The Cowboy’s Bride by Donna Alward

4

The top of the fridge held nothing but extra bread and some frozen vegetables. “He’s got to have meat around here somewhere,” she muttered, and searched high and low until she came across a huge deepfreeze in the basement.

She took out a package that said, “cross rib steak” and remembered going to Gram’s house when she had been a small child. Gram had made this dish… Swiss steak… and it had been fork-tender, surrounded by onions and gravy, all layered on mashed potatoes. Surely there was a recipe book somewhere that would tell her how to make it.

She searched the kitchen for such a book and came up with a small binder. The cover had a crudely drawn picture of an apple on it and the words “Mom’s Recipes” in black marker. Inside were pages of handwritten recipes, in no particular order. Maple Chicken was next to Dad’s Chocolate Cake. Bread and Butter Pickles next to Come and Get Em Cookies. She sighed as the microwave dinged out a message that the meat was thawed. This was going to take forever.

She finally found a recipe called “Smothered Meat” and thought it sounded about right. Retrieving a roasting pan from a low cupboard, she put in the meat and then added water, onions, and bay leaves that she found above the stove in a motley assortment of spices. She turned on the oven and slid the roaster in…. Step one complete.

She could do this. She could. Just because she’d never learned to cook didn’t mean she couldn’t, she told herself. All you had to do was follow instructions. It couldn’t be that hard.

Potatoes didn’t take that long, so maybe she’d really live on the edge and attempt something for dessert. Jazzed up with motivation, she grabbed the red binder again and flipped through the pages, looking for one that sounded good. These were his mom’s recipes, probably the ones she made most often. She stopped at a page that looked like it had been handled often, for caramel pudding. She read the recipe. Easy enough. Flour, egg, butter, milk, leavening, salt…. brown sugar, boiling water. How hard could it be?

An hour later she slid the pan into the oven beside the meat and sighed. The instructions had sounded deceptively simple. However, that didn’t seem to translate into her hands. She looked at the counter tops. They were strewn with flour and sticky batter and dirty dishes. The first order of business had to be cleaning up this disaster zone before she went any further.

She was halfway through the dishes when she remembered the meat needed tending, the sauce thickening.

The mess doubled. Again.

The next time she looked at the clock it said four fifty-five. She was exhausted and with a whole new appreciation of women who willingly did this every blessed day of their lives. She was certain now that she’d had the easy job, waitressing, instead of being in the kitchen!

It took her twenty minutes and two Band-Aids to peel the potatoes, and she grumbled that she was really going to have to caution Connor on having his knives too sharp.

She found a glass casserole and emptied a bag of frozen corn into it, put it in the microwave and let ’er rip just as Connor was coming in the door.

“Hey,” he called from the front door. “How was your afternoon?”

I’d rather have been chased by the hounds of hell,she thought grumpily, but pasted on a smile and said, “Fine.”

He came into the kitchen and sniffed. “Do I smell caramel pudding?”

She smiled for real, the curve of her lips fading as she saw how weary and defeated he looked. “I found your mom’s old recipes.”

He came over to the stove, lifted the lid on the potatoes bubbling away. “It’s good to come in and not have to worry about supper. Thank you, Alex.”

Don’t thank me yet,she thought, none too sure of success. The pudding seemed oddly flat and she hadn’t checked the steak yet. At least the potatoes seemed to be holding their own.

“The afternoon didn’t go well,” she surmised quietly.

When he sank into a chair and ran his hand through his hair, she knew she’d guessed right.

“We lost one calf. The other’s touch and go.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered, her stomach suddenly churning with nervousness. He was expecting a great home-cooked meal after a rotten afternoon. He couldn’t know she’d never made anything that wasn’t out of a can or ready with one touch of a microwave button. She took the roaster out of the oven and as the corn finished, she drained the potatoes.

“Don’t be sorry. It happens. But you know, no matter how much you think you get used to it, you never do.”

She filled his plate with potatoes and a generous scoop of corn, then a large slice of steak from the roaster. The gravy was thinner than she expected and seemed suspiciously lumpy, but she hoped for the best and ladled it over the top of his potatoes.

She fixed her own plate and sat down across from him. “I hope the other one makes it,” she offered as he picked up his fork. Only to pause with it still stuck between his lips.

“Is something wrong?”

Connor looked up at her hopeful eyes and made himself swallow. The corn was still cold in the middle. “No, no,” he reassured her, cutting into the steak. She looked so vulnerable, so eager to please that he didn’t have the heart to tell her.

The meat was cooked and tender but the gravy…. something was off. It was too pale and runny. He bravely took a scoop of potatoes and gravy and found a ball of flour rolling on his tongue. He smiled up at her, but he could tell she knew by the crestfallen way her lips turned down and her cheeks fell.

“It’s horrible. Disgusting. You can’t eat this.”

“Sure I can. It’s definitely edible.”

Alex tried a bite with the gravy and made a face. “Eeeew. What did I do wrong?” She took a mouthful of corn and hurriedly spit it into her napkin. “And the corn is still frozen! Oh, I can’t do anything right!” she cried. “You put in a horrible afternoon and then come in to this!”

“You can do things right,” Connor said gently. He got up from his chair and took her plate. He put it in the microwave and heated it up more. “It’s not your fault that I had a tough day. And you worked hard to try to make me a nice dinner. That was a sweet thing to do, Alex.”

“Don’t patronize me. I don’t want to be sweet. I want to be helpful!” she burst out in frustration. “I’ve been on my own for five years and I’ve been outdone by a bag of frozen vegetables!”

He gave her her plate back, then heated his own. “The corn just needed more time.”

