Free Chief Cook and Bottle Washer by Rita Hestand

evenly.
    "I don't understand, your dad's fun loving,
too?" Emma said, almost stopping.
    Deke nearly stumbled into her, causing their
bodies to join in the most interesting and terrifying places. Deke
drew in a breath as her breast slammed against him, and her hips
sank near his thigh.
    God, she was soft as a feather pillow, and
twice as warm. He had an urge to keep her just that way, but soon
realized the stupidity of that kind of thinking.
    "Sorry," he corrected, pulling her away from
him and holding her more at a distance. "No, my father's been ill
now for a while. He has emphysema and doesn't have the stamina he
used to. He won't quit the damned cigarettes, excuse my
language."
    Emma smiled sadly and glanced at Cal Travers
in the distance. He was stirring the beans on the open pit as Clint
flipped another steak.
    "I'm sorry for that. He's a very nice
man."
    "Yeah," Deke said quietly with a soft sigh,
only this time his expression held weariness. "I'd just like to
keep him around a lot longer."
    "Is he on medication?" Emma asked.
    "Sure. But a lot of good that will do if he
doesn't stop smoking."

    ***

    The next morning Emma listened for sounds in
the house and heard nothing. Good, they weren't up yet. She sighed
with contentment. For the past six months she had gotten up at the
crack of dawn with Sammie Jo and had breakfast. A few cherished
moments of relaxation with her favorite person.
    "Mama," Sammie Jo cried and stretched her
chubby little arms out to Emma.
    "That's right darling, I am. And things are
going to change for us now, Sammie Jo, for the better. You'll
see."
    Running a brush through her thick red hair,
Emma pulled it back into a high ponytail. She grimaced as she
glanced in the mirror to examine herself. Homely her dad had called
her, average, she had decided long ago, even though her brothers
called her a looker. She had no illusions of glamour. The freckles
of youth had faded, but she hadn't filled out much over the years.
Especially her bust. Still, she was grateful. Emma had inherited
her mother's natural talent for taking things in her stride,
finding a practical outlook safer.
    Despite everything, she had grown up without
too many scars and she was probably all the better for them. So
what if her father never appreciated or acted like he loved her. So
what if he'd treated her like a boy instead of a girl. She was none
the worse for wear. She had a life now, a baby to love, that was
enough. She didn't need a man. Look what it got Kate!
    Throwing shorts and a T-shirt on Sammie Jo,
she donned a pair of faded jeans and T-shirt for herself and rushed
downstairs with the baby on her hip.
    Luckily the Travers men had set everything up
for her last night so she wouldn't have any trouble this morning.
They had shown her where to find everything and offered to run into
Sweetwater if she found she needed anything.
    Emma hummed a familiar country tune to the
baby while she worked, it seemed to soothe Sammie Jo as she played
with her cup of orange juice.
    "Cack-cack!" Sammie Jo cried when Emma
stopped humming long enough to lift the big iron skillet from the
bottom drawer. It was heavy and it took both hands to lift it. She
placed it on the stove and turned the fire on under it. After
adjusting the flame she returned to the long block of home-made
sausage she had placed on the cutting board.
    "Cack-cack!" Sammie Jo demanded louder.
    Emma glanced at her and shook her head, "No
cack-cack before breakfast, darling. You know the rules. We're
going to have sausage and eggs and biscuits this morning. Besides,
you love biscuits, remember."
    "Cack-cack," Sammie Jo kept insisting as she
hammered her cup on the tray, a definite frown lining her
forehead.
    "Now–now darling, we must be quiet so Mommy
can work," Emma said and shook her head while humming another tune,
hoping to settle her down so she didn't make so much noise. After
meeting the men on the ranch last night she was sure no one was
used to having a strange female