Page 61 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

She smiled. “Yes,boss.”

“Don’t callmethat.”

“Then what should Icallyou?”

“Mack,justMack.”

“Okay, Mack. I look forward to working for you. I’ll see youtonight.”

With that, she turned and walked toward the kitchen. He tried to pry his gaze away from the sway of her round hips, but he couldn’t. The curve of her ass captivated him until she disappeared around thecorner.

By hiring her, he’d either just made the best choice, or the biggest mistake of his life. How the hell would he make it through one night, let alone three weeks without touching her delectable curvesagain?

Chapter4

Madison tossedand turned as the wind howled against the windows outside her bedroom. She’d never been alone in such a large house. Every creak and groan made her bolt upright. She clung to the blankets as she studied the shadows for any movement. She knew she was being completely irrational. Who would walk miles through the snow to break into a bed and breakfast in the middle of the winter? It was just jitters from her first night in thehotel.

As she rolled onto her side, she glanced at the alarm clock. The red numbers glowed five-fifteen a.m. She couldn’t have gotten more than a few hours of sleep, but she needed to get up at five thirty a.m. to start cooking. Fortunately, she’d found a box of biscuit mix, a carton of eggs and a mountain of raw bacon in thefridge.

She’d seen Esmerelda, her family’s cook, make breakfast so many times that she knew it couldn’t be that hard. But just in case, she slipped out of bed early and started to dress. The previous night’s dinner had been amazing. She didn’t know if they always ate that well, or that much, but they were cowboys, so that was probably the case. She definitely had her work cut out for her. Hopefully she could meet thatchallenge.

After showering in warm water, she quickly dressed. She’d forgotten to ask where the thermostat was located, and the temperature had dropped overnight. She spent a few minutes searching for a way to turn on the heat but eventually gave up. The fireplace would have to dofornow.

She’d seen fires being made before and it had looked so easy, but they must have known a trick. She couldn't figure out how to keep the flame lit longer than a few seconds. When she realized she’d burned through half a box of matches, she gave up. Frustration simmered in her belly. Why did everything that looked so easy have to besohard?

As she stomped into the kitchen, she cursed her lack of knowledge. She’d never had to start a fire before or cook her own meals. Even so, she was determined not to fail. Come hell or high water, she was going to at least put a good breakfast on the table. If she didn’t, why would Mack keep her? Aside from his impulsive, sexy side, she knew he wouldn’t mess around with his family’s livelihood. He’d replace her in a second if shemessedup.

She turned on several of the gas burners, silently congratulating herself for finally accomplishing something. After setting empty pans on the fire, she walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two cartons of eggs and a slab ofbacon.

Back at the stove, she peeled strips of bacon off and set them into the pan. They instantly sizzled, filling the room with an aroma that made her mouth water and her stomach grumble. She hadn’t wanted to shove too much food in her face the night before, so she’d emulated her mother’s habit of eating like a bird. She was starving and couldn’t wait to sneak a few slices ofbacon.

As the bacon cooked, she cracked an egg into the pan. The edges bubbled up nicely. She had no idea how long she should leave them in for, so she shrugged and turned her back. They’d need at least a few minutes. She didn’t want to serve themundercookedfood.

A large marble-covered island sat in the center of the kitchen. She turned to dump a box of biscuit mix into a large mixing bowl. She’d spotted one of those fancy mixing contraptions on the counter but knew better than to attempt it today. That beast could be tamed later. For now, she planned on keeping things as simple aspossible.

After adding a couple of eggs and milk to the mix, she scooped lumps of dough onto a large baking sheet. With the tray in hand, she turned back toward the stove. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw flames. Not from the burners, but from thebaconpan.

She shrieked and dropped the pan of biscuits. Smoke billowed out of the bacon pan, filling the room with agrayhaze.

“Shit,shit,shit.”

She grabbed the flaming pan and ran toward the sink. After tossing the whole pan in, she turned on the faucet. A split second later, the first popping sound accompanied splattering grease. She backed away in horror as the flamesspread.

From behind her, someoneyelled. “Move!”

She scrambled to get out of the way as Mack rushed into the room with a fire extinguisher. A puff of white fog blasted out to douse the fire in foam. She turned to see that the eggs were black. But at least they weren’tonfire.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Mackbarked.

“I’m cooking,” she saidsheepishly.

“More like burning down thehouse.”

“I had a little accident. I guess I’m just not used to thisstove.”

“What the hell? Haven’t you cooked on a gas stovebefore?”

“Of course,” she said with as much bravado as she couldmuster.