The Rancher's Best Gift. Stella Bagwell
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bottle and a glass mug over to the table and set both in front of him. “If you’re wondering if I’ve turned into a drinker, don’t worry. I mostly keep beer and wine to cook with.”
“I wasn’t thinking anything like that,” he said.
She went back over to the gas range and switched off the blaze under the steak. By now the French fries were done and she loaded a pile of them along with the steak onto a large plate, then gathered a small bowl of tossed salad from the fridge.
When she set the whole thing in front of him, he cut his gray eyes up to her. “This is overdoing it, Camille.”
Her heart was beating fast and it had nothing to do with his words and everything to do with the way he was looking at her, the way he smelled, the way his masculine presence filled up the small kitchen.
“What’s wrong? I cooked the steak too long?”
He shook his head. “This is not a part of the deal.”
“What deal? I didn’t know we had a deal?”
He made a flustered sound as he reached for the knife and fork she’d placed next to his plate. “I’m not your guest. I’m here to work cattle.”
“You don’t have to tell me why you’re here, Matthew.” She left the table and walked over to the cabinets. “You’ve been doing this for years.”
Yes, fourteen years to be exact. When Matthew had first gone to work for Three Rivers Ranch, Joel had brought him and four other hands down here to Red Bluff. The work had been exhausting, but the special time working closely with Joel had changed Matthew’s life. He’d found the father he’d always needed and the home he’d never had.
She plunked a bottle of salad dressing along with a pair of salt and pepper shakers in front of him. “You want any ketchup or steak sauce?”
Her question pulled him out of his memories and with a tired sigh, he pulled the plate toward him. “No, thanks. This is good.”
Once he started to eat, he thought she might leave the kitchen and go on about her business. Instead, she pulled out the chair angled to his right elbow.
“Looks like Blake sent plenty of cattle this time. I saw the extra pens.”
He glanced at her. “He’s been on a buying spree. When prices drop, your brother takes advantage.”
She smiled wanly. “Blake always did know how to turn a profit.”
The steak melted in his mouth, a fact that surprised Matthew. He would’ve never guessed Camille could do much in the kitchen. Reeva had ruled as the Three Rivers house cook for long before Camille had been born and the woman wasn’t the sort who wanted to share the domain.
“I guess you’ve taken to living here on Red Bluff,” he said. “You’ve been gone from Three Rivers for a long time.”
She slanted him a shrewd look. “Did my family send you on a fishing expedition?”
He chewed another bite of steak before he answered. “That’s funny. But I’m too tired to laugh.”
“What’s funny about it? You’re a part of the family. You know as well as I do that they’re trying to figure me out—or come up with a way to get me back to Three Rivers.”
He glanced over to see a smirk on her face, but whether her ire was directed at him or her family he couldn’t guess.
“I didn’t ask you anything,” he said. “I only made an observation. Guess the subject of you living here on Red Bluff is a prickly one.”
“You know it is.”
Deciding it took too much energy to talk to this woman, he focused on finishing the food on his plate.
Quietness settled around them until she spoke again. “Sorry, Matthew. I didn’t mean to sound so—defensive. It’s just that I’m beyond weary of answering my family’s questions. They can’t accept that I want to live here and leave it at that.”
“They think you’re still pining over that Danby guy and that makes them worry about you.”
Her lips pressed to a thin line. “For your information and theirs, Graham Danby is a thing of the past,” she said firmly. “I’m perfectly happy living single and I have no interest in the male population in Yavapai County, or here in Cochise County, or anywhere else for that matter.”
“Okay.”
His simple response didn’t ease the frown on her face.
She said, “Since my personal life seems to be fair game, maybe it’s time I asked you a few questions. Like have you ever gotten over your failed marriage with Renee?”
Although he was stunned that she’d brought up the subject of his divorce, he realized he couldn’t tell her to mind her own business. Not without looking like an ass.
“Renee who?”
She snorted. “You can’t fool me, Matthew. That was what—at least ten years ago and you’ve never remarried. You’re either still crazy in love with the woman or too scared to try marriage again.”
He stabbed his fork into the fries. “Your first assumption is dead wrong. Your second one is not exactly right, either.”
Her vivid blue eyes continued to peruse his face, and Matthew wondered what she was looking for. A sign of weakness? A crack in his armor? Well, if anyone could find it, she could.
He said, “I’ll admit that when Renee and I divorced it knocked me off my feet.”
“It shouldn’t have,” she said bluntly. “I could’ve told you before you ever married her that she was all fluff.”
He scowled at her. “How would you know that? You were only a teenager back then.”
“A girl doesn’t have to reach the age of twenty before she learns how to spot a female piranha.”
He grunted. “Men are slow learners.”
A faint smile touched her face. “The last I heard you were dating a redhead from Yarnell. Are you getting serious about her?”
“No. I haven’t seen her in more than a year. And I’m not planning on getting serious about anyone. I’m going to leave marriage up to you and Vivian, and your brothers.”
Her face went void. “Leave me off that list, Matthew. The chance of me ever marrying is as about as good as snow falling here on Red Bluff. And that’ll be a cold day in hell.”
The bitterness in Camille’s voice matched the feelings he’d carried around inside him for all these years. He understood the humiliation she’d gone through when Danby had chosen another woman over her. He’d felt that same sting when Renee had left him high and dry.
“So what do you do with yourself now?” he asked. “I imagine it’s awfully quiet around here when the ranch hands aren’t around.”
Faint surprise arched one of her delicate brows. “You mean none of the family has mentioned my job to you? That’s a shocker.”
He shook his head. “No. You found an office job over in Benson or Tucson?”
Rolling her eyes, she got up from the table and walked over to the cabinets located directly behind him.
“Lord no! I’d have to be starving to death before I ever work in an office again.”
He glanced over his shoulder to see she was filling a coffeemaker with grounds and water.
“Why? That is the reason you went to college,” he stated the obvious. “What are you going to do? Let all that education go to waste?”
He didn’t know why he’d let himself be sucked into such a personal conversation with this woman. Maybe because in the quieter moments of his life, he’d