Where We Are by Annie McDonald

Author:Annie McDonald [McDonald, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635555806
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2019-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

For the rest of the afternoon, Mia set aside her curiosities regarding the water and cattle situation and focused on cooking. She started by brewing some chai tea and then setting some peeled and cored pears in it with a thick slice of ginger, several cardamom pods, and a cinnamon stick.

While they simmered, she set a large iron cauldron on a tripod above the firepit and began to fill it with the meat Jack had given her the day before as well as some fresh milk and eggs—shell and all for added calcium—that she’d purchased at an insane discount from Beth. Given the quantities she’d required, Mia insisted on paying something for it.

The meat contained a good amount of fat, so she didn’t need as much salmon oil as she typically used. Once the fire was stoked and the ingredients had started cooking, Mia added several cups of oats, some brown rice, carrots, peas, zucchini, and spinach. She worked extra cautiously moving and lifting in order to keep the spears from hurtling her way. The most difficult part was going to be removing the pot from over the fire, but she hoped Sid would help her when she arrived.

The mere thought of cooking for Sid excited her. It was not an unwelcome emotion but definitely unexpected. She found herself looking forward to spending time getting to know Cassidy Harris—and Sid—much better. She wanted to see beneath the peculiarly distracted yet confident exterior, a strange combination she felt compelled to explore.

If she’ll let me.

Sid arrived on the ATV just as Mia finished stuffing the mushroom caps. To say she looked radiant would be an insult to light. Her hair was windblown and just barely held as a frame around her face by the aviator glasses she lifted above her forehead. Skinny denim jeans hugged her hips, and her muscled thighs and calves were tucked into a pair of honest-to-goodness Alberta Boot Company square-toed western work boots. Mia owned a pair of ABCs and recognized the brand, but her own boots were more for show than for go.

Sid’s jeans were cinched with a leather belt fronted by a silver roper-style buckle with turquoise inlay. Finally, as if Mia wasn’t already feeling woefully underdressed in a simple cotton blouse and paisley skirt, Sid sported a sage-colored sleeveless, collared linen shirt, tucked half in, half out. Mia smiled, thinking that this was perfectly in character with the woman whose range of emotion had, in the short time she’d known her, run the gamut. The outfit was a perfectly executed yet curious coupling of elegance and work ethic. Mia’s heart fluttered unexpectedly; she couldn’t take her eyes away. She hoped, as Sid worked to untie a canvas bag from the storage rack of the bike, that her attentive surveillance was going unnoticed.

Eventually, Mia found words to break the spell. “Welcome! So glad you could make it. I’m curious…have you folks out here never heard of helmets?”

Sid laughed. “Good God, not you, too. I hear that every day from Isabel.

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