The next morning, she woke up and saw that Austin had put his blankets on her. She rolled her eyes. She was covered under a

mountain of blankets.

She shook her head and closed the window and placed some of the blankets on him. How could he sleep when he was so cold? Is he really having that hard of a time keeping his hands off of me?

The thought pleased her. She never thought she could be appealing to a man before.

Sighing, she collected her clothes for the day and went to the bathroom to change. As soon as she came out of the bathroom, her brothers stood around her. She rolled her eyes.

“No.”

They grumbled.“When are you going to stop this nonsense?” she asked.

“Poor Austin spent the night freezing because he had to give me all the blankets, and I got hot so I had to open the window.”

“Oh, really?” hosea grinned. “So it‟s working.”

She realized her mistake. “He knows what you‟re doing, so you might as well quit while you‟re ahead.”

“Quit? What we‟re doing is affecting him. I know a man‟s mind, Claire , and he‟s going crazy.” He chuckled.

“Thanks for the information. We were going to go back to the original sleeping arrangements, but now that we know we‟re succeeding, there‟s no point in it.”

“Fine. Then I‟ll need more blankets tonight. I won‟t have him spending his last night here cold.”

“Who says he‟s cold? That poor man is burning up with desire for you.”

She knew when it was useless to talk sense into him. “I‟ll meet you at the barn after breakfast.”

“I‟m looking forward to it, sis.”

So was she, but she would never admit it to him.

After breakfast, everyone gathered around the fence where they kept the cattle so they could watch Claire and hosea compete.

Claire won by lassoing two more cattle than hosea did in the time allotted to them.

“That‟s my girl,” her father commented, beaming at her.

“She makes the old man proud every time.”

Hosea spent almost an hour eating the remaining crackers and caviar. He shuddered with each bite and drank a gallon of water.

“This stuff is the worst. How can you fancy, rich people stand it?” he asked Austin.

Austin shrugged. “Maybe it‟s an acquired taste.”

“He‟s just a sis.” Tristan waved his hand.

Claire grinned. “At least you did it.”As soon as her parents, Jamie , teresa and Marie left, Hosea looked at her. “Claire, can you get me some milk so I can wash this junk down"

“You trust me near the ice box?”

“How can you mess up a glass of milk?”

“Knowing Claire, she‟ll find a way,” Tristan joked. “But

seriously, I‟m thirsty too. Get me a glass as well.”

“Why can‟t you get it yourself? You have two feet.” She

looked at them.

“You‟re always complaining that you want to be treated

like a woman. Well, here‟s your chance. Women get food for their men,” hosea insisted.

She sighed. “Fine. Do you want anything, Austin ?”

“No, thanks.”

She got up and went to the ice box. She opened the door and looked inside. “Where is it?”

“On the bottom shelf, way in the back,” hisea called out.

She ignored her brothers‟ laughter as she bent down and reached for it. What is so funny? She took out the bottle and put it

on the counter. When she opened the cabinet where they kept the glasses, she frowned. “Where are they?” she asked her brothers.

You two are up to something and I don‟t like it.

“Oh, we moved them to the top shelf.” Tristan chuckled.

“They‟re way up in the back.”

“Is it wise to do that when Marie‟s ready to give birth?”

“You‟re right, sis. We didn‟t consider that. We‟ll put them back on their usual shelf before she comes in here to cook.”

She eyed them warily. What is so funny? She stepped onto the stepladder and looked at the shelf. “Why did you put them so far back? I can‟t reach this high.”

“Maybe you need a boost. Austin , why don‟t you help her out?”She noticed that Austin was struggling to hide his amusement as he stood up to help her. “I got you,” he assured

her as he gently lifted her by the waist so she could get the glasses.

By the time he brought her back down and against him, she understood what her brothers were doing. Her cheeks grew hot

from embarrassment.

“I‟m cooking dinner tonight,” she loudly announced as austin stepped away from her.

Her brothers gasped in shock.

“There‟s no need to get vicious,” hosea quickly said.

“We‟re sorry for offending you, sis.”

They quickly ran out of the room before they could upset her anymore.

“I‟m sorry about them,” she told Austin as she put the milk back. “I didn‟t realize what they were up to until it was too late.”

“Don‟t be sorry. I enjoyed it,” he whispered before he kissed her on the cheek. “You‟re definitely a woman.”

She blushed as he left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much love

V.A 💙