Pioneer Passion by Therese Kramer Read Free Book Online Page A

use a hand.” He turned saying over his shoulder,
“I’ll help you make a decent meal. Do you like ham?”
    Much later, Rusty admitted that her stomach
was bulging and she couldn’t remember ever
    feeling so full. “The ham steaks were
delicious and you’re a good cook. I’m glad I baked fresh bread
today.”
    He declared it was the best bread he ever
tasted and stated that a man should know how to cook too and that
it didn’t make him a sissy. Guy then explained, “I learned to cook
on one of my drives when the cook died. No one else wanted the job
so I took to the pots and pans, enjoying my new chore. After that
drive, I always lent the cook a hand. Many men ribbed me,” he
chuckled, “but after they tasted my chow, the teasing stopped.”
    Guy could see that Rusty felt at ease making
small talk as they ate, so he decided to tell the kid of his plans.
But, when he mentioned he was going to tear down this house and
build a bigger and better one something inside the kid must have
snapped. Without warning, he slammed the tin plate on the
table.
    “And what’s wrong with this house?! This
house might not be much to you, but it is home to me! Why must you
destroy everything in my life?”
    Sipping on the last drop of coffee, Guy
almost choked over the kid’s asinine comment but he managed to
swallow hard at Rusty’s sudden burst of temper. Hellfire! What’s so
great about this shack? He stood his ground and glared back. It was
time this kid realized he was only trying to improve the place. He
couldn’t understand how a run down house could mean so much to this
wiry brat. His mind reeled with confusion and he gritted his teeth,
his temper rose to meet the kid’s.
    “Look!” he growled, “this is my place now,
like it or not, and what I say goes! And I’m sorry if....” His
voice was becoming hoarse with frustration, but nevertheless,
seeing gold speckles turn to flint in those emerald eyes Guy rose
and slammed his fist against his palm. His height added the
authority he needed to make his words heard and understood. But
standing only inches from his opponent, he wasn’t quite sure of his
power. Knuckles on the table, he leaned forward and spat out,
breathing into the pouting face. “I will do whatever it takes to
fix up this homestead. And I’ll not take any gruff from you, you
hear me!” He knew his voice was dangerously close to cracking.
Hell! That head-strong kid could make a mule look like a
pussycat!
    “Do you hear me?”
    “The townspeople can probably hear you!” the
brat snapped back.
    The hairs on the back of his neck rose.
    “Jee’zes, if you wanted to smooth things out
here, you just missed your mark!” Rusty spat.
    Guy cringe at the remark but it didn’t stop
him from saying, “You’re the most maddening kid I’ve ever met. I’ll
not take any crap from a wet-nosed runt who needs his britches
paddled!” he added. Rusty’s face lost some of its color. Apparently
his threat sank into that thick head of the boy!
    “Okay, I’m sorry I acted like a brat. It’s
time for me to act like a man.” The kid’s voice lowered even more.
“I guess the shock of losing my pa and the farm was too much for
me.”
    Guy’s temper abated somewhat.
    “Just do whatever you please, but I’d like to
keep my house,” he insisted.
    Guy moaned, raising his eyes heavenward.
Maybe he had pushed a little too fast.
    Rusty was too much; the stubborn youth had an
uncanny way of weaseling a way into his heart. Well, what did it
matter if he gave in for now, he mused. It would be a while before
he started the main house, and it would keep the brat out of his
hair. With a deep sigh, he nodded and left bewildered, not liking
the fact that his nerves were stretched like taffy from being too
close to the young, obstinate, and totally disagreeable,
opponent.
    After the cowboy left, Rusty mulled over in
her mind what had just transpired. She sighed in frustration
recalling how his hot breath was so close to her