Last Promise (4 page)

Chapter Four

Luke was so busy at the ranch it prevented him from going back to town for over a week. He'd even been forced to cancel his dinner with Emma on Friday night. He hoped by Saturday night he would have time to go to dinner at the hotel in hopes of seeing Mary Ann. After his last encounter with her he might just be a glutton for punishment, but he was confident he would eventually charm her. He'd yet to meet a woman he couldn't win over. In his mind he saw himself having a nice dinner, of course he'd ask her to join him, and then, if he played his cards right, she'd invite him up to her room. If the night didn't turn out as he planned, he would head to the saloon and play some poker with the men and then . . . well, he'd see what he had the energy for after that. Either way, he was going to enjoy his Saturday night.

* * *

Mary Ann spent the week at her uncle's side learning the hotel business. Her nights were occupied with writing to merchants in France where she had once shopped, to place orders for her inventory. True to his word, her uncle had men build shelves and paint the space. He'd even supplied her with a display case that he had stored in the hotel. She'd visited the mercantile and purchased some dress forms to display her garments. Things were going along quite nicely, and she was eager to have her little shop open.

Mary Ann was behind the front desk when her uncle approached. “Mary Ann, Mrs. Howe has taken ill and I had Eb see her home and fetch the doctor. I don't know what we will do about the people already coming in for dinner. The maids have left for the evening, and Eb doesn't know the first thing about cooking. It's Saturday night and that is our busiest time.”

“Shall I give it a go, Uncle?” Mary Ann had never cooked a meal in her life, but she felt certain it couldn't be that difficult. She was more than willing to give it a try.

George was skeptical; he wasn't sure Mary Ann had ever stepped foot in a kitchen. “Do you think you could handle the cooking? We could have a large crowd.”

“Certainly. When Eb returns he can take the orders and I shall see to the preparations.”

George was pleased with her willingness to pitch in and help. “If you are certain you can handle it, I will keep an eye on the desk and help Eb in the dining room.”

* * *

Luke had taken time with his appearance before he left home, making sure he had a very close shave and his boots were shined. By the time he arrived at the restaurant there were already a few diners sitting at the tables. Once he took a seat where he could see everyone coming and going, he heard one of the diners complain to Eb in a louder than necessary voice, “If I wanted my steak this rare I would have walked to the range and sliced a piece off its rear end while he was still moving.” The man shoved the platter back toward Eb. “I want rare, not raw.”

“I'm sorry, I'll take care of it,” Eb stammered. He grabbed the platter and headed back to the kitchen.

George approached Luke when he passed his table. “Luke, I'm sorry but this might not be the best night to have dinner. Mrs. Howe is ill and my niece is trying to do the cooking.” He inclined his head toward the table where the complaining patron was sitting. “As you can tell, I don't think it is going well.”

Luke heard the murmurs of discontent from the other diners and he saw his opportunity. “Tell you what, George, you just keep it simple tonight. Tell everyone they are getting steaks and spuds, and I'll lend a hand with the cooking.”

“You can cook?” George didn't think the McBride brothers looked like the kind of men who would ever need to cook their own meals.

“I can manage to cook a good steak. I'm a bachelor who lived alone in the middle of nowhere.” He stood and slapped George on the back. “No worries. But remember, steaks and spuds, nothing else.”

George smiled. “That'll be fine. Almost everyone orders that meal anyway.”

Luke walked through the kitchen door and came to a halt. Smoke was filling the room, and Mary Ann was leaning over the stove fanning something. Her hair was hanging in disarray, half up and half down, and her dress sleeves were pushed to her elbows. She certainly didn't look as proper as the last time he had seen her.

Without turning around she asked, “Eb, what do you need?”

I need you,
Luke thought. “I think I should ask what you need.”

Mary Ann whirled around to see Luke standing in the doorway. She didn't know what he wanted, probably to complain about something like the other diners. She didn't have time for him. “Not now, Mr. McBride, I'm busy.”

