for a little while.”
The sound of the wooden legs hitting the linoleum floor as he righted the chair had her smiling, even if the noise was accompanied by Cooper’s annoyed huff.
After a pause so long she considered he might never speak to her again, Cooper said, “How’s Butch’s daughter handling it?”
His interest took her off guard, but Hannah did her best to answer as if she wasn’t shocked he’d reopened the conversation. She stayed facing the sink as she worked at scrubbing a pot. “I think she’s gonna be okay. Like I said, Skeeter is there at her place in Mississippi now along with a whole slew of the guys. Some of their girlfriends too, so she’s not alone. And there’s a local hired hand who used to sometimes help her father with the ranch when they were traveling. She can call on him if she needs to.”
“She’s gonna try and keep the place going?”
“I’m not real sure. I’m not certain if she even knows at this point. It all happened so fast.” Then again death, whether it came with a warning or out of the blue, was always hard to handle.
“Stock contracting’s a tough job. It’s sure no life for a young girl all alone.”
“I suppose it’s not, but I think Skeeter will be there for her as long as she needs him.” It was bittersweet for Hannah seeing Skeeter so grown up and independent. But at the same time, him building a life of his own freed her to do the same.
“It’s good he’s helping her out. He’s a good kid, Skeeter.”
Hannah glanced over her shoulder at Cooper and found him picking at a chip on the kitchen table. At least it looked as if he’d accepted she was there for the duration. “Yeah, he is. I also think he’s got more than a little crush on Riley. Of course, he’d never tell me that. He tries to keep his feelings close to the vest—like someone else I know—but he’s not real good at hiding things. I can tell he likes her a lot.”
Finally, the old pot was clean enough she wouldn’t be embarrassed to cook in it. She put in on the burner and started pulling open drawers.
“Now what are you looking for?”
“Can opener?” She answered as sweetly as she could in spite of the exasperation she’d heard in his tone. Kill them with kindness—Hannah had plenty of experience in doing that with the patients and customers at both her jobs.
Cooper stood and she braced for another battle with him, but it didn’t come. He moved to the other side of the room, reached behind some beer bottles on the counter and emerged with a hand can opener.
“Ah. Thanks. I wouldn’t have thought of looking for it there.”
He scowled and sat back down. “It’s got a bottle opener on it. I use it to open my beer.”
“Oh. Handy.” As he cocked a brow at her comment, Hannah supposed she should be grateful he hadn’t chosen to pop open another bottle for himself and drink away his annoyance at her.
She used her nervous energy to open the can with a little too much force, dumped the contents into the pot and turned on the burner. While that heated, she turned back to the dishes in the sink. “You could take out this garbage while you’re waiting. And there’s some more trash and recycling out on the front porch that can also go into the bins.”
Hannah half expected him to tell her where she could shove her request and the garbage, but he didn’t. He grumbled something as he went but grabbed the trash can and pushed through the back door. When his overwhelming presence was no longer filling the room, she let out a long, slow breath.
Fighting a stubborn man was easier than wondering what a quiet one was thinking. She’d steeled her nerves and had been as unyielding as he was when he’d confronted her. But when he was compliant and looked so down in the dumps like this—that was far harder for her to deal with. It made her want to wrap her arms around him. Ask him what had happened to bring him to this point and promise to make it all better.
She had to
The sound of the wooden legs hitting the linoleum floor as he righted the chair had her smiling, even if the noise was accompanied by Cooper’s annoyed huff.
After a pause so long she considered he might never speak to her again, Cooper said, “How’s Butch’s daughter handling it?”
His interest took her off guard, but Hannah did her best to answer as if she wasn’t shocked he’d reopened the conversation. She stayed facing the sink as she worked at scrubbing a pot. “I think she’s gonna be okay. Like I said, Skeeter is there at her place in Mississippi now along with a whole slew of the guys. Some of their girlfriends too, so she’s not alone. And there’s a local hired hand who used to sometimes help her father with the ranch when they were traveling. She can call on him if she needs to.”
“She’s gonna try and keep the place going?”
“I’m not real sure. I’m not certain if she even knows at this point. It all happened so fast.” Then again death, whether it came with a warning or out of the blue, was always hard to handle.
“Stock contracting’s a tough job. It’s sure no life for a young girl all alone.”
“I suppose it’s not, but I think Skeeter will be there for her as long as she needs him.” It was bittersweet for Hannah seeing Skeeter so grown up and independent. But at the same time, him building a life of his own freed her to do the same.
“It’s good he’s helping her out. He’s a good kid, Skeeter.”
Hannah glanced over her shoulder at Cooper and found him picking at a chip on the kitchen table. At least it looked as if he’d accepted she was there for the duration. “Yeah, he is. I also think he’s got more than a little crush on Riley. Of course, he’d never tell me that. He tries to keep his feelings close to the vest—like someone else I know—but he’s not real good at hiding things. I can tell he likes her a lot.”
Finally, the old pot was clean enough she wouldn’t be embarrassed to cook in it. She put in on the burner and started pulling open drawers.
“Now what are you looking for?”
“Can opener?” She answered as sweetly as she could in spite of the exasperation she’d heard in his tone. Kill them with kindness—Hannah had plenty of experience in doing that with the patients and customers at both her jobs.
Cooper stood and she braced for another battle with him, but it didn’t come. He moved to the other side of the room, reached behind some beer bottles on the counter and emerged with a hand can opener.
“Ah. Thanks. I wouldn’t have thought of looking for it there.”
He scowled and sat back down. “It’s got a bottle opener on it. I use it to open my beer.”
“Oh. Handy.” As he cocked a brow at her comment, Hannah supposed she should be grateful he hadn’t chosen to pop open another bottle for himself and drink away his annoyance at her.
She used her nervous energy to open the can with a little too much force, dumped the contents into the pot and turned on the burner. While that heated, she turned back to the dishes in the sink. “You could take out this garbage while you’re waiting. And there’s some more trash and recycling out on the front porch that can also go into the bins.”
Hannah half expected him to tell her where she could shove her request and the garbage, but he didn’t. He grumbled something as he went but grabbed the trash can and pushed through the back door. When his overwhelming presence was no longer filling the room, she let out a long, slow breath.
Fighting a stubborn man was easier than wondering what a quiet one was thinking. She’d steeled her nerves and had been as unyielding as he was when he’d confronted her. But when he was compliant and looked so down in the dumps like this—that was far harder for her to deal with. It made her want to wrap her arms around him. Ask him what had happened to bring him to this point and promise to make it all better.
She had to
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