realize it or not.” Emily grinned. “You’re glad that you made that advertisement, aren’t you?”
Anna didn’t answer. She knew that Emily was delighted to see that her attempt at matchmaking had worked.