“But I followed the directions on the bag!” She stared morosely at the offending kernels, now piping hot. Cooking was the only thing he’d asked of her, and the meal was a disaster. It wasn’t a good way to start a trial period for marriage.

Connor couldn’t help but laugh. “It takes a bit longer when you cook a whole bag at a time.” The casserole was filled with enough of the vegetable for at least three more meals.

“And the gravy is revolting. I followed the directions to the letter!”

“Where’s the gravy browning?”

“Browning?”

He had to turn his face away to hide a smile. That was why it was pale. She hadn’t used any browning. If he knew Mom’s recipe, it probably stated to thicken the juices with flour and water. And the lumps…. if she didn’t know how to make gravy, she wouldn’t know how to make it without clumps of flour in it, either.

“Connor?”

“I’ll show you how to make gravy, that’s all. It takes practice.”

Alex pushed her plate away. Other than the corn, the tasteless, flour-pitted gravy ruined everything. How on earth could she carry her own weight when he had to teach her how to cook? Never had she felt so defeated.

She scooped the odd-looking pudding into two bowls. “Do you put ice cream on it?”

“I’m out, but milk’s just as good. Sit down. I’ll get it.”

He poured a little milk on the pudding and served it. He took a bite, sucked in his cheeks, and pushed the bowl away.

“I’m sorry Alex.”

Tears sprung into her eyes and she had never felt such a complete failure. Well, if this wasn’t a whole new discovery. Alex, who always seemed to manage, to find a way, was completely hopeless in the kitchen. The one thing she could contribute in this whole arrangement and she was a culinary idiot.

“What did you use to make it rise?”

“Arsenic.” At his horrified expression, she shook her head. “Baking powder, like the recipe said,” she insisted.

He went to the cupboard and took out a small orange box. “You mean this?”

“Yes.”

He started laughing. “This is baking soda, not powder.”

“There’s a difference?”

“Oh yes. If you taste your dessert, it’ll be sharp and a bit bitter.”

She did, made a face, and struggled to swallow the solitary bite.

“I’m a complete failure. And of no use to you, obviously. I’m sorry, Connor, for wasting your time, and mine.” She pushed out her chair, haughty as a queen, and made for the stairs.

“Hey,” he interrupted, lunging after her and grabbing her arm. “One disastrous meal does not a deal-breaker make.”

“Why not? You sure can’t eat my cooking for the next seven months. You’ll starve, if I don’t kill you with food poisoning first.”

“Have you ever cooked before?”

“No.”

“Then why on earth did you think you’d suddenly be perfect at it?”

“I didn’t think it would be so hard,” she murmured, leaning against the banister of the stairs. Tears threatened again. “Oh, these stupid hormones!” she cried, frustration finally bubbling over. “I hate crying! I never cry!”

Thankfully he ignored the tears and remained pragmatic about the whole issue. “I know how to cook because my mom taught both my brother and me. I’m no great chef by any means, but I can show you the basics.”

Alex took several breaths in and out, calming herself. She was the only one throwing a fit here. Connor was being particularly good humoured about the whole thing. Because of it she decided to give him a little insight into her past.

“Mom never cooked much. We were sort of the takeout and convenience food house on the block,” Alex admitted, not sure why he was being nice about it. “But I can do stuff out of cans and frozen entrees really well.”

Connor laughed and Alex smiled up at him. His eyes were warm, framed by those shaggy dark locks. He wasn’t mad. Not even a little, even though she’d wasted that food and made a horrible mess of everything. Connor Madsen had a generous spirit, she realized, despite the unorthodox relationship they seemed to have started. He was certainly nicer than she deserved.

“You need this money badly, don’t you?” she asked him.

He nodded slowly, his eyes swallowing her up in their dark, honest depths. Their bodies stood close together, and for a moment she wondered how it would feel to put her arms around his waist and simply rest against his strength.

“Bad enough to put up with terrible cooking and hormonal mood swings.”

A ghost of a smile tipped the corners of his lips. “Yes.”

She wondered how long he’d lived here alone, and why. Why hadn’t he married yet? He certainly wasn’t lacking in the looks department. In fact, she was constantly having to remind herself to be practical which was hard considering she was already fighting attraction. She mentally added things up: his stellar manners, his consideration, his understanding, and lack of a quick temper. He was the kind of man she thought she could trust, and more than anything that counted for a lot. Even knowing him for only a few days, she sensed his integrity and strength. He would keep to any bargain they made.

“I’ll probably regret this.”

His hand lifted to cup her chin gently. “I sincerely hope not.” Her eyes strayed to his lips, serious now but shaped so that she couldn’t help but think of kissing him.

“It’s not forever, Alex. But you need to decide if you can trust me. You need to take that leap of faith.”

“After a few days? No one in their right mind would make such a decision,” she breathed, feeling the tug between them again.

“My great-great-grandparents met on a Wednesday and got married the next day. But you need to decide for yourself.”

He started to pull away. She stopped him with her fingers gripping into his arm. “Wait.”

He waited, patiently, steadily.

“Trusting comes hard. Surely you can understand that. I can’t afford to screw this up, Connor. I need to know what I’m doing is right for my child.”

He put his hands on her shoulders, dipping his head to place a soft kiss on her forehead. “You wouldn’t have told me that if you didn’t already trust me,” he whispered against her skin. “And you know it. It’s okay to be frightened.”

He was right, and it scared the daylights out of her.

“Marry me, Alex.” The calm force of his voice almost made it a command.

She closed her eyes and jumped.

“All right. For better or worse, the trial period’s over. I’ll marry you, Connor Madsen.”