Evelyn woke before dawn, cooked breakfast for the crew, cleaned up, started preparing lunch, cooked lunch, cleaned up again, started preparing dinner, cooked dinner, cleaned up one final time, and fell into bed barely able to move. The men tested her exactly like Holloway said they would. They complained the coffee was too weak, then too strong. They said the beans needed more salt, then too much salt. They made jokes she didn't understand and laughed when she didn't react.
But the food was good. Even the complaints were half-hearted because everyone could tell the difference between her cooking and whatever cookie had been serving them. On her third day, a young ranch hand named Tommy asked if she could make the kind of cornbread his mother used to make. "What kind was that?" Evelyn asked, up to her elbows in bread dough.
"Sweet. She put honey in it." "I can try." That night she served honey cornbread with the dinner stew. Tommy took one bite and his eyes actually got wet.
"That's exactly like Ma's." he said quietly. "Thank you, Miss Harper." After that, something shifted. The men started saying please and thank you. They cleaned up after themselves a little better.
They stopped treating her like an inconvenience and started treating her like, well, like she mattered. On Friday evening, exactly 1 week after she'd arrived, Holloway found her cleaning up after dinner. "Mr. Ridgewell wants to see you." Evelyn's heart sank. This was it.
He was going to tell her she hadn't passed the trial period, that she wasn't good enough, that she needed to leave. She followed Holloway to the main house, rehearsing arguments in her head, but when she entered Ridgewell's office, he didn't look angry. He looked tired. "Miss Harper, sit down." She sat.
Ridgewell leaned back in his chair studying her. "I've been getting reports all week from Holloway, from the men, from Mrs. Chen." "I can do better. I know the first few days were rough, but I'm getting faster and you passed." Evelyn stopped mid-sentence.
"What?" "The trial period. You passed. The job's yours if you want it." The relief was so intense she felt dizzy.
"I want it." "Good. Because the men actually seem happy for once, and Mrs. Chen says you're a hard worker." He pulled out a ledger and made a notation. "Your first month's wages will be paid at the end of next week.
You can send them back to Red Hollow with Coop's supply run." "Thank you, Mr. Ridgewell." "Don't thank me. You earned it." He closed the ledger.
"Now, there's one more thing. Lilly's been asking to meet you. Mrs. Chen talks about you, and my daughter's curious." Evelyn's stomach clenched with a different kind of nervousness. "All right."
Ridgewell stood and led her through the house to a sitting room where a little girl sat curled up in a chair with a book. She looked up when they entered, and Evelyn saw she had her father's dark hair and serious eyes. "Lilly, this is Miss Harper. She's our new cook." "Hello."