Chapter 1
Sophie stirred the honey into the cup of steaming hot mint tea and appreciated the strong scent flowing into her nostrils. The herb grew in wild abundance in a pot just above the window ledge of the large bay window. She needed it to try and combat the nausea that was churning inside her quivery stomach. She would have definitely preferred a stiff drink from the extensive wine cabinet in the large airy room with the soothing lavender wallpaper with the running daisies and daffodils. She had news to impart and she needed bolstering. She had been stupid and could not deny it. She could use her shattered grief as an excuse but that still did not hold water. She had slept with her boss and there had been consequences. What was even worse was the fact that she had been working at the Silver Springs ranch for only six months and had tumbled into bed with him. She recalled the night vividly. It had been exactly two months ago, and it had been raining heavily. Silver Springs was noted for that kind of extreme weather, especially in the spring. The deluge had started in the early afternoon and had continued into the night. The water drumming against the windowpane had brought back the memories flooding into her mind. She had come into the kitchen to make herself a pot of tea. She had been sitting at the kitchen counter sobbing her eyes out as the memories of her parents’ sudden death assailed her; when he had marched into the kitchen, shaking water from his shoulder length ash blonde hair.
“What the hell!” He had muttered as he stopped dead in the middle of the room and stared at her with her head folded on her arms, sobbing her heart out. She had tried to avoid the discussion, but he had insisted on finding out what had caused her to break down like that inside his kitchen. “Is the job too much for you?” He had asked her with steel in his sapphire blue eyes. Hunter McTaggart was a formidable six foot four inches of pure male and whipcord strength. He had not been the one to interview her online or maybe she would have had second thoughts about coming here. His assistant, a petite woman with gray hair and piercing green eyes had done the interviewing and had hesitated about offering her the job. They had wanted a male and Mrs. Jennings had told her bluntly that getting a woman cook for a male dominated environment was not a particularly good idea, especially one who looked like Sophie Witter. She had abandoned her pride and told her of her predicament. She was trying to recover from the grief of losing both parents at one go and wanted to get away from the scene of the loss. Silver Springs was in the middle of nowhere and would be perfect for her to recover.
“Mr. McTaggart is an extremely attractive man and women tend to be attracted to him for his looks as well as his immense wealth. You are a beautiful woman. Another thing too,,,,” She had paused. “He is a man with let us say – basic needs and ….”
“He likes women a lot.” Sophie had said quietly. “I have done my research Mrs. Jennings and know what kind of man Mr. McTaggart is. I can assure you without a doubt that I am not interested in any form of relationship. I just need somewhere to regroup and get my head on straight.”
“It’s a lot of work.” The woman had warned her. “The ranch stretches across a wide territory of many hundreds of miles, and most of the men that work there, are family men. Some are drifters. You would be cooking for hundreds, Ms. Witter. You will have a full complement of staff, but the workload will be tremendous. You are required to get up at the crack of dawn and will not be finished until late in the night when the men are fed, and the kitchen area has been tidied.” She had looked down at her notes and looked back at Sophie. “It says here that you are petite, your height being barely a little over five foot and you are a size two. It is a lot of work for a small woman. I am not sure you can handle it.”
Sophie had been determined to acquire the position and she was not above pleading, something she had never had to do before. She had gone to the best catering school and had been top of her class. She had worked at a five-star restaurant as a sous chef for several years and had endured the abuse of the head chef who had tried his best to get into her panties. When she had firmly turned him down, he had taken it personally and had put on the pressure, but she had endured and had learned a lot in the process. She could turn the simplest meal into a gourmet delight. She could manage a billion-dollar ranch with hungry cowboys with varied tastes. She had been given the job and had come to Silver Springs, the barren isolated place that belonged to the McTaggart’s family for generations.
She had been shown into a suite at the back of the sprawling ranch complete with a bedroom, sitting room, bathroom and a balcony that overlooked the green pasture where many of the cattle grazed. She had sat there in the room and shed several tears before shaking off the desolation and sorrow. She had not seen the owner of the ranch until she had been there for a week and he had barely acknowledged her with a nod and a curt hello as soon as he ladled out the thick oatmeal with cinnamon and cow’s milk. She had held her breath as he stared at her for a minute before grabbing his go cup of coffee and headed out.
And now she was pregnant with his baby. She had sworn to Ms. Jennings that she would not get involved and would be keeping her head down and doing her job. She sipped the scalding tea as she recalled the night when she had told him between tears about the cause of her intense grief. She should have protested when he took her into his arms and strode with her to his tan and sea-green suite where he had placed her on his king-sized bed. He had offered her wine from his cabinet and one thing had led to another. He had taken off her clothes as well as his and they had had sex. She sipped the tea hastily as she remembered how she had begged him to take her. She had gotten dressed right after and had practically fled from his suite to hers. The next morning, she had dreaded seeing him, but he had left very early without having anything to eat and she had not seen him for the rest of the day. It had been two days before she had seen him, and he had barely acknowledged her with a nod. That had been fine with her. If she did not lose her job because of gross stupidity, she could work with the cold shoulder. They could pretend that nothing had happened between them. Even though, it had been something that she had been unable to get off her mind. His lean tanned body and the expert way he used his hands to draw out her responses. She had been moaning before long and that was before he had used his mouth on her nipples. She finished the tea and was wiping down the counter when she heard the front door slam. It was late, almost 11.00p.m. and the housekeeper as well as the butler had turned in for the night. They were two of the household staff who lived on the ranch; the others were wives of the ranch hands and lived on cottages on the outskirts of the ranch house boundaries. She put away the dishcloth as soon as he came and stopped inside the doorway. She forced herself not to notice the tousled ash blond hair or the way the chambray shirt fitted his broad shoulders and solid chest. She shied away from recalling the muscles bunching in his chest with the scattering of pale blonde hair and the way her fingers had curled into the firm skin.
“Is everything okay?” He asked her as he stood there with his hat crumpled in one fist.
“Yes.” She folded the cloth and placed it onto the counter. “No.”