Page 60 of Montana Groom of Convenience
Carly turned away from the window. No regrets. It was a pleasant thought.
Jill came back inside. “Granddad says he’s got things to do.”
Carly returned to the window and saw Father hobbling toward the barn. She knew better than to warn him to take it easy. He’d have to find his own pace and wouldn’t welcome interference from her.
Over the next few days,life settled into a peaceful routine. Sawyer plowed and planted the crop. Carly finished planting the garden and baked up a storm—several varieties of cookies, an oatmeal-raisin cake that Father liked, bread, and cinnamon rolls, enjoying Jill’s company as she worked.
“You know how to make pie?” Jill asked as they finished the breakfast dishes.
“Sure do. Why?”
“You should make some today. Like maybe raisin. That’s Sawyer’s favorite.”
“I suppose we could make pies,” Carly answered cautiously. Normally, she found making pies, baking even, to be a waste of time...normally, she would be out riding the range...but Sawyer had shown appreciationof her efforts, causing her to take a great deal of pride in producing something special for every meal.
She blinked and stared out the window. She hadn’t ridden out since last week. What if the cows had wandered? She’d have to check on them this afternoon. In the meantime, she and Jill prepared pie dough, rolled out the crusts, and filled the pie tins with raisin filling that Jill had stirred as it cooked.
She roasted enough meat to give them ample leftovers for supper.
A little later, she sent Jill to call Sawyer from the field for dinner.
Carly went to the barn to call Father. He’d taken to sorting through the old harnesses and leather scraps. “Making something new out of the old,” he’d explained. Carly was happy to see him occupied with something that gave him pleasure.
She hurried back to the house to set out the noon meal. Sawyer entered, water glistening in his hair. His sleeves rolled to his elbows to reveal muscular arms. He’d grown deeply tanned in the past few days.
He sniffed. “Smells good in here.”
“Carly baked you a raisin pie,” Jill said, looking pleased with herself.
“You did?” His eyes must have captured the sun and brought it indoors with him.
She had been about to say it wasn’t just for Sawyer, but the words stuck in the back of her mouth.
“Hope you don’t mind sharing,” Father said.
“Not at all.” The men grinned at each other.
Somehow, Carly managed to serve the meal without spilling anything, even though her arms felt wobbly.
She cut the pie and gave each a piece, careful to make Father’s and Sawyer’s the same exact size. Her baking efforts were rewarded with sighs of appreciation from both men.
Sawyer returned to the field after the meal. As soon as she’d cleaned the kitchen, she turned to Father. “I’m going to check on the cows.” She spoke to Jill. “Do you want to come or stay with Skippy?”
The girl barely looked up from playing with the kitten. “I’ll stay here.”
A few minutes later, Carly rode Sunny from the yard, her journey taking her past Sawyer. She slowed to study how the planting was going. And if she did not look at the field, but rather at Sawyer, admiring the way his muscles rippled with the effort of holding Big Harry, well, who was to know? She wasn’t about to tell anyone.
Sawyer noticed her at the trail and pulled Big Harry to a halt. “Howdy,” he called.
“Planting is going good.”
“Yup. I’ll soon be done.”
“I’m going to check on the cows. Jill is staying with Father.”
They stared at each other across the planted field. His hat shielded his eyes, so she wouldn’t have been able to see them even if they were close enough. As she watched, his expression never changed unless she counted the deepening of the grooves beside his mouth.
He touched the brim of his hat. “Be careful.”
