The last area Tee-Tee showed me was the counter where the food would be set up.
“All the food is served cafeteria-style.” She pointed to trash cans set up on the perimeter of the hall. “The hands are expected to clean up after themselves.”
We sat at one of the tables, and she explained that the menu was set a week in advance and, rather than having to go out to secure supplies, everything was delivered directly to the kitchen. Each meal was comprised of hearty-yet-fresh-and-healthy food. While King-Alexander Ranch was self-sustaining in terms of meat and produce, Tee-Tee often traded with other ranches for specialty items. That way, the cowboys and ranch hands weren’t served the same meals again and again.
On the menu for tonight was Texas-style chili, a spinach salad, cornbread, and dessert.
“What’s the dessert?” I asked when Tee-Tee didn’t elaborate.
“That’s up to you to figure out,” she answered before walking away.
“Wait! What do you mean?”
Tee-Tee looked over her shoulder. “You know where everything is stored. Go see what’s there. After you’ve made your decision about what you’ll make, come back and tell me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I mumbled, not thinking she’d hear me, but she did.
“You can do it.”
Those four words brought tears to my eyes. I’d been estranged from Tee-Tee for so long, never dreaming we’d even reconcile, let alone that she’d have faith in me. The fact that she did and admitted it, surprised me as much as it made me emotional.
In the dry storage rooms, I found baking flour, sugar, and the other ingredients I’d need to make a basic cake. Since I remembered seeing oranges and clementines in the coolers, along with buttermilk and eggs, it only took me ten minutes to come up with my decision. When I walked into the kitchen, Tee-Tee was standing with her back to one of the prep tables. She raised her eyebrows.
“Orange-scented buttermilk cakes with a simple vanilla drizzle and topped with slices of clementines.”
She didn’t respond, but I caught the hint of her smile and knew she was pleased.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Tía. I know—”
She held up her hand. “Don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
With dessert being my only responsibility for this evening’s meal, I learned how to operate the big, industrial-size mixers along with the massive ovens. I also learned that Tee-Tee had developed an easy system for multiplying any recipe in order to feed the number of workers on the ranch at any given time. Since December was a slow time of the year on any operation like this one, I was shocked by the number of people expected tonight.
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“Quint Alexander and Decker Ashford don’t believe in a seasonal crew,” Tee-Tee explained.
“They don’t?” The idea of it shocked me, not that I understood the intricate details of running an operation of this size.
She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t ask any questions that didn’t relate solely to making my dessert.
As I took the last sheet out of the oven, I heard the dinner bell ring. All I had left to do was drizzle the icing and lay the slices of fruit on top of each cake, but in order to have it ready when the diners were, I had to stay focused on my task. I was so involved I didn’t notice when Tee-Tee approached and stood next to me until she cleared her throat.
“Is everything all right?” I asked, worried that I’d done something wrong.
“Look.” She motioned with her head.
I smiled when I saw Edge dishing a big bowl of chili before grabbing two pieces of cornbread. Just when I thought he’d walk away without noticing me, he looked into my eyes and winked.
“Es un buen hombre,” I heard Tee-Tee say. “Trátalo bien.”
I agreed. Edge was a good man, and he deserved to be treated well. “I will, Tía, I promise.”
12
Edge