The Treasure Man. Pamela Browning

with her new husband in Mexico.” Chloe brushed away a grasshopper who wouldn’t survive long if Butch caught a glimpse of him.

      “Tayloe’s gone from the inn for good, I take it.”

      “I think so. Gwynne, too. Once she gets her master’s degree, she’ll have the credentials to work with kids who have serious speech problems. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to live in a larger city.”

      “Good for her.” Ben touched a match to the charcoal and stood back while it caught fire. “Now that we’ve got this going, I’ll finish cooking the potatoes,” he said.

      Ben started up the steps, and she trailed him into the kitchen, where he asked for milk, butter and salt. From his pocket he produced a packet of cheese. Before scooping the potatoes out of their shells, he dumped all these ingredients into a bowl.

      Chloe watched, fascinated by his kitchen skills. She wondered if he’d cooked for his wife when he’d been married. She wondered how long the marriage had lasted.

      “We’re making twice-baked potatoes,” Ben said. “You can help me put the filling back in the shells.” He handed her a spoon.

      She wasn’t much of a cook herself, though Tara had often said that she made the best fajitas in the world. Ben’s delegation of duties took her by surprise.

      “I’m not sure I—”

      “Of course you can,” he said, demonstrating how to spoon the filling out of the bowl and smooth it into the potato skin.

      “I’ve always been such a klutz at things like this,” Chloe said apologetically.

      “You must be manually dexterous, or you wouldn’t be good at making jewelry,” Ben pointed out, looking over her shoulder. “You’re doing fine.”

      Chloe decided that she liked the job after all, and when she set her stuffed potatoes beside Ben’s, no one could have told the difference.

      “High five,” he said, holding up his hand, and she slapped him one in exuberance. She was beginning to feel really comfortable around him, as if they’d known each other for a long time. Which they had, of course, but now they related as adult to adult.