“Not as bad as I expected. I saw worse when Jody got stung by hornets. He survived. The swelling seems to be going down. I guess you milking the goats will be off your to-do list,” he teased.

“I feel terrible that the job you needed me for the most, I won’t even be able to do. I’ll understand if you need to hire someone else,” she told him numbly.

“Milking the goats wasn’t the main job I hired you for. Worse comes to worst, I can milk the ornery things myself. What I need you the most for is to give Ginny a hand with Freddy. Are you allergic to him?”

“No.” Alanna winced when she tried to smile at his teasing.

“Then we’re good.”

Alanna sniffed something in the air.

“I just put some steaks on the firepit before coming here. Want to keep me company while I finish grilling them? There might be a steak in it for you.”

“I couldn’t impose …” She shook her head, not wanting anyone to see her, especially Matthew.

“No imposition. The boys won’t be back until late. All the boys are at the Hardy’s to set their fence and gate. Al didn’t want them to set it without him being there, so they had to wait until he got off work. You could wash the potatoes for me, so I don’t have to take my eyes off the steaks.”

Alanna couldn’t resist; the smell was driving her crazy. “You win. I’m starving.”

“Then let’s get you fed.”

Walking to the firepit didn’t take long. Alanna had seen it yesterday when Silas had taken her to the trailer. As she stared at the huge number of steaks on the grill, her mouth began to water.

“How many potatoes do you want me to wash?”

“Twenty should be enough in case any of them want seconds.”

“Or thirds,” she joked. “What do I do with them after I wash them?”

“Bring them here and the foil from the pantry. I’ll bury them in the ash.”

“Oh …” she said excitedly. “I’ve never had them that way before.”

“First time for everything.”

Alanna nodded, turned toward the house, then paused. “You don’t happen to have marshmallows, do you?”

“I do.” Silas grinned. “You’ll find them in the pantry. There are graham crackers there, too. And if you look under the drawer in the refrigerator, you’ll find some chocolate bars.”

“I don’t want to put you to trouble.”

“No trouble. You can make them.”

“Deal.” Alanna rushed off, anxious to toast marshmallows. She’d never done it before over a fire.

Quickly washing the potatoes, she put them in a large bowl then gathered up the rest of the other items she needed.

When she came back, she saw Silas had put out two folding chairs near the firepit and placed a folding table within reach.