sandwiches,” he said, scooping one crusty, golden sandwich off the griddle. “Hope that’s okay.”
“I grew up on a cattle ranch,” Gloria said. “We had beef for every meal.”
He smiled at her and pushed the plated sandwich toward her. As he ladled soup into a bowl, Chris returned to the kitchen with his wife. Bev definitely looked like she’d just gotten out of bed, maybe for the first time that day.
Matt watched the two of them as Chris helped her into a chair and then said something to her in a quiet voice. He came into the kitchen, not quite able to shake the worry from his expression before Matt saw it.
His heart pounded hard for a moment, and he wanted to ask if Bev was okay. Something told him not to, and he handed the ready bowl of soup to Chris. “I’ll do another,” he said. He did, and once Gloria had it in her hand, she turned to join Bev at the table.
Matt put the other sandwiches on plates and took all three of them to the table too, while Chris dished up a couple more bowls of soup. When everyone had food at the table, Matt smiled around at everyone, his eyes lingering on Bev.
Her skin color pinked up as she ate, and soon enough, she was talking to Gloria like they were old friends. Gloria possessed plenty of charisma, and she could play a part really well. Matt liked being with her, and he didn’t know what that meant for him.
They’d dated in the past, but she hadn’t given any indication that she’d like to do that again. Matt had resisted the idea in the beginning as well, but today’s events had his thoughts turning in a new direction.
“We better go find that cow,” Gloria said once they’d all finished eating.
“Yep.” Matt got up and started clearing the table. Gloria worked with him, and they loaded the dishes into the dishwasher.
“Leave the pots and pans,” Chris called from the table. “I’ll take care of them.”
“All right,” Matt said, and he quickly wiped the counter, loaded up the leftover bread and butter, his cheese and garlic powder, and he and Gloria stepped out the front door.
“That was fun,” Gloria said. “Thanks for inviting me.”
“Better than eating alone, right?”
“I don’t mind eating alone sometimes.”
“I seem to remember that about you.” He slid her a smile, which she surprisingly returned. He sobered, something unsettling on his mind. “Do you…did you think Bev looked really ill?”
“Yes,” Gloria said simply.
“Do you think I should say something to Gray?”
“You think he doesn’t know?” Gloria studied him, her pretty eyes searching his.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know how often he comes to see them.” Probably regularly, but maybe not right when Bev got up…at noon.
“If you’re worried about it, and you think you should tell him, you probably should.”
Matt just nodded, because he didn’t want to overstep his bounds. At the same time, he knew Gray Hammond. They’d been working together for fifteen years, and he considered Gray one of his closest friends.
As they approached his cabin, he asked, “Would you come with me? To talk to him about his mother.”
Gloria paused and looked at him again. He wasn’t sure what was going on in her head, because she’d always been good at hiding how she really felt. Working on a busy cattle ranch, with dozens of rowdy men, she’d had to be.
“All right,” she said. “Let me know when.”
“Thanks, Gloria. Give me five minutes to put this stuff away, and I’ll be right back to help you round up that cow.” He started up the back steps. “Come on in out of the wind, if you’d like. I won’t be long.”
He didn’t expect her to follow him, but she did, and Matt’s nerves rattled around as he preceded her into his home. At the same time, her presence comforted him, and Matt wondered if he was ready to start thinking about allowing another woman into his life.
Chapter 21
Gray Hammond arrived at HMC just before lunchtime, his worry for his son propelling him all the way from the farm an hour away. He hadn’t called Hunt and told him he was bringing lunch, and Gray wasn’t terribly keen on going inside the building.
“You’ve been gone for years,” he told himself. While the company provided excellent benefits and wages, surely a good majority of the people he’d known would be gone by now.
Gray reached for the sandwiches he’d stopped to get, and he