After the boys had eaten their pie, and helped wash those dishes, Rob gave them a lamp.

“Don’t let your brother give you a hard time,” he told them both. “Stand up for yourselves. And let me give you some free advice. Respect is a two-way street. To get it, you have to give it. That same rule applies to men, and women. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the boys said in unison. Anthony took the lamp and they started for the bunkhouse.

Dawn stood in her usual spot, her back toward Rob.

“Did he beat you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“It is. Did he?”

“No. I’m not going to talk about Hank with you.”

“All right. I’ll respect that. But I’m not going to allow Frank to talk to you that way, though. I hope I made that clear tonight.”

“You did. Thank you.”

He wanted her to turn toward him, to learn not to be the scaredy cat that she was. He needed to do something to lighten the mood.

“Would you like to play a game, maybe checkers or chess?”

“I don’t know how to play chess, but I can play checkers.” She turned toward him.

He could tell from the tone in her voice that she wanted to play, but thought that saying yes wasn’t the right thing to do. But, she wasn’t going to go against him.

“Good. One of these days I’ll teach you chess.” He took a deep breath. “You know how to read, don’t you? I remember you going to school, even though you were a few years older than me.”

When her back stiffened he mentally kicked himself in the ass.

“I do. But Hank wouldn’t allow it, so it’s been a good long while.”

He was happy that she was actually talking to him. This was the most he’d gotten out of her in the week that she’d been here.

“I have some books that were my mother’s, some dime novels and such. You might like to try reading.”

“I might.”

“Good. Now, let’s go and play.”

Well into the second game, Rob realized that although Dawn might be a mouse, she was a damn smart one. She’d beaten him soundly the first game, and she had him on the run on this one.

“King me,” she said loudly, jumping over one of his men to the back square on the board. He grinned at her and she smiled back. This time, it looked like it almost reached her eyes.

“I think I’ve been taken,” he said, placing a red circle on top of hers. “You’re better at this than you led me to believe.”

A fire crackled in the grate and when she grinned this time, the smile reached her eyes.

“I taught the boys to play, when Hank wasn’t home.”

“I see. Well, tomorrow I will teach you how to play chess, so we can level the playing field, so to speak.”

“All right. But I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. I wanted to start on your shirt, so it could be done by the time your brother comes for dinner on Saturday.”

“There’s no rush. Win doesn’t care what I wear. Besides, I like seeing you relaxed and smiling. It’s kinda fun.”

The smile disappeared from her face and she jumped up from the chair.

“I have to go now. I’ll measure you tomorrow.”

She ran from the room as he called her name, asking her to come back.

“Damn!” He leaned back in the chair and stared at the fire. He had to figure out some way to break through the shell she cowered inside. He could tell that she was a fine woman, and that she would be a great companion. He just had to figure out a way to bring her out.

Tonight had assured him of another thing. He liked Dawn Richardson. Liked her a lot. Maybe the idea of marriage to her wasn’t such a bad thing. He just had to tame her boys, and get her to open up to him first.

Dawn lay in bed and listened to the rooster crow. She needed to get up and gather eggs, make breakfast for Rob and the hands, and then get started on the wash. Sometime today she had to measure her boss for the shirt she was going to make him.

Her boss. It was hard to think of him that way after last night. She couldn’t believe what had happened between him and Frank. He’d been the first person to stand up for her in a really, really long time. Her parents were living in Denver, and she’d had no brothers or sisters. All she’d had was Hank and the boys.

To hear Frank echo Hank’s words had hurt her heart. But to see the younger boys stand up against him had strengthened her. She’d had a good time playing checkers with Rob and looked forward to him teaching her how to play chess.

Still, the thought of Frank loomed. She wondered how he would act this morning. She wanted him to behave himself, to learn to be a respectful man like Rob obviously was. There was no way that she wanted Frank to treat his wife the way she herself had been treated, ground into the dirt until she was afraid to say her own name for fear of being thrown in the cellar.

She got up and quickly and went outside to take care of her morning obligations, taking a quick sponge bath and dressing after. The house was dark and she knew that Rob wasn’t up yet. She went back outside to gather eggs, getting the last of them right as the sun started to rise.

To her surprise, Rob rode up on his horse moments later.

“I thought you were still asleep,” she said as he dismounted.

“No, I wanted to take an early ride and see how the herd was faring.” He reached down and took the bowl of eggs from her.

“I can carry that,” she said.

“So can I. Shall we go inside? I’m starved and was hoping for some hotcakes this morning.”

“I can provide that,” she said. “I’ll get them going so you can eat before we feed everyone.”

“Sounds good to me.”

She’d just set the first batch of flapjacks on the table when Anthony and Mark came in, both of them eyeing the treat with eager gazes.

“Have a seat,” Rob said. “Where’s your brother?”

