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general direction of the vast expanse of trees beyond them. She saw Brody eating the sandwich she’d sent out and sighed with relief. But her sigh was short-lived when she saw Drew cast a narrow-eyed look in the direction of the house.
    She dropped the curtain and jumped back from the window. Oh, he was going to make her pay for this.
    Deciding the best defense was a good offense, Gwen took the roast she’d bought when she was at the grocery store the day before, cut it into cubes, and began preparing a hearty stew. She peeled potatoes and carrots, browned the meat, and made a rich gravy. When everything was on the burner to simmer, a thought occurred to her, and she went in search of the things she’d need to make homemade dinner rolls.
    Once the dough was rising, she decided to also make homemade muffins. It was one of the skills her mom had taught her. She and Gill loved muffins, so at a very young age Ginger had shown her girls how to make their own.
    By the time Drew and Brody stomped into the house five hours later the stew bubbled on the stove, fresh dinner rolls sat in a basket and the sweet scent of pumpkin muffins permeated the air.
    Drew dropped his gloves on the counter and sniffed. “This has to be heaven.”
    “Anywhere would be heaven compared to that damn field.”
    Drew bit back a sigh. Brody hadn’t really complained all day, for which Drew thanked God, but now that they were away from Max his son was back to saying damn and would probably be snotty for the rest of the night.
    Deciding that ignoring Brody might be the thing to do, he focused on the obvious. “Everything smells great.” Becausethat was the absolute truth, he closed his eyes in ecstasy. “I only hope I have the strength to eat it.”
    Brody snorted a laugh and headed for the swinging door. “I want to clean up.”
    When he was gone, Drew caught Gwen’s gaze. All day long he’d thought about ways he’d punish her for her idea, but now that he had her alone, in a kitchen that smelled so good he could have eaten the table, he was suddenly tongue-tied.
    “These are just a few things my mom taught me to make.”
    “Your mom must be an excellent cook.”
    “She was.”
    “Was?”
    “She passed away. It was a year last September.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    She shrugged and grabbed plates from the cupboard. “It’s okay. Gill and I have each other.”
    Feeling awkward about having her wait on him, Drew headed for the silverware drawer. “Gill is your sister?”
    “Twin sister.”
    He stopped. Smiled stupidly. “You’re a twin?”
    “It doesn’t make me a freak.”
    “No. I think it’s kind of cute.” He did. Damn it. Everything he heard about her made her special. And she’d fixed them dinner. She hadn’t rested on her laurels while he was outside. She’d done the thing that most needed to be done: she’d made food, probably recognizing that they’d be starving.
    They ate dinner in near silence. Not because they were tiptoeing around each other, but because the men didn’t pause long enough between bites of food to converse. After he’d eaten Brody excused himself. Drew knew he was going upstairs to bed. He didn’t stop him. Drew would have liked to drop into a warm bed himself right now. But everything he’dneglected while learning to cut and prune Christmas trees now had to be addressed.
    “You do know we’ll have to work tonight, right?”
    She nodded. “Yes.” She caught his gaze. “You do know that I’ll have to have Claire in the office in her swing, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “So we’re set?”
    He couldn’t help it. He smiled at her. She didn’t leave anything to chance, but more than that she negotiated with him like an equal. She wasn’t afraid of anything. Not even him. She had so much spunk and intelligence that if she didn’t live so far away from North Carolina he’d probably hire her for his corporate office.
    Of course then he’d have to deal with being attracted to her and not being allowed