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.Their sleeves were damp from an apparent wash at the pump.“You’re just in time,” Kate said with a bright smile.“Lead the way, Charmaine.”Charmaine picked up a tray of cups and led them into the dining room, where the women were seated on straight-back chairs around the perimeter.The lace-draped table had been pushed up against one wall to hold china and napkins.The ladies stopped their prattle to greet the men again, and Kate set the food on the table.“Charmaine, will you serve the tea, please?”From the sideboard, she poured tea and in turn asked each person their preference and carried their cup to them.“Sugar, please, miss,” Jack said.He appeared decidedly uncomfortable with the situation, but was following Noah’s cues.Charmaine added sugar to his tea and stirred.As his hand dwarfed the dainty china cup, she had a moment to notice his long tanned fingers and blunt nails.He raised his gaze and their eyes met.His were rich brown, his eyebrows lighter than his dark hair, and he wore a neat mustache that left his lips visible.He had a pronounced bow to the upper one, a sharp chin and good cheekbones.A very interesting face, now that she studied it.A twinge of embarrassment—or discomfort—rose in her chest, and she realized her inspection was too forward.Not to mention disturbing.She yanked her gaze to the teapot in her hand.“I’d better go for the other pot of tea.”Kate helped her pour the steaming liquid into the china pot.When they returned, Kate served the pastries.Jack would’ve rather wrestled a grizzly than sit here with these women and their dainty little tea cakes.His fingers didn’t fit in the cup’s handle, and he glanced to see how Noah was managing his.The rancher held the delicate china without using the handle, so Jack did the same.The two men’s gazes met, and Noah’s held a decidedly amused glimmer.He gave Jack a nearly imperceptible nod, as if to say, “You’re doing all right.This isn’t my favorite pastime either.”Jack’s skin prickled beneath his shirt, and the temperature in the house seemed to have risen at least twenty degrees.The last ten minutes had stretched like an entire day.Didn’t these people have something more useful to do? He had an afternoon’s work ahead of him.He’d felt obligated to accept their invitation, and Noah was taking it in stride, but he wished he were anywhere else.Noah’s wife had changed into a dress as frilly as the other women’s, and now she was standing in front of Jack with a tray laden with pastel frosted squares and some sort of sugary cookies that were shaped like flowers! He tried not to stare like an idiot.How much effort had gone into those?Noah had taken a napkin first, so he did the same.“Charmaine made the sponge lilies,” Kate said.“I can’t manage anything near as exquisite.”Jack took two square cakes and two of the flowers just to make sure he didn’t offend anyone.The center of each delicate cookie held a yellow candy bean.He’d never put anything so pretty in his mouth before, and the confection melted on his tongue.He watched how the ladies held their napkins on their laps and the cups in their hands and managed to copy them without spilling on himself.His food was gone in a few bites, and he was glad he hadn’t actually been hungry.“Kate tells us you make saddles, Mr.Easton,” one of the ladies said.His head buzzed.Now they expected him to talk?Chapter TwoHe thought the woman’s name was Lizzie, but the introductions had gone by in a blur.“Yes’m,” he replied.“Saddles, harnesses, collars and the like.”“Fine workmanship,” Noah added.“I own several myself.”“How did you learn your trade?” Diana Sweetwater asked.“My father caught and trained wild horses.I grew up helping him and apprenticed with a saddle maker when I was fourteen.”“Is your father still alive?” Charmaine asked.She toyed with a gold locket on a delicate chain around her neck.Her hands were small and dainty, soft-looking.“No, ma’am.”“I’m sorry.Has your mother passed on, too?”“Indeed.I was a boy when a fever took her.”“How unfortunate for you.” Her expression seemed one of genuine sympathy.“Noah lost his mother at a young age, too,” Kate told him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]