“He said he’d eat outside,” Mark said. “So he didn’t have to see you, Mr. MacAllister.”

Anthony slugged his brother in the arm. “Big mouth.”

“He asked,” Mark said, rubbing his arm.

“You don’t have to repeat everything.” Anthony glared at him.

“Sit down, boys,” Dawn said, putting full plates of bacon and hotcakes on the table.

The boys quickly said grace, then started to eat. Dawn cooked as fast as she could, frying bacon and cooking flapjacks for the men that she knew would be here any minute, ready to fill their bellies.

She’d just filled one platter full of food when Rob picked it up and headed outdoors.

“I can do that,” she said.

“So can I,” he replied and then winked at her.

Dawn felt warmth spread through her belly. He was flirting with her. Hank hadn’t really flirted with her while he was courting her, just said that he wanted her to step out with him for a bit, so that they could get to know each other.

He’d been polite and nice, but never flirty. To watch the tall, blond, and handsome Rob MacAllister wink at her sent shivers up her spine.

“I think he likes you, Ma,” Anthony said as he shoveled food into his mouth.

“Finish your breakfast.” She turned back toward the stove, barely rescuing the flapjacks in the skillet from burning. She finished a second, large batch of food and started to carry it outside. She opened the door to find Frank standing there, his dark eyes scowling at her.

“Can I eat inside?”

“Of course you can,” Dawn said, stepping aside.

Rob came up behind him and cleared his throat.

Frank straightened and said, “I’m sorry, Ma, for my actions last night. I hope you forgive me.”

Dawn looked at Rob, who smiled and nodded, and Dawn knew that her new boss hadn’t been on an early morning ride to check the herd. He’d gone to the bunkhouse, roused Frank and probably given him a good talking to.

“I do, Frank.” The words felt alien in her mouth. No one had apologized to her in the years she’d been married to Hank. “Why don’t you sit down with your brothers?”

“Why don’t we all sit down,” Rob said. “The men have enough food for a while.”

He indicated the end of the table to Dawn and she bit her lip. “I should finish cooking.”

“You’re finished for a good long while,” Rob said as he once again indicated the chair. “There’s more than enough food outside and you need to sit and relax, and enjoy your breakfast before it gets cold.”

For a few moments, Rob thought she would tell him no. Then, she sat a plate down and tentatively took a seat.

The looks on the boys’ faces said it all. Dawn didn’t eat with them. She cooked and served them, and then ate. He’d thought what he’d seen the previous nights had just been a fluke, because she was nervous about being in a new place.

He knew now that it wasn’t. If he could resurrect Hank Richardson and kick him in the ass, he would.

“So are we all set for the day?” Rob looked at the boys, who all nodded.

“Ma needs to fix us lunch for school,” Frank said, his voice low as if he didn’t want to cause trouble.

Dawn started to stand, and Rob indicated for her to sit back down.

“At lunchtime, go to my brother’s store, the three of you. Tell him to serve you a sandwich, one of those new box lunch things he’s selling at mealtimes. Tell him to put it on my account.”

Frank’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Really.”

All three boys nodded enthusiastically, but Rob noticed that Dawn sat at the end of the table, a sad look on her face.

“Go on,” she said softly. “Or you’ll be late.”

They headed out the door without saying goodbye to their mother and Rob frowned.

“Well, it’s…”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“What?”

“About the lunch. You shouldn’t have allowed them to go to your brother’s store. I could have fixed them something.”

“It’s not a bother. Plus, the business will be good for Josh.”

“Mr. MacAllister, I’m your housekeeper and your cook. My boys and I are not here to freeload off of your generosity.”

“So we’re back to Mr. are we? Dawn, I don’t think you’re freeloading. It was just a gesture, that’s all. No strings attached.”

“I hope not. I appreciate what you did last night, and I want my boys to have a good male figure in their lives. But please don’t think that I will in any way, at any time, allow myself to become involved with you.”

She stood and walked from the room and Rob shook his head. Well, that worked like a charm.

She sat on her bed, her head in her hands and waited for him to follow. He would tell her to get out, that she couldn’t talk to him that way. She never should have said that, but she wanted to make it clear that she had no intention of becoming involved with him, for she was sure that’s what he was leading up to.

Last night had been so much fun, though. She couldn’t remember when she’d had that much fun. Even when she and the boys had played games, she’d still been uptight, afraid that Hank would come home and see her sitting around, not working around the house as she should.

The boys had never said anything to their father, she knew, because Hank had never mentioned the games to her. And he would have.

The seconds stretched into minutes and when Rob didn’t appear, she took a deep breath. She had work to do, not the least of which was cleaning up the breakfast dishes and then doing the wash.

She stiffened when she heard his bright whistle coming down the hallway. He passed her room and went into his own. Seconds later he went by again and the back door opened.

