I had the strangest feeling this man knew my grandfather better than anyone. I’d never noticed him having a preference for that particular meal. But then, perhaps none of us made chili the way Calvin did. What sort of things had they discussed in those letters? I hadn’t a clue, but I’d found three full shoe boxes of them in Grandpa’s closet after the will was read.
A will that instructed me to do what I was about to do now.
“Sounds great.” Several moments went by before I found the words. “I guess you’re wondering why I’m here.”
He shook his head. “Not really. You have something to give me, don’t you?”
I nodded. “In his will, Grandpa asked that I give you back the letters you’d sent him, and these.” I handed him the two small boxes I had tucked in my purse.
Tears filled Calvin’s eyes. “He saved my life, you know. Saved a bunch of us.” He opened one box and then the other. “He got this one for saving us, and this one for nearly dying in the process.”
I blinked back a few tears of my own. “A Purple Heart and a Silver Star.” I shook my head slowly. “I never even knew he had them.”
“John was like that. Never one to toot his own horn. Kinda shy, really.”
That description also fit his granddaughter. However, I kept that tidbit to myself.
Calvin slid the two medals into his pocket, then went back to his stove and began stirring a huge pot of chili. The heavenly aroma of chili combined with baking corn bread soon had my stomach growling, making me very glad I’d agreed to stay for dinner.
Voices from the next room broke the silence, accompanied by the scuffling of booted feet and the scrape of chair legs on the wooden floor.
“That’ll be the men coming in for dinner,” Calvin said. “Go on into the mess hall and have a seat.”
Mess hall. I wondered what the dining room had been called before Calvin took charge of the kitchen. “Can I give you a hand?” I didn’t want to admit that being the lone woman in a room full of men brought out the nervous Nellie in me like nothing else could.
“Sure.” His smile suggested he either understood my reluctance or at least acknowledged the reason for it. “I’ll dish up the chili if you’ll get the corn bread.”
Grateful for a task to occupy myself, I took off my coat and laid it on a chair next to a small corner table, then snatched up a pair of slightly singed oven mitts. One by one, I removed two cast iron pans from the oven, each of which was divided into seven sections containing round loaves of lightly browned corn bread.
“Smells great,” I said. “Love the pans.”
Calvin snorted a laugh. “Keeps the men from fighting over who gets the most. Everybody gets two.”
“Nothing wrong with their appetites, huh?”
“It’s practically a full-time job keeping them fed.” He grinned. “Kinda like keeping the hogs happy.”
“I heard that!” someone shouted from the mess hall. Good-natured laughter followed.
“You boys get on in here and grab a bowl,” Calvin called back. “Or should I just pour the chili in the trough?”
“We’re coming.” After more scraping of chairs and scuffling of boots, the men descended upon the kitchen.
I should’ve turned around and smiled, but I simply couldn’t face them. I’d be gone in an hour anyway. No need to make friends with everyone. Not that I could…
Apparently, Ophelia wasn’t interested in making friends, either. With a whine, she darted between me and the stove, sending me stumbling backward only to slam into a rock-hard body and be gathered up by a pair of strong arms.
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Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks go out to:
My loving husband, Budley
My handsome sons, Mike and Sam
My pals from my nursing days
My wonderful readers
My talented critique partners, Sandy James, Nan Reinhardt, and Tia Catalina
My keen-eyed beta reader, Mellanie Szereto
My supportive agent, Melissa Jeglinski
My longtime editor, Deb Werksman
My amazing blog followers
My fellow IRWA members
My insane cats, Kate and Allie
My normal cat, Jade
My barn cat, Kitty Cat
My trusty horses, Kes and Jadzia
My peachy little dog, Peaches
And every woman who has ever dreamed of riding a cowboy
About the Author
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Cheryl Brooks is a former critical care nurse who resides in rural Indiana with her husband, two sons, two horses, four cats, and one dog. She is the author of the Cat Star Chronicles series, which includes Slave, Warrior, Rogue, Outcast, Fugitive, Hero, Virgin, Stud, Wildcat, and Rebel. Her self-published works include one erotic romance novel, Sex, Love, and a Purple Bikini, one erotic short story, Midnight in Reno, and the erotic contemporary romance series, Unlikely Lovers, which includes Unbridled, Uninhibited, Undeniable, and Unrivaled. She has also published If You Could Read My Mind writing as Samantha R. Michaels. As a member of The Sextet, she has written several erotic novellas published by Siren/Bookstrand. Her other interests include cooking, gardening, singing, and guitar playing. Cheryl is a member of RWA and IRWA. You can visit her online at www.cherylbrooksonline.com or email her at [email protected].
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