“That sure was quick!” We walk into the dining room and she’s got two lip-smackingly delicious looking patties fried up and a salad to go with it. “You didn’t set a plate for yourself?”

Audrey twists her toes into the floor and looks down shyly.

“I wasn’t sure if I should eat separately from you guys since, you know, I’m just the help.” Her cheeks tinge like she got a bit too much sun.

I open my mouth to say something back, but words fail me. My brain is only good at doing a couple things at a time on the best days, and right now every part of my mind is fixed on studying her. I don’t mean to stare. I don’t wanna make the girl uncomfortable, but I can’t help but get lost in her flowing golden locks when the light glints down on them like this. And her pretty pink lips make me think about how I’d rather be using my mouth to kiss her than to eat this meal.

“That’s nonsense,” Holden scoffs. “We’re not that formal around here. Get yourself some food and sit down with us.” In his usual fashion, he sounds more like he’s barking orders than being friendly.

Audrey nods at him nervously. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” She jets out of the room.

“You don’t have to be such a dick with her all the time, you know. Weren’t you the one giving Dale shit at the restaurant for not being a gentleman earlier?” I scold Holden.

“What did I do? Asked her to come eat with us, right? How is that being a dick?”

I know what he’s doing. Anyone with working eyes can see this girl is gorgeous. She gets my motor revved up and I’m sure Holden has had similar thoughts. It probably reminds him of the woman who toyed with us. Lila.

“Audrey isn’t Lila, man. You can’t take that shit out on her.” I lower my voice.

“Who said anything about Lila?” His voice winds up tight. “I haven’t even looked at Audrey that way.” He puffs out his chest and grimaces at me as he lies through his teeth.

I know Holden better than that. He’s been my best friend and partner at cattle ranching for eight years. Lila came into our lives like a tornado, full of excitement and danger. And when she took off she left a path of destruction in her wake. We were able to mend most of the damage pretty quickly, but one thing that still hasn’t healed properly is Holden’s heart.

“I’m just saying it wouldn’t kill ya to stop giving dirty looks and be friendly for once,” I whisper as Audrey walks back into the room with her table settings. “You’re gonna run her outta here before she even has a chance to get settled. Is that what you’re tryin’ to do?”

“No. I don’t want to frighten her.”

“Well then, would it kill you to show a bit of kindness?”

“Here we go, I’m all set,” Audrey announces and joins us at the table.

“You don’t have a burger?” I can hear the strain in Holden’s voice as he tries not to sound so gruff.

“No, I’m good with just salad.” She smiles at him and I think I can see a bit of the frost melt off him.

“Well, let’s dig in.” I clap my hands together and sit down.

Holden and I always sit across the table from one another, so we let Audrey take a seat at the head of the table. It doesn’t take long for everyone to get the salad doled out and start chomping down.

“So, this is a bit of a crazy day for you, huh? What do you think of everything so far?” I glance over at Audrey.

She pushes the lettuce around on her plate with her fork. “Oh, this place is beautiful. It’s so peaceful out here too. It’s a nice change of pace from the city.”

“I don’t know how you do it.” I shake my head. “Between all the crowding and the constant rain, I don’t think I could ever live in Seattle.”

“Seattle?” Confusion flickers over her dark eyes.

Did I mix that up? I thought she told us she traveled down here from that corner of the states.

“Oh, right. Yeah, it gets pretty dreary up there.” She bites down on a big forkful of greens.

I tilt my head and keep watching her. Didn’t she say she was from Seattle earlier? But just now, it’s like she forgot. Before I have a chance to mull it over, Holden coughs and drops his burger down onto his plate. Lifting his napkin to his mouth, he spits out the piece he bit into. His face knots with anger as he watches blood trickle out of the uncooked meat onto his plate.

“Hey!” I say too loudly and make Audrey jump in her seat. “You know, this meal is just missing one thing. Would you mind going down to the cellar and bringing up some pickles? I just can’t enjoy a burger without them.” I point down the hall. “You can’t miss the door, it’s on the right there.”

Audrey gives me a quizzical look, but she doesn’t make a fuss. She just nods and heads off.

“The meat is fucking raw,” Holden hisses.

“I can see that.” I poke my patty with a fork and red spills out onto the plate.

“She doesn’t know the first thing about cooking. First she almost burned the house down and then she served us uncooked beef.”

I can see he’s getting worked up, so I stand up and grab his plate. “Hang onto your fork, I’ll nuke ’em in the microwave.” I head into the kitchen.

“So, that’s it? We’re just going to keep her on here even though she’s clearly lying about having experience?” Holden is hot on my heels.

“It’s not like you can do much better.” I scrape his salad onto a fresh plate and stuff his plate in the microwave and turn it on.

“Yeah? Well, I’m not being paid to feed you.”

“I hope not, or I would’ve starved to death years ago.”

Holden glares at me, but his mean mugging doesn’t scare me. He needs to lighten up and relax a bit.

“Can you just let this slide? I’ll show her a few things in the kitchen and she’ll be fine. This is why we can’t keep any help around here. You’re always itching to fire them for every little mistake.”

“Little? You call serving beef that’s practically still mooing a little mistake?” He snorts.

“Yeah, I do. Why are you getting madder than all get-out about this? She’s been here for less than two hours and you’re just itching to give her the boot. It isn’t fair to her. Give the girl a chance.”

Beep-beep!

I yank the door open and pull out the hot plate, transferring the burger over for Holden. “See? All better. No need to pitch a hissy fit.”

“Whatever.” He grabs it gruffly and stomps back into the dining room.

Sighing, I do the same thing for my plate and toss the uncooked patty in the microwave. The fact is, I don’t want Holden chasing this girl off. She needs our help, and I know she’s still a stranger, but she might be able to help us out too. I’ve seen the little glances Holden has given her. When he drops the tough guy act, I can see he’s interested in her too. If he can cool it and give her a chance, who knows how this can all turn out.

Maybe we can all find the things we’re missing in each other.