A frown creased her brow. He hadn’t come in and screamed. He hadn’t come in and told her to be seen and not heard. But better yet, he hadn’t fired her.

Dawn rose and quickly went to the kitchen where she finished the dishes. She turned her attentions to the new material, washing it and hanging it out to dry. After that, she dusted the living room, made her bed and went into Rob’s room to do the same.

At noon, she went to the kitchen, slicing bread and going downstairs to gather meat from the cold storage area. She’d just finished slicing when he stepped inside.

“Hello,” she said tentatively.

“Afternoon.” His voice was happy and she exhaled loudly. He didn’t seem angry with her, which made her very happy.

“I’m sorry about…”

“Don’t apologize, please.” He walked to the counter and picked up a piece of bread, putting a piece of ham on it and folding it over.

“I’m not sure how your husband treated you, exactly, but I can tell it wasn’t good.”

She turned to the counter.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. It was his fault, not yours.”

She nodded, even though she didn’t feel that way.

“I want you to be comfortable, and I’d like to get to know you better. After all, we’re living under the same roof.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Good.” He took a few quick bites and washed it down with a glass of milk that she poured for him.

“What’s for dinner?”

“I’m making some stew. This afternoon I’m going to plant some of those seeds we got from your brother’s store yesterday.”

“We should wait a while. We’re sure to get at least one or two more snows before May. There’s still vegetables stored downstairs, right?”

“Yes, there are still some jars.”

“Good. Let’s use those up, and plant sometime in late April.”

“All right.”

He started for the door.

“I need to measure you for your new shirt.”

“Fine. We’ll do it after dinner. Have a good afternoon, Dawn.”

His voice had been so happy and carefree that she swirled toward him, but he was already out the door. She wasn’t sure how to handle him. She was afraid that if she let her guard down, and allowed herself to like him, that he’d try to use her in ways that she didn’t want.

She bit into a piece of bread and smiled. Who was she kidding? She already liked him, liked the way he made her feel and liked the time that she spent with him. But that didn’t mean they had to be romantically involved, because she would never, ever let a man touch her in that way again.

“That was delicious, Dawn. Thank you very much.” Rob smiled at her and then looked pointedly at her sons, lifting his eyebrows.

“Thanks, Ma,” Anthony and Mark said almost in unison. Frank mumbled a thank you under his breath.

“After dishes and dessert, I’m going to teach your mother how to play chess. Would you boys like to learn?”

All three of them sat up straighter.

“Yes,” Frank said eagerly while the others nodded.

“Good. Then let’s get cracking.”

Dawn thought Frank would object to ‘doing a woman’s job’, but the pull of learning chess was too much. He stood and accepted the towel Rob gave to him. A look passed between them and Dawn wondered if it was the lure of chess, or if whatever Rob had said to Frank that morning still lingered.

“We should sit in here at the table,” Rob said. “There’s more room for everyone to see what is what.”

He sat up the board and named off each of the pieces. Dawn watched her boys with interest. They were totally enthralled with what Rob was teaching them. Not that Hank hadn’t taught them anything. He’d taught them to ride horses, fish, set traps for wild animals, and how to camp.

Hopefully, Rob would teach them to be more like him. She frowned at the idea, then shook her head. She couldn’t allow herself to like him too much. She pushed the idea to the back of her mind and watched carefully as Rob explained the various pieces, and the way they could move on the chessboard. Interesting, she thought, that the queen was one of the most powerful pieces. So different than in real life, where a woman was subjected to the wiles of men, forced to serve their every need.

Her mind wandered as she wondered what it would be like to be the queen of a household instead of the servant. Would she feel free? Would she feel able to do what she wanted to do, instead of doing what she was told?

What if she was the queen and Rob was the king? According to the rules of chess, the king was still the main piece in the game, but the queen at least had respect, and had the privilege of moving around as she saw fit. Would Rob be that way with his queen, or would he be like Hank, forcing her into darkness.

“Ma!”

Frank’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“What?”

“Mr. MacAllister wants you to play the first game.” The disappointment in Frank’s voice was obvious. He wanted to get the chance to play the first game, to be the leader in their group.

“I’ll watch,” she said softly. “You go ahead.”

“No,” Rob said. “I want the chance to redeem myself after losing to you so badly last night in checkers.”

Anthony laughed and Dawn turned toward him.

“Ma’s always been good at checkers,” he said. “She taught us how to play when Pa was gone.”

Dawn focused on Rob, who was watching her intently.

“Afraid to play me?” There was a grin on his face that made her stomach turn over, made her heart beat faster.

“Not at all. I believe that I can at least make a fair showing the first time around.”

“We’ll see,” he replied.

She and Frank exchanged places, so that she was sitting opposite from Rob. It felt so strange, sitting here, with the man of the house. And he wasn’t screaming at her. He acted like her playing games instead of cleaning or cooking was normal. It was just plain odd.

