All she’d done was bake the lasagna, but she still felt a surge of satisfaction to see the men eating heartily. She’d made the salad to go on the side, and the garlic toast. It hadn’t exactly been taxing. She hadn’t thought of getting a plate for herself, but now that she was smelling the food and watching the men power through it, she wished she’d thought of it.
She let the door swing shut again and turned to survey the mess. She headed for the dishwasher. She could start with a few dishes, at least.
Her phone pinged, and she glanced down at it. Peg had sent her a picture of the girls eating macaroni and cheese—cheese up the eyebrows on both of them. She smiled, then typed in a reply—Adorable! I’m hurrying to clean up, and then I’ll be back.
Peg seemed to do better with the girls than Jane had anticipated. Jane had gone back to the house after breakfast, and only came back a few hours later to start dinner, and from what she could see the girls liked Peg. Peg softened up to be almost unrecognizable when she talked to them. Maybe there was some family recognition there, because all three of them seemed to be enjoying their time together. This was what she’d come for, wasn’t it? She’d wanted her girls to be able to have family—and seeing pictures of them happily cared for by their great-aunt... Hopefully her girls would grow up with more family connection than she had.
The sound of cowboy boots on the kitchen floor made her turn, and she realized belatedly that she’d been hoping to see Colt. Instead, a gangly blond-haired cowboy sauntered into the kitchen. His jeans were dirty from a day of work, and he shoved a thumb into his belt loop, glancing around the kitchen.
“Evening,” he said.
“Hi.” She gave him a quick smile and tucked her phone back into her pocket. “Can I help you with something?”
“I heard we had a new cook.”
“I’m very temporary,” she said, turning back toward the sink and starting the water. “You’ll have a proper cook soon enough.”
“That was a good meal,” he countered. “You should stick around.”
“Thanks. But your last cook was the one who actually made it. I didn’t do that much.”
The cowboy crossed the kitchen and leaned against the counter next to her. He eyed her for a moment, his gaze moving over her in a way she didn’t like.
“I’m Ross,” he said. “Who are you?”
“I’m out of your league, Ross,” she replied with a small smile. “And also busy.”
Ross barked out a laugh. “A guy can still hope, can’t he? You single?”
“Should it matter?” She raised an eyebrow. “I said I’m busy. You’d better get back to work.”
“I have a few minutes,” he said, settling in against the counter. “You’re cute.”
She sighed. This cowboy was at least five years younger than she was, and he likely didn’t get around women too often working this ranch.
“Ross,” she said pointedly. “I have to clean up. Please. Let me just finish up.”
“You could take a little break,” he said with a shrug. “Who’d know?”
“What part of ‘I’m busy’ don’t you understand?” she snapped.
“You want to go out sometime?” he pressed. “I get an evening off tonight. I could take you into town. You ever been to the Burnt Barn?”
What was that? A bar? She didn’t drink, and she didn’t frequent bars, either, for that matter. It didn’t actually matter. She ignored him and pulled open the dishwasher.
“You could probably use some fun,” he went on. “Loosen up. Have a good time.”
“No!” Jane sent him an annoyed look, her voice rising. “Look, buddy. I’m a single mom. I have two kids.” She raised two fingers in case he needed the visual. “I’m not where anyone goes for a good time, okay? My fun days are well in the past. So do yourself a favor and find someone your own age.”
Ross’s jovial smile chilled, and he straightened. But before he could answer her, another pair of boots sounded behind them and Jane’s stomach clenched. She could eventually get rid of one thick-skulled cowboy, but if she had to deal with more than one of them... She swallowed, sending up a quick prayer before she turned around.
This cowboy she knew, and she felt a wave of relief to see Colt saunter into the kitchen. He took his cowboy hat off and his dark gaze swept between them, an unimpressed look on his face.
“Evening, Ross,” Colt said, his voice deep and loud. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“Uh, yeah—” Ross glanced toward Jane once more, but that smile had returned. “If you change your mind, now—”
“Not going to happen,” she said, giving him a tight smile of her own. “Have a good night.”
Ross headed toward the kitchen door, but Colt shot out a hand and caught Ross by the shoulder.
“Wait,” Colt said. “Can I have a word with you?”
“I just stopped in to say hello,” Ross said quickly, but his tone was suddenly a whole lot more respectful.
“I heard her tell you real clear that she wasn’t interested,” Colt said, lowering his voice, but not low enough that Jane couldn’t make out what he was saying. “And when a man hears those words, that’s his cue to clear out. Did your old man never teach you that? It’s called consent, and it goes for pretty much every interaction you have with a woman.”
Color rose in Ross’s face, and Jane dropped her gaze, almost feeling sorry for the guy. But not quite.
“Now, if she wanted to talk to you, that’s another story,” Colt went on, his tone like iron. “If she wanted to go out with you, there’s no law against that. But if she doesn’t want to be talking to you—”
“Yeah, yeah, got it,” Ross interrupted, and he made a move to keep walking, but Colt’s hand was
