The Cowboy's Honor by Amy Sandas

Author:Amy Sandas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2019-01-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Dean spent the entire next day in his office, leaving Courtney to her own devices once again. Thankfully, both Jimena and Pilar arrived at the house that morning to start preparations for the feast that would be made up for the men that night. There was corn to grind, vegetables to roast, meat to smoke, pan dulce to bake, and tamales to roll. Jimena had started a traditional mole poblano the day before and continued nursing the large pot of sauce.

Courtney was anxious to assist where she could, having already learned so much from Jimena in regard to cooking and appreciating the added benefit of being able to practice her Spanish. She had gotten to the point where she knew a great number of common verbs and nouns and a variety of descriptors. If she heard any words she still didn’t know, she usually understood enough to get the gist of what was being said. And she truly loved the hours she spent in the kitchen. She had never realized how much camaraderie and respect could be experienced by joining others in a common task. Of course, the good-natured teasing and gentle guidance helped, as did the endless bouts of laughter. She couldn’t even consider it work when it was so much fun.

Just after midday, the men started riding in.

At the sight of the first group, Jimena burst into a flurry of activity, issuing sharp orders to both Pilar and Courtney to get the food finished and prepped for serving down at the bunkhouse.

“These men are going to be hungry and tired,” Jimena asserted in Spanish. “We must have a wealth of flavors to welcome them home.”

“Mama believes everything can be made better with food,” Pilar whispered in an amused aside to Courtney.

“That’s because it can,” her mother retorted from across the kitchen.

Courtney laughed as she rushed to complete the task had Jimena assigned to her.

* * *

By the time the sun touched the western horizon, more than twenty men had come in from the range. Their horses had been tended to and settled in with mounds of fresh hay, healthy grains, and cool water, while the men themselves had been fed near to bursting. Laughter and conversation resounded from the bunkhouse loud enough to be heard from the front porch of the main house.

Earlier, Courtney had brought a plate of food to Dean in his office. He had barely looked up from the paperwork and ledgers spread across his desk. Slightly annoyed by his lack of attention, and even more annoyed that it bothered her in the first place, she had decided not to go back to fetch his dishes. The man could carry them back to the house himself.

The remnants of the day of cooking had all been cleaned up, and Jimena had returned to the house beyond the pasture for the night. The two younger women were taking a moment to relax in the fresh air. As the long fingers of fading sunlight stretched across the

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