She tentatively moved out a pawn and turned to Frank, who nodded his approval. Several moves later, she was confused about what to do next. If she moved her bishop, Rob would take him. But, moving the bishop would protect her queen. Could she sacrifice the bishop to save the queen?

She turned to Frank for help, turning back to Rob when he cleared his throat.

“No help from the spectators.”

“Women aren’t as sma…”

Rob interrupted Frank before he could complete his sentence.

“If you’re fixing to tell me that women aren’t as smart as men, I’m going to reach across this table and box your ears. Women are very smart, especially your mother. Sit back and see if she doesn’t make the right move. Unless she’s afraid to do it on her own.”

Rob saw her eyes light up and fought back a smile. He was right, Dawn was very smart. She just needed to remember that, needed to gain confidence again after being oppressed by Hank.

He cocked his head at her and indicated the board.

“It’s your turn.”

“Don’t rush me.” She focused on the pieces and he nodded at Frank, who stared intently at the board. Rob could tell that Frank had inherited his mother’s intelligence. He just had to work on his behavior, and his unfortunate ideas about women.

Dawn moved her bishop to protect her queen. Rob quickly captured her bishop with a knight. She grinned at him and he laughed outright.

“You haven’t won yet,” he said.

“I might, though.”

“You might.”

Dawn examined the board. She’d already lost most of her pawns, and one of her rooks, and one of her knights. Rob had just taken her second bishop. She glanced at his side of the board. He still had both of his rooks, both of his knights and one of his bishops left. There was not much chance of her winning this game.

“I might not win, but I will get better.” She moved her remaining rook to protect her queen.

“You will,” Rob said. He looked at her from under lowered lashes and she wondered exactly what he meant by that. Somehow she didn’t think it related to the game at hand.

He quickly captured her remaining rook, and on the next move, her queen.

She took one of his knights, and then sighed when he said, “checkmate,” on his next move.

She studied the board, then nodded.

“You’ll get him next time, Ma,” Anthony said, nodding his head seriously.

Dawn swallowed a grin.

“You’re right, I will.”

Frank straightened. “Can I play?”

“Sure,” Rob said. “You can try and beat me.”

Frank puffed out his chest. “I’m pretty smart. Ma always said so.”

“The boys are much smarter than I am,” Dawn said. She saw a scowl appear on Rob’s face.

They set the board back up and the game began. Frank played aggressively, but in the end Rob was victorious.

Mark and Anthony vied for the chance to play, and Rob told them they could choose between themselves, and one of them could play Frank.

When Rob stood and walked to the counter, Dawn followed him.

“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?”

“No, thanks, I’m perfectly capable of getting things for myself.”

“But it’s my job.” She closed her mouth at the look he gave her.

“Get me some milk, Ma.” Frank didn’t bat an eyelash as he focused on the board.

She moved to do her son’s bidding, stopping when Rob held up his hand.

“Get it yourself,” Rob said, turning to Frank. “You’ve got two feet and two hands.”

He turned to her. “Let’s go to the living room so you can measure me for my shirt.”

She followed him to the other room.

“I’ve been thinking about this, and you just need to give me a shirt that fits,” Dawn said. “One that you like, that is.”

“I can do that,” Rob said. “I’ll go and get it in a minute. But first, I want to say something.”

Dawn braced herself. She knew the past day had been too good to be true. He was about to tell her something bad, she just knew it. She wondered what she’d done wrong? Dinner hadn’t been burned. The dishes were done. Maybe she should have been sewing instead of playing games with him and the boys, but he was the one who’d started it.

“I had a good talk with Frank this morning about his attitude. Now, I’m going to talk with you about yours. There will be no talk of you not being good, or smart, or a servant. You are not a servant, but an employee. In my house, all people are created equal, and employees are treated with respect and dignity. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. The next time I hear you downgrade yourself, or allow yourself to be downgraded by your sons, or jump to do work that isn’t part of your job, I’m going to take you over my knee and spank your little bottom. Maybe that will get my point across.”

Dawn felt her mouth drop open.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m very serious. Seeing a beautiful, smart woman like yourself allow herself to be treated like a second class citizen really burns my behind. My parents didn’t allow it and neither will I. I hope you understand what I’m saying.”

“I do.”

“Good.” He walked back to the kitchen and Dawn stared after him. The threat he’d just issued of a spanking should scare the life out of her. Instead, his words warmed her heart and brought about a tingly feeling in her belly.

Would he really spank her? She doubted it. Just the same, she thought it strange that the idea didn’t scare her. Hank had never spanked her, just told her how stupid she was. The idea of being over Rob MacAllister’s knee brought up feelings she’d rather ignore.

She made a mental note to behave herself, and to act more like a member of the house instead of a servant. The idea made her smile brightly.