“What were you hoping to find here in Montana?” Peg asked quietly.
“I don’t even know,” Jane admitted.
“So you’re looking to be supported,” Peg concluded. “In memory of Josh.”
“No.” Irritation boiled up inside her. “I was looking for God’s leading in the next step of my life. This is a time of transition—and I’m not here looking for handouts. As soon as we get this inheritance sorted out, I’ll stand by my word and leave.”
“And the cattle—you’ll sell them back to Colt?” Peg asked.
“That’s the plan,” she replied. “What use do I have for cattle?”
“And the girls—” Peg said. “What about their inheritance?”
“I haven’t had long to think about it, but I always did want to buy a house and start a bed-and-breakfast,” Jane said. “It might work well with their inheritance, because when my girls are grown, their inheritance will have grown, too. It’ll be secure in the value of the land. I have no intention of nabbing their money and making off with it. I want to build a life for them.”
Peg eyed her for a moment, then nodded and said, “Smart.”
“Thank you.” Jane picked up the fork again and took another bite. No matter how it tasted, she needed to eat.
“There are women who go for all they can get,” Peg said. “I was never one of them.”
The inheritance... Peg hadn’t been named in the will. Was she going to suffer because of Jane’s daughters being remembered?
“Your brother’s ranch—” Jane began.
Peg waved her off. “My late husband left me money. I’m fine.”
“Oh...” That made Jane feel a bit better. “So what women are you talking about?”
Before Peg could answer, the side door opened and Peg turned away again. Colt came back inside, taking off his cowboy hat as he crossed the threshold.
“Hey,” Colt said. “So, the cook quit.”
“What?” Peg whirled around. “No notice? You can’t stand for that!”
“His brother was in a bad accident. He’s got to go help him out with his business. It’s understandable,” Colt replied.
“What will you do?” Jane asked.
“Well...” Colt rubbed his hand through his dark hair, his gaze flickering toward his aunt uncertainly. “I’m going to post a notice that we need a cook ASAP, and...we’ll have to cover until then.”
“You mean, you want one of us to cover in the kitchen until then,” Peg retorted.
Jane raised an eyebrow and met Colt’s gaze.
“We’ve got twenty ranch hands who live on premises,” Colt said, turning to Jane. “We run a canteen to feed them, and until I can bring in another cook, I’m going to need some help out there.”
“I’ll do it. I’ll do it,” Peg muttered.
Colt shot Jane a grimace. “Actually, Peg, I was going to see if Jane would help me out in the kitchen. I mean, if she’d be willing to do it. And if you might be willing to watch the babies for a few hours a day.”
He looked over at Jane again, and she could see the pleading in his eyes.
“I don’t know,” Jane said. “I mean, the girls are used to day care, but they don’t know Peg yet, and—” Why not just have Peg do it? That’s what she was wondering but didn’t quite want to say.
“Could we talk outside?” Colt asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.
Jane pushed herself to her feet and followed him to the side door. Peg’s sharp gaze seemed to dig into a spot between her shoulder blades and they stepped outside. Colt closed the door firmly after them.
“They’ll quit on me, Jane,” he said seriously as the door shut. “My aunt is a terrible cook. I’d have a mutiny on my hands, and I’ve got some well-trained ranch hands who are in demand. They’d walk on me, and I’m on a skeleton crew as it is. I can’t afford to lose them.”
“Is she that bad?” Jane asked with a short laugh.
Colt’s expression remained grim. “Yes.”
“How do you know I can cook?” she countered.
“I don’t. I’m hoping you’re better than Peg.” He smiled slightly. “Are you?”
“I’m not bad,” she replied. In fact, she was good enough that she felt confident in opening that bed-and-breakfast, but she wasn’t here to start any new family feuds. “I hold my own. But Peg has already agreed to do it, and I don’t see how you’re going to get out of that without hurting her feelings. And who’s to say she even wants to babysit two little live wires? My girls are sweethearts, but they know when they outnumber someone.”
“Leave that to me,” Colt said. “It wouldn’t be for more than a day or two, until I get someone else in there. That’s what it’s like on a ranch like this one—we’re a small outfit, and the profit margin is slim. We pitch in. Granted, I don’t normally impose on guests, but I figure you’re family, so...”
Jane smiled at that. “Well, you’ll have to smooth it over with Peg.”
“Her bark is worse than her bite,” he replied, catching her eye, and he smiled in a way that made his eyes warm. “I can promise you that.”
“Is it?” Jane asked with a low laugh.
He shrugged. “You’ll have to take my word for it. She’s a teddy bear if you know how to talk to her.”
He brushed past her, his hand lingering on her shoulder, then he headed back up the steps, opening the side door again. “Peg?”
This Jane had to see, so she followed him inside. Peg had filled a sink with water and was about to start washing dishes. She looked up as they came in, raising her eyebrows, but staying silent.
“I was hoping you
