Almost Fired by the Cowboy - Natalie Dean Page 0,36

sweat turned cold as one of their staff answered. That had to be Nova. She was in the manor. She was in the manor and soon she was going to be in the kitchen, and he was going to have to bake with her for hours.

He should have thought through the whole situation a lot more.

Except it hadn’t really seemed like that big of a deal until the time with the nose tags thing. Sure, she always threw him off and made him feel… perplexed, but something had shifted since their time in the pens a couple of days earlier.

She’d been nice to him. And not in an overly sweet, cloying way that some folks like to fawn over him. There hadn’t been that appreciative glint in her eye like a woman sizing him up for amorous reasons either. No, she’d teased him like they were equals, then complimented him when he did a good job. And he believed her too. Something about Nova made her seem like the last person who would patronize him or say something that she didn’t mean.

And what she’d said about trick riding stuck with him. He’d quit because it hadn’t really been all that respectable. His father had said multiple times that trick riding was for cowgirls who couldn’t handle the important tasks of ranching and had rarely come to shows. Sal remembered being told by some of his other rich friends that it was a waste of money, that it made the other men in Dad’s circle insinuate that Sal was some sort of fop and that McLintoc Miller had a soft hand. That was right about when he stopped and threw himself entirely into building as much muscle as he could. His teenage self promised that he’d show them who was a fop!

In the back of his mind, he knew it didn’t work that way. Muscles weren’t an indicator of a man’s worth. But that mean, biting voice kept telling him that he had to be big enough to prove his manliness anyway. It was exhausting.

“Hello there,” Nova said, her escort bringing her to the kitchen before giving a polite head tilt and exiting. “I hope I’m not late.”

Sal checked his watch. It was ten minutes before ten. Hardly late.

“Not at all, darling!” Mom said, flittering away from where she’d been standing beside Sal to rush over and throw her arms about Nova in a hug. The young woman certainly seemed surprised by the action, stiffening slightly, before relaxing and accepting the hug. Good, Sal wouldn’t abide anyone who brushed off his mother. “How are you? Did you have a good morning?”

“I did have a good morning. I’ve been excited and I’ll admit a little nervous about coming to help you bake.”

“Well, thank you so much again for agreeing to help me. When Sal told me that you agreed, I just about passed out from relief. Those cupcakes were probably the best cupcakes I’ve ever had.”

“I’m honored that you want me to help. Is there that much on the to-do list?”

“Well, I want to make some plain loaves, some dessert ones, cinnamon rolls, lemon squares, key lime pie and of course cookies, cupcakes and some other smaller cakes. It’s a lot for one person, although I have managed before.”

Yeah, she really had. Sal remembered those times, Mom baking up a storm in the kitchen while the help tried to clean up and assist however she needed. But Mrs. Miller had always been the queen of the kitchen, and their hired staff was mostly for cleaning, laundry, and the like. Not entirely skills that were useful in the kitchen. And considering that Solomon had increased their pay and reduced their hours, it wasn’t like those particular employees were around all too often.

“That’s right impressive! Just tell me where you need me, and I’ll get started. I really am only a novice at this, mind you.”

“Goodness! I just love that accent of yours. It’s so pretty! Where are you from, sweetheart?”

“North Yorkshire, on the Air Force base there. My family’s settled just south of Liverpool now.”

“Lovely. I have always adored British accents. I bet we sound pretty funny to you.”

“Not really. I think most of you sound real nice. Warm-like.”

Mom made an approving sound that almost sounded like a swoon. Abruptly, Sal was starting to get why all of his brother’s lady friends tended to visit the house so much. Clearly his mother was different with them than she was with all of her