Cooking For Cowboy (Stampede Sizzlers) by Brenda Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page A

dogs.
    Sierra stuck out her hand. “Please call me Sierra, and I’m pleased to meet you, too, Ms. Wilson.”
    Celia reached out and shook Sierra’s hand. “Call me Celia.”
    “Celia, it is.” Sierra smiled when the housekeeper bent down and patted her dog’s furry head.
    The mature woman laughed when her pet stuck out his paw. While Celia shook it, Barney wagged his stubby tail.
    “Thank you for calling last night and letting me know you wouldn’t be home.” Celia smiled at Chad, with unabashed affection in her eyes. “I would have worried about you, my boy.”
    “I know. I might as well be thirteen again, calling in before curfew.” Chad laughed and gave Celia a quick peck on the cheek.
    “Stop that, you scamp.” She blushed and swatted him on the arm.
    “I just hired Sierra for the position of ranch cook. She’s so overqualified I don’t even want to think about a professional chef cooking for us. But she’s agreed to help me out in a pinch, and I’m certain you two will get along fine. I’ll get the rest of her suitcases.” Chad winked at Celia and then headed out the door.
    “That boy will be the death of me.” Celia shook her head, beaming.
    Can I second that? thought Sierra.
    “I’m looking forward to working with you.”
    “Me, too.”
    “Would you like a cup of coffee?” Celia moved across the kitchen floor with remarkable ease for someone her age – Sierra guessed she’d be in her mid-seventies – and grabbed a small coffee pack for the one-cup-at-a-time machine. “Do you have a favorite flavor? I like the ones with caramel.”
    “Anything is fine. But I need to take Barney outside first and teach him the boundaries of the yard.” Sierra gently tugged on the dog’s leash and he leapt to his feet.
    “Sure, it will give me time to fold the load of towels in the dryer while you’re gone.” Celia waved them toward the deck doors.
    “Thank you. I’ll be right back for that coffee.” Sierra headed toward the door with Barney trotting along at her side.
    Chad slipped into the kitchen while Sierra held the door open for him, juggling her three suitcases and a duffle bag with the agility of a seasoned hotel bellhop. “I’ll put these in the guest room at the far end of the hallway across from my room. Celia can show you where that is when you come back inside.”
    “Isn’t there a room just off the kitchen here, something more appropriate where I can…”
    “Now Sierra, that room is mine. Has been since the day I arrived here, and I’m not giving it up for anyone. You’ll be in the far guest room,” stated Celia, emphatically, and then she returned to the laundry room.
    “Sandy’s waiting at the bottom of the deck stairs for you guys. I’ll be right out to join you,” Chad called on his way through the kitchen.
    “Wait a darn minute. We haven’t settled anything yet.” Sierra hurried after Chad with Barney on her heels.
     

 
     
    Chapter 5
     
    “There is nothing to settle, Sierra,” insisted Chad as he strode down the hallway. “Mom’s room is here on the left and there’s a small library with a TV in it across from her. My room is at the end of the hall on the right and yours is on the left. There’s a bathroom between my room and the reading room, but there’s an en suite in all three bedrooms, so this bathroom is only used by visitors.”
    Sierra frowned. “There must be ten bedrooms in this house. Surely, you can put me in a room away from the family.” Her heart had almost stopped when he mentioned his bedroom would be right across from hers.
    Talk about temptation.
    She trusted Chad explicitly. After all, he’d slept on her sofa all night without a moment of impropriety. With that gorgeous male hunk sleeping across the hall, trusting herself was another matter.
    “Eight bedrooms actually. And this room will be yours,” he declared again, standing at the end of the hallway.
    Sierra stood, arms hanging at her sides.
    “I need you in here.” Chad