Wanted: Christmas Mummy. Judy Christenberry

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      The entire time she worked—efficiently, she hoped—the head of the household stood by the sink, his hand under the cold water, glaring at her.

      What was his problem? Was he afraid she intended to charge him for her efforts? Maybe they couldn’t afford a housekeeper now. She didn’t know much about ranching, but she supposed a rancher, just like any other businessman, could have sudden catastrophes that affected his cash flow. That would explain the reason for the lack of supplies, too.

      That thought sent her sharp glance to him. She noticed his shirt was missing a button, his hair was a little shaggy and his boots well-worn.

      Leslie’s irritation melted at once. How terrible not to be able to provide adequately for his family. Since money wasn’t one of the difficulties she faced, she could afford to be generous. But tactful. She’d be very tactful.

      After the boys had each received their dinner, she fixed two more sandwiches, one for her and one for the angry man staring at her.

      “It’s been about half an hour, Mr. Graybow. I think you can safely take your hand out of the water.”

      “The damn thing’s frozen,” he muttered.

      Leslie was waiting with a towel and reached out to wrap the chilled skin in it. With a growl, Doug snatched it from her.

      “I can do it.”

      The sympathetic tolerance she’d been silently extending to him the past half hour almost completely disappeared. She stepped back and gestured to the table.

      “Your dinner is ready. I hope you don’t object to my eating also. I didn’t eat supper before I came out here.” But she took nothing for granted, standing stiff and proper until he offered her a seat.

      Doug almost groaned aloud. He knew he’d been a bear. Standing there in pain, watching her prance around his kitchen, charming the hell out of his kids, when he’d already told her to get lost, was almost more than he could stand. Now, after fixing a meal, she expected him to kick her out? He must’ve been worse than he’d thought.

      “Of course I don’t mind,” he muttered and warily circled her and the table until it was between them.

      As they both sat down, the boys, having already begun eating and taken the edge off their hunger, looked up.

      “What’s your name?” Gareth asked, his mouth full of sandwich.

      “Leslie Hibbets,” she replied as she laid the napkin in her lap.

      Doug, having reached for his sandwich, instead picked up his napkin. “Boys, put your napkins in your laps.”

      He wasn’t going to have Miss Prim and Proper thinking they had no manners.

      “But, Daddy, we don’t—” Gareth began.

      “And, Gareth, don’t talk with your mouth full,” he hurriedly added. Both boys muttered apologies and he stared at the woman in triumph. She ignored him and smiled warmly at his children.

      “Leslie,” Justin said, staring at her in return.

      “Yes?”

      “I just wanted to say your name. It’s pretty, like you.”

      “Why, thank you. What’s your name?”

      “I’m Justin and that’s Gareth. But mostly people can’t tell us apart.”

      Gareth giggled. “Our Sunday school teacher hates that. She makes us wear name tags.” He giggled again. “But sometimes we switch and she doesn’t know.”

      “Some people just call us ‘the twins’ ‘cause they don’t know which is which,” Justin supplied.

      “Yeah, and some people call us ‘the twins from hell,’” Gareth added with another giggle.

      She flashed a look, one eyebrow lifted, at their father. He glared back at her.

      Hell, what was he supposed to do about the trouble the twins got into while he was trying to run a ranch? He never abandoned them. But cowboys who could handle the toughest bull seemed to disintegrate when left with these two.

      “Gareth, eat your dinner,” he snapped and stared at the woman, silently daring her to complain.

      Though she met his look with all the coldness of a Wyoming blizzard, she said nothing.

      With a sigh, he picked up the sandwich. He didn’t much feel like defending his parental performance. Not when it had been seven hours since lunch. And those hours had been spent on horseback, rounding up the herd to draw them closer to the barns.

      Before he even realized it, the soft golden cheese and toasted bread had melted into his mouth. He finished off the soup just as quickly, still hungry. The boys, too, had had a busy day and they had also cleaned their plates.

      “Why don’t I make some more sandwiches?” Miss Hibbets offered the boys with a smile. Their eager nods reflected his own thoughts. He only hoped she intended to include him as a recipient of those additional sandwiches.

      He had his answer almost at once. She rose from the table, but before moving away she held out her plate to him. “I haven’t touched the other half of my sandwich. Would you like to eat it while I fix more? There’s no need for it to get cold.”

      “Thanks,” he replied, reaching for the food. He wasn’t one to cut off his nose to spite his face.

      With such generosity on her part, Doug let go of some of his animosity. The woman was a lot better than he’d expected. Besides being attractive, she knew her way around the kitchen and seemed to like his children. She would’ve been a perfect housekeeper. Too bad she didn’t answer that ad. He would’ve hired her in a minute.

      When he realized his gaze was fastened on how rounded and smooth her hips filled out the jeans she was wearing, he changed his mind. Nope, he couldn’t even hire her as a housekeeper. He might not be able to keep his hands out of the cookie jar. And then he’d find himself facing marriage again.

      She turned toward the table, carrying a plate of sandwiches, and his gaze moved up her body, watching the thrust of her breasts through the blue sweater she wore. He’d been without a woman too long, he assured himself hastily as he looked back down at his empty plate.

      It was a good thing this woman would be leaving in a few minutes.

      After they’d eaten their fill, with Doug keeping his gaze trained on his plate, Leslie insisted on cleaning the kitchen. Since that was one of Doug’s least favorite chores, he agreed to her offer and chased the twins upstairs for their baths.

      “Leslie, don’t leave without coming to tell us bye, please?” Justin pleaded as he climbed the steps.

      “Yeah! You can read us a story. Daddy’s always too tired,” Gareth chimed in.

      “Only if it’s a short story. I have a long drive back to the motel,” she promised with that warm smile she reserved for his sons.

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