“I can see that.” Luke put his hat on a hook.

Mary Ann glanced back at him to see he was still in the room. “What?” Her tone wasn't patient.

“I told George I would help you out in here.”

She whirled around to face him, and the look she gave him might have made a lesser man turn tail and run. “You what?”

He walked beside her and glanced at the stove. “I'm going to help you out in here. First, let's open this damper more.”

She watched as he started opening latches he had no business opening. “What do you think you are doing?”

He grinned at her. “You don't want the whole restaurant to fill up with smoke, do you?”

She shook her head, feeling every bit the fool. She had no idea why the room was smoky.

“Now, we are going to cook steak and potatoes.”

She stared at him like he was speaking in a foreign tongue. His face was mere inches from hers and all she could think about was how handsome he looked.

Luke grinned. “Potatoes?”

Collecting her thoughts, she pointed to the pot on the stove. “Eb boiled them earlier and they are ready to mash.”

“Good. We need to add more wood to the stove to get the temperature up for the steaks,” Luke said as he turned and walked to the table.

Mary Ann turned around and saw him lean over and untie the leather thong around his thigh. When his large hands moved to unbuckle his gun belt, she couldn't take her eyes off him. She'd never seen a man remove an article of clothing, other than perhaps a jacket, certainly never a gun. There was something about his movements that almost seemed intimate, and she shouldn't be watching. But it was such an utterly masculine gesture that she ignored her own commands.

Luke was aware of those silver eyes on him. After he placed his holster over the back of a chair, he walked back to the stove. When she looked up to meet his gaze they simply stared at each other. He would give anything to know what she was thinking. He spotted a streak of flour on her cheek and when he brushed it off, her eyes widened in surprise. He wondered if she realized the top three buttons of her high-neck shirt were open. He wasn't going to tell her since he was imagining his lips following that trail of buttons.
Get control,
he told himself. “Firewood?”

His touch left her breathless, and it took her a minute to realize he'd said something to her. “Pardon?”

“Wood for the stove?”

“Oh.” She pointed to the corner of the room where Eb had stacked some wood earlier.

Luke grabbed a couple pieces of wood, returned to the stove, and tossed it inside. “Now we're in business.” He looked around the room. It was a nice kitchen with the latest stove and the largest ice chest he'd ever seen. George had spared no expense outfitting the place. He glanced at the long wood table and saw a pan of beautifully browned biscuits. “Did you make those?”

“Yes, I can do that much, but I'm afraid I've made a mess of everything else.” He seemed to fill the room with his manly presence. Just watching him move about the kitchen made her heart start pounding faster. It was a new experience for her to have such a physical reaction to a man. She could almost understand why those women had their hands all over him. He was undeniably handsome and so physically appealing she could understand why women were naturally attracted to him.

“They look delicious. You did the hard part. The steaks are easy.” He saw the platter that Eb had brought back to the kitchen with the undercooked steak. “First, let's cook this one a bit more.” He threw the steak back into the iron skillet. “Do you want to watch this steak while I mash the potatoes? It'll just take one turn and I'll tell you when.”

“Yes.” She was still confused by her reaction to him. She reminded herself that he was a rake, but that didn't seem to make a difference as she tried to control her runaway emotions. His arm brushed against hers with his every movement and she felt her skin getting warm and her hands started to shake. She'd never responded to a man the way she was responding to him and she was flustered by the entire situation.

Picking up the butter on the table, Luke plopped a large amount into the potatoes. He knew he was making her nervous by standing so close, but that only fueled his actions. He reached around her to grab a spoon and brushed against her back, but his plan backfired. He was the one that became rattled by the contact. He had the urge to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her to him. She smelled good, almost good enough to eat. He saw himself leaning over and planting small kisses on her neck. “You smell better than these mashed potatoes.”

She kept her eyes on the steak. “Thank you.” He smelled good too, like sunshine and leather. She could feel the muscles flexing in his arm as he worked.

