Page 26 of A Cowboy's Bride
Jennifer dipped her hands into the water and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before reaching for the first plate.
“Aiden says the new dishwasher is on its way, but until then, we’ll have to hand wash stuff. You like washing or drying better, usually?” Petra asked.
Jennifer shrugged.
“Me too. I don’t mind either of them, except the Thanksgiving my sister Rachelle hauled out her wedding dishes and set the table formal-like, which means four or five plates and bowls per person. Then at the last minute she decided the fancy stuff couldn’t possibly go in the dishwasher.” Petra left the clean mixing bowl from Aiden’s pancakes on the counter for later, then leaned in closer in the hopes of catching Jennifer’s gaze. “There were twenty-four people at the table that meal.”
The girl’s eyes darted her direction for a second. “Twenty-four?”
“I have a big family,” Petra offered dryly. “And some of them brought friends. It was a hand washing nightmare. We outlawed fancy dishes at family events after that.”
Jennifer kept washing, but she eyed Petra a little more closely.
Yeah, her huge extended family was usually a greatbreak the icetopic.
She shared her favourite dishwashing disasters including the time Zach and the brothers-in-law decided to create a washing assist using levers and pulleys. The resulting disaster ended up with a flood that poured down the stairs when one of them took out the tap controls and they’d somehow blocked the access to under the sink and couldn’t turn off the water supply.
By the time the dishes were clean and put away, Danielle and Aiden had vanished onto the porch. Petra less heard the door clicking closed than noticed the subtle relaxing of Jennifer’s shoulders.
If the girl was going to be that skittish every time a guy came around, with three brothers in the house at regular intervals, this was going to be problematic. Not knowing what Jennifer had gone through, it wasn't a judgment on her reaction. Just more like a fervent hope they could get through this stage quickly for all their sakes.
It had to suck to be constantly jumping at shadows.
They both dried their hands, then Petra tilted her head toward the living quarters section of the house. “Now for the grand tour. You'll have a room to yourself and a shared bathroom. You can lock the bathroom door on the second bedroom side for now if you want since there's no one in there. And there's a lock on your door to the hallway as well,” Petra said, leading the way and trusting that Jennifer would follow.
The steady step of boot heels across the wooden floor reminded Petra. She stopped by the bedroom and motioned the girl to go ahead of her. “I don't think your bag is big enough for you to have a spare pair of runners or slippers, do you?”
Jennifer stared around the room, her head swaying from side to side as her eyes grew big as saucers. She ignored the question completely. “This is for me?”
“Yup. You’re in charge of keeping it clean, although if it’s clean enough there’s no fire hazard or rotting food, I’m not fussy. There will be some tasks you’ll help with around the house, but we’ll wait and see what else gets added to that list after Aiden and Danielle have talked, all right?”
The girl blinked hard, lifting her head far enough to peer through the mess of her hair and take in Petra from top to bottom. “Is this a good place to live?”
It was the kind of question that should be either whispered or demanded, but the sheer hopefulness in the girl’s voice just about broke Petra in two.
She lifted her own chin. “I'm not the type to stay somewhere that sucks. Trust me on that one.” She snorted. As evidenced by rooting up her whole life to get away from the inconvenience of meeting her ex or his friends. Or his fiancée. “I expect there will be some learning curves between all of us as we set up this place.” Petra waved a hand around her. “If you haven't noticed, you're the first to arrive. Which means you get to help us figure out what we're doing right and what we’re doing wrong.”
“If you’re not hurting me or trying to get into my pants, I figure it's a pretty good improvement already.” It came out with the most snap and fire Jennifer had offered since walking in the door.
A flash of anger rolled up one side of Petra and down the other. Not at this poor child, but at the assholes who had made a young girl utter such a phrase. “If somebody tries to do the first, I have a friend who will poison him, and I’ll bury the body six feet under.” Petra stepped closer, planted her hands on her hips, and gave Jennifer the absolute truth. “And if anyone tries the second, I have a friend who knows how to remove vital parts of their anatomy, so they’ll never try again. Not with anyone.”
One of the first true smiles she'd seen flickered across the girl’s face.
So, bloodthirsty threats were the way to go. Good to know.
Dwelling on the idea wouldn’t make Petra’s blood pressure go back to normal. “Next part of the tour, Jennifer. This way to the bathroom. There's nothing too?—”
“Wait.” The girl stepped closer. “I want to be called Jinx.”
Petra considered, her face had to be some twist between amusement and an adult exasperation. “Really?”
The girl lifted her chin. “You said I could pick a name.”
Petra raised a brow. “That I did. Okay, Jinx, I'll show you the rest of the house, and then we’ll see if Aiden's done so we can take a tour of the barns.”
Jinx. Petra wasn't sure if the name meant what the girl felt like or what she wished on the people around her. But for now, it was a solid decision she’d made for herself, so Petra would deal with anybody who didn't follow along.
It wasn'tuntil the door closed behind him that Aiden realized exactly how much fury he'd been holding inside.
