Page 18 of Too Hot To Handle
„Reever wrung her neck,“ said Jed succinctly.
Dutch looked at his dinner plate with new interest. „I’ll be damned.“ He looked at Reever. „Hell, boss, I thought you said you’d never touch one feather on that mean old – “
„Are you going to talk or eat?“ interrupted Reever.
Tory stared at Reever, wondering if that really could be a dull red climbing up his blunt cheekbones. Quickly she glanced away, concentrating on pouring Dutch’s coffee without spilling a drop. She didn’t need another of Reever’s cutting lectures on her clumsiness.
„I can eat and talk at the same time,“ Dutch said, grinning. „What changed your mind about that crazy old hen? Did she peck your favorite horse? Did she – “ Dutch’s baiting words stopped abruptly when he saw Tory’s hands hovering over his coffee cup. He muttered something under his breath and shot Reever an approving glance before looking back at Tory. „The boys and I will take turns on the dishes until you’re healed. Ma always said there’s nothing worse than dirty dishwater for infecting cuts.“
„That’s all right, Dutch,“ said Tory quickly. „I’ll just put iodine on my hands afterward.“
„Hell, girl, don’t be silly,“ Dutch said, his voice gruff. „Who sewed up the rip in my new shirt so good I couldn’t even see the mend? Who spent half the night writing letters to the government for Teague and Miller so they wouldn’t be shamed by their spelling in front of city folks? Who’s been changing the dressing on Smitty’s best horse so that the cut heals twice as quick? Who’s been – “
„Pass the dumplings,“ Reever said coolly, cutting across Dutch’s words.
Tory heard the anger vibrating in Reever’s curt command and wondered what was wrong now. As she handed him the dumplings, she realized that whatever was riding him would soon be supplanted by the uninteresting taste of her dumplings. She watched his strong white teeth bite into a creamy lump of cooked flour and braced herself for the worst.
Reever grunted, heaped more dumplings on his plate and resumed eating.
Tory almost dropped the coffeepot in her astonishment. She watched the other men from the corner of her eye as she finished pouring coffee. They attacked the dumplings with every evidence of pleasure, complimenting her between bites. With a soundless sigh, she took her place at the table and ate a bite of dumpling herself, wondering if it had somehow been miraculously transformed by the trip from the stove to the table. A single bite told her that nothing about the dumpling had changed. She’d eaten tastier library paste.
Thank God that Reever hadn’t.
Tory ate slowly, ignoring the dumpling, listening to the men talk about how the range was greening at the higher elevations as spring progressed up the steep slopes of Blue Wolf Mountain, which comprised the northwestern half of the Sundance. All the talk of spring and growing things reminded her of the garden she wanted.
„Jed?“ she asked quietly, catching his eye. „Are you going into town soon?“
„Early tomorrow morning. Need something?“
„Seeds.“
Although Tory had tried to keep her voice down, she sensed Reever’s sudden interest.
„Sure. What kind of flowers you want?“
„Beans, tomatoes, peas, squash, parsley, onions, carrots.“ Tory paused for breath. „Corn, too. Do you think I can grow corn out back?“
Jed shrugged, smiling. „Beats me. I couldn’t grow a toadstool if I tried.“
Tory didn’t really hear him. She was remembering the last time she had stood in a supermarket in South California, slowly turning a rack of seed packets with her hand, watching the brightly colored pictures flow by with a hunger that she was just now understanding.
„Zinnias,“ she murmured. „And sweet peas and marigolds and daisies and – “ She laughed suddenly. „Oh, all of them, Jed. Every seed you can buy. I want to plant them all, watch those first tiny shoots push up from the ground, see all the different shapes of leaves and flowers.“ Abruptly Tory remembered that seeds weren’t free. Some of the vivid pleasure faded from her expression. „Well, not all at once, of course.“ She smiled crookedly. „About three dollars’ worth to start, okay?“
„You got it,“ said Jed.
„Where are you going to plant all that?“ asked Reever, looking at Tory with an expression that she didn’t understand.
„Out back where the kitchen garden was.“
„‘Was’ is right,“ Reever retorted sardonically. „That ground hasn’t been touched since my grandmother Abby Reever died a half century ago. After her the Reever and Sundance wives lived in the city. They sucked the ranch dry buying store beef and fancy clothes, and they wouldn’t have dirtied their fingernails in a kitchen garden to save their lives. City girls every one of them.“
Contempt resonated in Reever’s voice. Every year he managed the ranch for his aunts and his cousins, dividing the hard-won profits with them. Fifty-five percent to the Sundance family, including Payton, who had earned a fortune investing the money elsewhere. Forty-five percent to Reever, who reinvested every penny in the ranch itself, even though his was not the deciding vote in how the ranch was run. Payton could, and had, forced Reever to build the Sundance Retreat up on Wolf Lake. Reever had given in finally because he knew that Payton would lose interest in the retreat after a few years. Then the beautiful cedar lodge and outbuildings would make a perfect center for the ranch, miles closer to the road than the present ranch house.
One day the Sundance would be Reever’s, all of it. Until then Reever’s „pay“ every year for managing the ranch for his aunts and cousins was another one percent ownership of the ranch that nobody else in his family wanted. They wanted the money that the ranch yielded beneath Reever’s sweat and skill, though. His aunts wanted to be carried on Reever’s broad back so that they’d never have to work. And it had happened just that way.
„City girls,“ muttered Reever, forking chicken and dumpling into his mouth. „Useless.“
Tory had to bite her lip to keep from pointing out that being from the city didn’t ensure that a woman was lazy any more than being from the country ensured that a man was a hard worker.