“Time to turn.”

She stared up at him and he smiled at her. His teeth were perfectly straight and very white.
Is there anything about him that isn't attractive?
“Turn?” she questioned.

He put his hand over hers and speared the steak in her skillet and flipped it over.

“Oh.” His large hand on top of hers was surprisingly gentle.

Eb walked into the room and handed Luke another returned steak. “We have orders for eight more steaks.”

“We'll get them done,” Luke told him. He grabbed another huge iron skillet hanging over the stove and placed it over the flames.

“Isn't anyone ordering anything other than steaks?” Mary Ann asked.

“No,” Luke answered.

“Luke said they could only order steaks tonight,” Eb put in.

“But why?”

Luke winked at Mary Ann. “That's the best thing I can cook.”

This was a night filled with firsts for Mary Ann. No man had ever winked at her, and she didn't know what it was about that particular gesture, but it stirred her insides. She told herself that he probably winked at every woman he saw, but her heart started doing flip-flops all the same.

Luke stabbed the sizzling steak in the skillet and tossed it on a plate, adding some potatoes and a biscuit before passing it to Eb. “This is for that loudmouth in the dining room, Eb.”

Eb's eyes lit up. “Thanks, Luke. Maybe this will shut him up.”

“If it doesn't, come and get me.”

Mary Ann turned her eyes on him. “Was someone upset?”

“Nothing to worry about.” He picked up a fork, scooped it into the potatoes and then held the creamy mound to her mouth. “Tell me if they're good.”

She nibbled the potatoes off the fork. “Oh, yes, very good.”

When she licked her lips Luke wanted to pick her up and start nibbling on her. “More?” His voice sounded strange to his own ears.

The way Luke was looking at her mouth, she was certain he was about to kiss her. And to her surprise, she didn't think she would have objected. “Later, we need to get started on the other steaks.”

I'd like to start on you,
he thought.

“How did you learn to cook?”

“I've traveled around some and if I didn't cook, I didn't eat. Sometimes we are out on the range for weeks at a time and we don't always bring a cook with us. Did you cook at home?”

Mary Ann laughed. “Heavens no. Father would have never allowed that. We had several cooks.”

He turned from the stove and reached for a biscuit off the table. When he saw her watching him, he said, “I need to keep up my strength.” He took a big bite and offered the remainder to her.

“No, thank you.”

He loved a good biscuit and these were soft and fluffy on the inside and the top perfectly golden brown. He could have eaten the whole platter. “How did you learn to make biscuits?”

“Lillian taught me. She's the wife of the man who managed the way station in Missouri where we spent the night. I told her they were the best biscuits I ever ate and she was kind enough to show me how to make them. We didn't sleep at all that night, we just talked. I don't think she sees many women and she was thrilled to have company. She was a lovely woman.”

If he was with her all night they wouldn't be talking. “Will you make more so I can have some for dinner later?”

“Of course.” She was delighted he liked them. “It's the least I can do for what you are doing tonight. I'm sure you came in for a nice dinner and not to do more work after a long day at the ranch.”

He finished the biscuit and turned his gaze on her, his teasing demeanor was replaced by a sincere request. “I want you to make them only if you want to make them for me. I don't want you to feel indebted. I'll cook you a steak and then we can enjoy a nice dinner after the last customer is served.”

Her heart started thumping again when she looked into his turquoise eyes. At that moment she feared she would do anything he asked. Just like all the women she'd seen with him since she arrived in town, she was succumbing to his charms. She nodded her agreement.

They worked companionably for two hours, only interrupted from their cooking when Eb came in with new orders. While they worked Mary Ann asked questions about his life. She learned what it meant to bust broncs, and about the many places he'd traveled. Luke noticed she didn't talk much about her life in England and what she did tell him, he thought it sounded stifling. He couldn't imagine days structured around parties and teas. She did mention some of the details of her journey when she left England. Just as he'd suspected, she hadn't escaped male attention along the way.