Free Rough in the Saddle by Jenika Snow

these men were in dire need of protein rich items. If she was really
going to do this then she’d do it right and make herself proud of what she was doing, even if that was cooking and cleaning.
    By
the time she had the table set and the food ready to go she heard the front
door opening and banging shut. She took a step back, watching as Jace and Colton came in. The sound of their boots hitting
the floor was loud, the scent of their sweat was strong, and the look of
surprise on their faces when they saw the spread on the table had her smiling.
She was nervous, having never really cooked for anyone aside from herself and
her parents occasionally when they were alive. It wasn’t hard to prepare a
meal, not to her at least, but she was worried that she’d disappoint.
    “Well
damn,” Jace said and took off his cowboy hat. He
grabbed a rag from his back pocket and wiped off the sweat from his face.
    “That’s
one damn spread, Pearl,” Colton said and did the same as his brother.
    Travis
came in last, and her heart jumped in her throat as she watched him take in the
scene of the table and lean against the wall. “Boy, better get cleaned up so we
can chow.” He grinned at her, and she felt her smile grow. Why did she care if
he approved?
    Because
you want this to work out. Because you want him more than
you should.
    Yeah,
she really did, and she didn’t know if that was smart or not.
    After
the guys cleaned up and were sitting at the table they started acting like they
hadn’t eaten in years.
    “Damn,
Pearl, this shit is good,” Jace said, his mouth full
and the atmosphere happy and content.
    “Don’t
talk with food in your mouth, ass.” Colton said around a big mouthful of food.
She found herself laughing at their antics. Turning, she started washing the
dishes, needing to find something to keep busy.
    “You
want to join us?” Travis asked.
    She
looked over her shoulder at him. Shaking her head, she curled her nails into
her palms. “I ate before I came here.”
    He
nodded once, went back to eating, and she turned and finished cleaning the
dishes.
    “We
haven’t had cooking like this since Mom.” The room went silent when Jace spoke, and she looked over her shoulder again. There
was this heavy tenseness that filled the room, and the expression on the guys’
faces was somber, sad. She knew from speaking with Brooklyn that they’d lost
their parents years ago, and had stayed on the farm to keep it going. These men
were strong, stuck together, and although their reputations might not be the
best because of how much sex they liked, the truth was they were honest and
hardworking.
    “Would
you guys like more coffee?” she asked, grabbing the pot and going over to the
table. She didn’t want to interrupt their personal time of reflecting, but she
could also see that they were uncomfortable as the memories of their mother
clearly consumed them.
    “Yeah, darlin ’,” Travis said, and she was frozen, not sure
if she should react to him just calling her that endearment. But Jace and Colton didn’t act like it was a big deal, or they
didn’t care, because they kept right on eating and changed the subject.
    For
the next hour she listened to the guys talk about what else needed to be done
before the sun went down, and then she cleaned up. Looking out the window over
the sink she saw Jace and Colton making their way
toward the barn to muck it out, and a smile came over her. They’d acted so
thankful after breakfast, even if this was her job and they were paying her.
    Pearl
cleaned the kitchen, worked on that damn thing all morning, and once she was
satisfied that the dirt and grease were cleaned up as well as they were going
to be, she started working on the living room. The pictures of Travis, Jace , and Colton that hung on the wall spanned the course
of their lifetimes. Picking up one of the pictures, she ran a rag over the glass,
cleaning the dust from it, and staring at the woman, man, and the three