Home Is Where Hank Is (Cowboys To The Rescue 1) Read Online Free PDF

not?”
    “She’s got some manners,” Claire said, slapping Derek’s hand off the biscuits. “Unlike some people around here.”
    Hank gave them a granite stare, then turned back to Alex. “Claire get you settled in, then?”
    “Oh, yes, I’m all unpacked.”
    Her soft drawling voice melted around him like the sun on a warm summer day. “We appreciate you cooking tonight, seeing as how you just got in.”
    “That’s my job, isn’t it?”
    He nodded, then the hands began to complain about delaying supper. “We’ll talk after we eat.”
    He placed a hand at the small of her back and walked her around to the empty chair at the end of the table nearest the kitchen. Releasing her reluctantly, he pulled out the chair.
    Alex quickly sat. She murmured a brief thank you, then pulled her napkin out as Hank moved to his seat at the other end.
    The hands reached for the nearest platters of food but stopped when he cleared his throat. “Let’s say grace first, boys.”
    They looked at him as if he’d declared he was half Brahma bull. He stared each of them into removing their hats and bowing their heads. Alex and Claire smiled at him, then lowered their heads. Hank bowed his own head and tried to remember prayers his father had uttered. Failing that, he settled for a shorter, customized version of the prayer he’d heard at countless rodeos.
    When he finished, Alex raised her head, smiling at the unique prayer. She opened her mouth to comment on it, but instead her jaw fell slack.
    The men attacked the food as if they hadn’t been fed in a week. Forks and serving spoons blended with hands and arms as they vied to see who could fill his plate the fastest. They looked like a pack of dogs descending on one bowl of food.
    Making no attempt to join the fray, Alex caught Claire’s eye.
    The girl leaned over. “I told you.”
    “Is it always this bad?”
    Claire nodded. “Better get. some food while the getting’s good. There won’t be a crumb left in five minutes.”
    Alex grabbed a biscuit as the plate passed, then settled back in her chair to watch the men consume their food with voracious appetites. Nobody said a single word until every scrap had disappeared down their gullets. The only male that had a modicum of manners was Hank. Though he didn’t say anything, either, he didn’t act like a lion about to devour a Christian.
    When all was gone, they looked at her expectantly.
    She chuckled. “Yes, I made dessert.”
    They yahooed as she went to get two warm cheese pies.
     
    “Sure was tasty, Alex,” Jed said as he rose from the table. “You even cooked the steaks right.”
    “Claire told me you like them just this side of charred.”
    “Well, we’re mighty glad you’re here.”
    Jed’s words caught Alex off guard. How long had it been since someone cared whether she was around or not? But instead of making her happy, the warm, fuzzy feeling frightened her. She didn’t belong with these people. This was just a temporary job. After she said goodbye four weeks from now, she’d probably never see them again.
    She stood abruptly to gather the dinner plates. “Thanks, Jed.”
    The other hands added their compliments as they followed Jed out.
    “You coming, boss?” Buck asked as he paused in the doorway.
    Hank leaned back in his chair. “I’ll be along directly. Get that new mare warmed up and the calves in the pen.”
    Alex had learned that the three hands worked on this ranch because of the time Hank spent with them on their roping and riding skills as they trained stock for the rodeo. Every night after supper, they turned on the floodlights illuminating the large corral and worked on roping calves or riding wild horses.
    Claire told her Hank had a reputation on the rodeo circuit for the roping horses he trained. Derek had come all the way from Texas to work with Hank and learn from him.
    Alex could feel Hank’s gaze on her as she scraped the dinner dishes. She darted a glance at him. The heat in his