Cowboy Logic - B.A. Tortuga Page 0,28

bit of a foodie.

“Thanks. I like a little mustard too, but the kids don’t.” He loved to barbecue and grill, so he could hold forth.

“Oh. I love the tang of mustard. I put it on chicken thighs.”

“I love it. Yellow, brown, pickled mustard seeds.” Jericho got all his shit on a tray, then headed outside. He had a real decent outdoor kitchen setup, with a grill and a sink and even a wee fridge.

“Pickled mustard seeds? Share with me.” Anderson bounced. Actually bounced.

“Sure. I mean, I just make a quick pickling liquid out of red wine vinegar, dill, water, and sugar. Pour it over the whole mustard seed and let it sit. Boom. On pork? Oh my God.” Jericho was going on and on, but Anderson was listening, not one little bit bored.

“Damn. It would rock with pickled onions too. Or both. At the same time.”

“We should try it.” He could get the stuff in a pan on the grill…

“Why not? How can I help?”

A sexy man with money who liked kids and could cook. Jesus save him, he was going down.

“Let me get the ribs on.” He got the meat on the gas grill, making sure he could avoid flare-ups before closing the lid.

“Those smell amazing. God.” Anderson rubbed his belly.

“Hungry, huh? I have some chips and dip, if you want. I can eat it too,” he teased. “You know?”

Anderson swatted him. “I’m starving, but I need to see this pickled miracle firsthand.”

“Well, come on!” Once they got back to the kitchen, he pulled out his granny’s onion dip and a cheese ball, and some crackers and chips. “Grab a red onion out of the basket there.”

“What are you two doing? Travis is asking after you.” Bailey pinned Anderson with a look.

“Cooking.” Anderson stared her down. “He’s showing me pickled mustard seeds.”

“Oh, well. Should I send him in here?”

“Sure.” Anderson grinned. “We’ll have a chemistry lesson.”

She narrowed her eyes at them, but Anderson looked bland as butter, so she huffed and walked off.

“She’s pissed.”

Anderson shrugged. “She’s worried for your virginity.”

“Well, she might want to worry about you. I’m hungry enough I could eat you up.” He fed Anderson a cracker with dip.

Anderson licked his fingertips and made his eyes cross.

“Mmm. This is homemade.”

“It is. Worcestershire sauce. That’s the secret.”

“Tricky! I’m so stealing that.” Anderson gave him this admiring look, and he was starting to think he’d fallen and hit his head. There was no way Anderson should be so interested in his redneck ass. Anderson was hot and experienced and…

Looking at him like Anderson could snap him up.

He didn’t think the man could fake that either. Maybe it was a city mouse, country mouse fantasy or something, but he’d take it.

“Dad! Are you keeping Mr. Logic all to yourself?”

“I’m teaching him to pickle mustard seeds. If you stay, you help,” he told Travis.

“Okay.” Trav shocked him by shrugging, then pulling out vinegar, mustard seeds, and sugar. Someone had been paying attention to Dad’s foodie lectures.

“Wow. I thought you hated my mustard stuff.”

Travis gave him a tiny grin. “It’s okay. Ellie hates it, but she’s little.”

“You’re right about that, you know.” Anderson told Travis. “Little ones taste more than we do.”

“Do they? I thought you, like, learned to like sh-stuff.” Travis looked at him, a flash of guilt showing.

“Good catch, kiddo,” Jericho praised.

“I’ve learned to like a lot of schtuff too.” Anderson didn’t miss a beat.

“Like what?”

“Hmm.” Anderson grinned hugely. “A lot of fish things we would never see here. Squid. Crab. Sopa del mar. And then there’s the Asian food. Oh, it can be so weird.”

“I like Chinese food,” Travis said. “Like spicy chicken? And I’ve had sushi.”

“Mmm. I do too. But there’s Vietnamese and Thai and Korean and Cambodian and Indian… I’ll have to show you some sites with recipes. I bet you’d love Korean barbecue.”

“I love barbecue.” Travis looked at Jericho with a light in his eyes. “Dad, how extra!”

Funny, what was “basic” when it was him, became “extra” with Anderson.

“Yep. Logic is super extra.” He winked at Anderson. “Okay, get me a pan for Logic’s onions and mustard seeds, buddy. The one I used for sauce on the grill. There’s chips and dip and cheese ball.”

“Yes, sir. Did you try the cheese ball, Mr. Logic? It’s so good.” Travis was in such a wonderful mood. At twelve, that was stunning.

“I haven’t. I tried the dip. It was amazing.”

“The cheese ball is better.” Travis waggled his eyebrows. To his credit, he really did love it. With Chicken