Free Deborah Camp by Tender Kisses Tough Talk

don’t think so.” With that he stood and strode into the kitchen. The door flapped behind him.
    Sally placed her hands at her waist in defiance. “Are you going to let him run this place and you?”
    “Oh, hush up, Sally,” Adele said, then went after her obstinate bridegroom. She found him rummaging through a basket of biscuits. Four slices of bacon already sizzled in a frying pan on the stove, where the cook tended to it.
    “Mrs. McDonald, would you mind going to the butcher’s for that lard?”
    The cook glanced anxiously from Adele to Reno as she untied her apron and laid it on the long table. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Thank you.” She motioned for the cook to leave the frying bacon, taking her place before the stove. When Mrs. McDonald had departed, Adele set the skillet off the fire and turned to confront Reno. “If we are going to continue with this odd relationship, there are a few things we must get straight between us.”
    One side of Reno’s mouth tipped up in a rakish grin. “I can think of one thing in particular,” he said, jeering at her and making her blush when she realized he was making a ribald joke. “But we can remedy that tonight.”
    “Such talk does not impress me,” she asserted. “I’mappalled by your lack of ambition, Reno Gold, but I’m here to tell you that you will turn over a new leaf, because I have no use for lazybones around here. You will earn your keep.”
    “You’re going to make a new man of me, is that it?”
    “Exactly.” Adele lifted her chin to meet his eyes. He stood before her, blocking her view of everything with the width of his body and the power of his presence. “And I’m not pleased that you broke my door and planted the cot in my parlor. After you have cleaned up and made yourself presentable, your first chore today is to fix that door. You may have a bacon sandwich, and once you have completed your chores for the day, I will instruct Mrs. McDonald to prepare you a delicious supper.”
    He said nothing, just gripped her shoulders and eased her off to one side so that he could finish frying the bacon. Adele decided to leave it at that. She had made herself clear, so there was no use in laboring her points. Giving him a tight smile, she whirled and went back into the restaurant, where Sally was sitting at a table by the window while Colleen and Helen, the two other waitresses, mopped the floor.
    “Congratulations on your marriage,” Helen said, her blue eyes bright with mischief. “I hear he’s quite a catch.”
    Colleen, a tall brunette with deep dimples in her round cheeks, stifled a giggle.
    “Yes, ma’am, you’ve got the whole town buzzing over this mail-order husband of yours,” Helen continued. “That’s all I heard this morning at breakfast and again during the dinner hour. Everybody was askingme if it was true you actually married that fella who fell off the train at your feet.”
    “Adele, I hope you’re enjoying being the laughing-stock of this town,” Sally said, giving Colleen and Helen a silencing glare. “Did you have a word with him? Did he listen or burp in your face?”
    Adele went toward the door that led to her private quarters and motioned for Sally. “May I speak with you, please?”
    Sally joined her in the parlor, and Adele shut the door to give them privacy. She sat on the camel-backed sofa and patted the cushion next to her. Sally took a seat.
    “I know you want the best for me,” Adele began, selecting her words carefully, “and I do appreciate that, but you must let me deal with Reno. By fussing with him, you are simply making things more difficult for me.”
    Sally threw up her hands. “Heaven knows, he’s your problem. But Adele, you can’t go on like this, with the town snickering behind your back. You were so well respected, and now this.” She glanced at the cot where Reno had spent the night. “Enough is enough, don’t you think?”
    “I believe he has potential. With my help, he could become a