“Did you call Doc?”
“He was doing his rounds and will be here shortly. Apparently, it is something that is going around. And it is contagious.”
“Any signs of anyone else having it?” Hunter took the coffee from his saddle bag and took a sip.
“None so far but Jed had been exposed to the cattle that were down.” Ben glanced at him. “I think we should let the doc do a screening and check for possible carriers. We don’t have time for an outbreak like the last one.”
Hunter nodded grimly. Five years ago there had been an outbreak of a particularly vicious strain of flu that had almost crippled the animals as well as the ranch hands, leaving half of them laid up in bed and two who had succumbed to the illness. It had left the ranch reeling and it had taken several months for them to recover. “I think we should only eat outdoors from now on. I do not want the household staff to get sick.” He was thinking of Sophie and the baby she was carrying.
“We are going to have to monitor it carefully.” Ben remarked.
*****
Marie breezed into the kitchen at a quarter past ten, the exotic scent of her perfume permeating the air. Sophie was standing at the counter making up the next day menu when she came into the kitchen.
“Something smells delicious.” She purred as she moved towards the trestle table. “You must be the new cook.”
“Chef,” Sophie said coolly, instantly disliking the woman. She looked coolly beautiful in an expensive and complete inappropriate silk blouse and figure-hugging skirt with a scarf wrapped around her neck.
The woman tinkled with laughter as she walked to stand next to Sophie. “My chef Francois has the same issues. “Those pancakes look so good, but I have to watch my waist. Hunter likes his women trim and without any extra flesh. I will take the boiled eggs and breakfast biscuits and some freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“Help yourself,” Sophie told her, disliking the woman even more. Hunter had told her that he was no longer seeing her and yet here she was waltzing in and giving orders as she was the mistress of the place.
“Oh,” Marie’s green eyes assessed the woman. “Where are the maids?”
“You are telling me, you need help to put the meal onto a plate?” Sophie took the plate from her and placed the eggs and biscuit onto it before handing it to her. “Want me to pour the OJ as well?”
“Would you?” Marie asked her sweetly as she stared at the woman contemplatively. She was very attractive in a subdued kind of way. Her thick dark hair was pinned back neatly and the cotton dress she had on brought out the flawless caramel skin. Large dark brown eyes were very expressive, and she had long spiky lashes. She was petite and her shape was outlined in the dress. As far as she could tell, the woman had been employed in a matter of months and was behaving as she was the boss of the kitchen. She was also attractive enough to catch Hunter’s attention and Marie was wondering if that was the case. Could he have discarded her for this cook? Her eyes glinted with wrath. If that was the case, she was going to have to something about that.
“Thanks darling!” She took the frosted glass of OJ and walked over to the table to take a seat. “How do you like working here?”
“It’s fine.” Sophie said briefly as she made notes on her tablet. “Enjoy your meal.” She added as she left the kitchen.
Marie watched her leave the kitchen with a contemplative look on her face.
Chapter 6
“I am happy you could make it.” Trevor said in genuine pleasure as he got to his feet as she approached the table. He held out his hands and clasped hers. “I am glad to see that you are feeling much better.” His eyes scoured her face. “You are feeling much better, aren’t you?”
Sophie nodded with a smile. She was still simmering from the confrontation with Maria Langston. The woman had spoken as if she was still in a relationship with Hunter. Had he lied to her and if so, what was his reason. Was it to make her feel better? And if so, why did he care? He had told her that he did not want to disrespect her, and he was there for her. Shaking her head, she concentrated on the man in front of her. “I am feeling much better, thanks.”
“You missed something,” he told her with an excited gleam in his eyes. “McTaggart was at his best with the taming of that spirited horse, the Arabian. For a moment there, we thought that he would be thrown but he has proven what we already knew. That he is the best in the business.” He shook his head. “Sorry for talking shop but horses are my top thing. I have quite a barn full of them back home. What are you having?”
Sophie had looked at the menu while he was speaking and had decided on the cold tomato soup and freshly made bread, praying that it would settle in her stomach.
“I will have the steak and kidney pie.” Trevor told the waiter with a wave of his hand. “Now my dear, tell me all about yourself.”
“What do you want to know?” She asked lightly as she sipped the water that had been set on the table. Her nausea did not trouble her much during the days, but she had been known to feel dizzy and nauseous at intervals during the course of the day. She was hoping that this would not be one of them. She had almost called to cancel on the man seated across from her but had had to get out of the ranch house because of the woman who had been in the kitchen.
“Everything….! Like what is a beautiful woman like you doing in this isolated town? And why are you still single?”
“I like Silver Springs. And I find it challenging to cook for such a mixture of the men who work on the ranch. And I told you that I am kind of attached.”
“I am afraid that you are going to have to explain that to me.” He told her quietly. “I don’t mean to press the matter, but I happen to like you.” He held up a hand as she opened her mouth to say something. “I know what you are going to say, and I don’t care. I could tell you that we can be friends. We already exchanged numbers and are practically friends. There is something about you, not just the fact that you are an exceptionally beautiful woman and a darned good cook.” His hazel eyes twinkled. “I am a confirmed bachelor my dear, who is more committed about the animals on the ranch than I am to people. I live alone and have been doing that for as long as I can remember.”
“You have never been in a relationship?” Sophie asked as she found herself relaxing beneath his easy manner.
“One,” he waited until the waiter had placed their meal in front of them. Sophie took a deep breath and tried to ignore the strong smell of the pie. Trevor dug into the pie and took a bite before resuming the conversation. “I was in the army when I was barely twenty years old and was deployed to Japan for five years. That was where I met Christine,” he smiled in reminiscence as he continued talking. “She was working there as an exchange teacher, teaching English to the Japanese kids. She was this quiet and ladylike person and we clicked instantly.”