Sourdough Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

shouted.
    Sam lunged for two dishtowels lying on the drain board. He opened the oven door and stuck his hands inside as bubbly syrup overflowed the crust and spilled onto the hot cast iron. Steam hit him in the face but he held onto the pie tin, unwilling to give up the prize without a fight.
    “Careful. Careful! Don’t get burned,” Cassie cautioned. He felt her hovering behind him, looking over his shoulder. He was amazed at himself for ever having believed she was a boy, even for a second.
    Heat seared through the dishtowels and the pie bobbled in his hands. He straightened quickly and swung around, looking for a spot to drop it.
    “Here,” screamed Joey, pointing to an open spot on the counter. “Here. Here. Put it here.”
    He did. With a shove. It came to a halt with half the pie teetering over the edge of the counter.
    Cassie’s face flushed with surprise. Her eyes glowed with astonished pleasure that he’d saved the pie. When she laughed, happiness filled Sam’s chest. He had to drag his gaze away from her face before he gave himself away. This was going to be one long trip to California, no doubt about it. And he was looking forward to every step of the way.

 
     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    “Y ou saved the pie!”
    Cassie fussed over the sweet pastry as a mama cat does over her kittens. She’d forgotten her manly Cassidy façade entirely for the moment, her eyes sparkling with delight and her laughter filling the room. She moved the bubbling-hot dessert from the edge of the drain board and put it on the sill of the open window to cool.
    Sam was waiting for realization to hit her as she brushed some tendrils from her forehead. “I was just so sure you were going to drop it,” she said on a breath, looking over at him. “I can’t imagine how hot that was.” She gazed at the pie and fanned it with her napkin. “It would have been just dreadful if it’d been smashed to bits on the floor.”
    “I can’t argue with that,” Sam replied, captivated by her pretty face.
    “Cassie… dee ,” Joey spoke up for the first time since the hullabaloo had settled down. “It looks yummy even if the edges are burnt some.” The boy poked at the blackened crust with a small finger.
    When Joey fumbled her name again, Cassie turned from Sam’s gaze to compose herself. Her boy façade slid down over her lovely features as she remembered her masculine pretense.
    “Is it cool enough? Can we have a slice?” Joey asked eagerly.
    “Not for a while yet, little brother,” she replied, this time with the deeper voice. “Help me get the kitchen cleaned up first and by the time we’re done, it’ll be ready.”
    Both Sam and Joey cleared the dishes from the table as Cassie pumped water into the dishpan.
    “Sam,” she said over her shoulder, “why don’t you pick a room down the hall. They’re all empty except the last. That’s Joey’s and mine.”
    The clock over the parlor mantel chimed seven times. “All right, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
    She nodded.
    Sam went to the front door and retrieved the bedroll and saddlebags he’d left there earlier before heading down the hall. As Cassie had said, all the rooms were unoccupied, a condition unusual for a boarding house. He entered one and looked around. The cat was curled in the middle of the bed.
    Unpacking for him consisted of draping his saddlebags across a chair. That took all of two seconds. He sat on the bed, testing the firmness. The cat opened her eyes and looked at him. She yawned once and laid her head back between her paws.
    Before returning to the kitchen, Sam veered down the dimly-lit hall and stopped at the door of Cassie’s room, which was cracked open a few inviting inches. Temptation was strong. He stilled, listening to make sure no one was coming his way.
    Where was the deed? Directly in his line of vision a satchel leaned against the wall and a few garments covered a rocking chair in the corner. He listened again for any sound of