The Rancher and the Runaway Bride. Susan Mallery

motioned to the table. “There’s no assigned seating, so plant your butt wherever’s comfortable. Tex serves plenty to eat.”

      “If it d-doesn’t k-kill you on the way down,” Ziggy said, smiling at Rita.

      “I’m hungry enough that nothing’s going to kill me,” Rita said. “Who are you?”

      “Ziggy.”

      “Nice to meet you.”

      One by one the men introduced themselves. They were cautious and polite. Brady figured that would last a couple of days, and then Rita would become one of the boys. At least that was his hope. Except maybe for Ziggy, who was staring at Rita with a wide-eyed puppy dog gaze. Ziggy and Rita were about the same age, although he’d always thought of Ziggy as a kid.

      The sharp clang of a bell cut through the conversation. The men quickly moved to the table and took seats. Ziggy held out a chair. “M-Miss R-Rita,” he said, his stutter more pronounced than usual.

      Brady frowned. He didn’t want her treated that differently. But before he could say something, Rita moved to the offered chair and sat down.

      “Thanks, Ziggy. Do you do this for a different cowboy every night?”

      There was a moment of stunned silence, followed by an explosion of laughter. Ziggy’s face turned nearly as red as his hair. “No, ma’am. I ain’t never held a chair out for a man in my l-life.”

      “I see.” She took a sip of iced tea. “Tell you what. Tomorrow night I’ll hold out your chair, then we’ll be even.”

      “Yes, Miss Rita.”

      She wrinkled her nose. “Just Rita, please. At six in the morning when you come to collect your horse, I’m going to be knee-deep in hay and horse manure. I won’t feel much like being called ‘Miss Anything’ then, okay?”

      Brady saw that Ziggy had placed Rita to the right of the head of the table. As if he, Brady, were responsible for her. He was about to protest, then he realized it was probably for the best. Thinking he had a personal interest in Rita would keep the men from making any moves on her.

      “Grub’s on,” Tex said, walking in the room carrying a large tray. He set it on a side table, then started placing bowls and platters in front of the men. On his second trip, he leaned close to Rita, caught sight of her and froze. His gaze narrowed.

      “Tex, this is Rita,” Brady said. “She’s the new groom.”

      “Uh-huh.” Tex straightened. “You much of a cook?”

      Rita stared at him. “I’m terrible in the kitchen.”

      “Uh-huh. We don’t do much in the way of fancy food here. No decorated cookies or sushi.”

      “I’ve never had sushi,” Rita said. “I always thought raw fish was something you fed to cats.”

      “Uh-huh.” He returned to the kitchen.

      Brady took his seat. “Tex takes a little getting used to.”

      “He’s jealous because you smell better than the food,” Quinn called from halfway down the table.

      “Next time I won’t bother showering,” Rita mumbled under her breath. “Then that won’t be a problem.”

      The dining room door opened and Ty stepped inside. A couple of men greeted him, but the majority didn’t acknowledge his presence. The tall, dark-haired loner didn’t encourage idle chitchat.

      “Evening, Ty,” Brady said.

      “Boss.” Ty walked toward the empty chair at the far end of the table, then paused when he saw Rita. “Ma’am.”

      “This is Rita,” Brady told him. “She’s the new groom.”

      Eyes so dark they were black didn’t show a flicker of emotion. Ty nodded briefly to Rita, then took his seat. Brady resisted the urge to slide his chair closer to hers, as if it was necessary to claim her. The point was to treat her like one of the guys. If that was possible. He’d already done a lot more thinking about her than was safe.

      “You planning on eating or do you want to just look at the food?” Tex growled when he returned with another tray.

      Brady realized they’d all just been sitting there, waiting for Rita to start. He nudged her arm and nodded toward a bowl overflowing with mashed potatoes. She grabbed the serving spoon and dropped a mound of fluffy potatoes onto her plate. As she passed the bowl to her left, Tex set a huge platter of fried chicken in front of her, then glared defiantly.

      Rita glared right back. “Looks great,” she said, and speared the largest piece.

      “You mean to tell me you ain’t got one of those prissy little girl appetites?”

      “That’s exactly what I mean to tell you,” she said, and took a bite of chicken.

      “Uh-huh.” Tex returned to the kitchen, but Brady would have sworn he was smiling.

      * * *

      Randi stepped out into the evening. The air had cooled some and the night creatures were warming up for their regular performance.

      “Get enough to eat?” Brady asked, coming out of the dining room after her.

      She laughed. “I can barely move. If these jeans weren’t loose to begin with I would have had to unbutton them.” She patted her stomach. “Three pieces of chicken, two servings of potatoes and vegetables, three rolls and dessert. Are you sure you want to include room and board in my salary?”

      “The men eat twice what you do. It’s all the physical activity. These guys aren’t sitting behind a desk in some office. They’re outside working hard.”

      At least they had an excuse, Randi thought. She’d been hungry from not eating much over the past couple of days. She shook her head, determined not to dwell on that. For now she was here and things were looking up.

      She paused in front of the bunkhouse, not sure if she should say good-night or if Brady was walking back to the main house, as well. She took a tentative step in that direction and he moved with her.

      “You made progress with Tex,” he said.

      “Uh-huh,” she replied, trying to imitate the cook’s low, disbelieving tone.

      Brady chuckled. “He’s proud of his culinary skills and enjoys people eating what he prepares. I’m sure he thought you were going to complain.”

      “About someone else’s cooking? Never. Maybe tomorrow I’ll take that second piece of pie and he’ll actually smile at me.”

      “Oh, that’s a tough one. It takes about a month of solid eating to earn one of Tex’s smiles.” Brady shoved his hands in his pockets. “The men aren’t usually like that.”

      “I know.” At his quizzical glance she shrugged. “They’re showing off because I’m female and I’m new. They’ll get bored soon and I’ll be one of the guys.”

      “You sound experienced.”

      “I’m no expert, but I have a brother. He’s a lot like that. In fact—”

      Randi crossed her arms over her chest and bit back a groan. What was she thinking, spilling personal information like that? She had been so careful since she’d run out on her wedding. She’d never let anything slip. It must be all the food making her sleepy, or maybe it was the ranch itself. Maybe here she could feel safe for a while.

      If Brady noticed her faux pas, he didn’t let on. “I did warn you about being the only female around. But I think you’re right. They’ll get over it in a few days.”

      “I can handle meaningless flattery until then.”

      They’d reached the main house. Brady rested one foot on the stairs, but made no effort to climb up to the porch.