The Davonshire Series 2: Loving Words by Olivia Gaines

three basic moves.  Her downward facing dog looked more like a broken camel, but she did not quit.  After forty minutes, they broke for breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, Canadian bacon, and fresh orange wedges.  She began to clap like a kid at Christmas when he added a whole English muffin.
     “Bread!!!”
    He frowned at her because just last night they had pizza.  He made no comments either way. Change takes time—even for him.
    At the office, Wilfred told the staff about the cookout and margaritas and three people that Elsie had not seen before seemed excited.  The two gentlemen who worked in the warehouse were also excited to take part, and Elsie made a list for Conchetta.
    Wilfred instructed Rita to order in some lunch of deli sandwiches, salads, and wraps.  It looked as if Elsie was doing the happy dance, but there was so much work to get done.  They could not afford another two-hour lunch at the hacienda.  This proved even truer when UPS arrived with 30 more manuscripts.  He groaned inwardly while simultaneously checking the website.  “Rod, when does this damn contest end?”
     His face lit up when he realized it was only open for a month and would close on July 1.  “Thank God for small favors.”  He rifled through the stacks and found one manuscript called
Loving Words
.  He pushed everything else aside and began to peruse the pages.  He was still reading when Rita brought him a sandwich, salad, and a bottle of water.  He heard the opening of a can of soda and realized Elsie must have added a special request to the lunch order. 
    He knew he was correct when he heard the loud belch and her soft words, “Sorry, everyone, excuse me, but that is just soooooo good!”
    He was so engrossed in the pages of this story and was thoroughly enjoying the read.  He liked this author and would probably give her a contract.
    It was quickly approaching five o’clock when Elsie informed him she would be headed to the house.  Wilfred only nodded.  She asked Rod for a ride since she had not been assigned her own golf cart, but he, too, was not ready to leave.  She took Wilfred’s cart and as she made it to the hacienda, decided to surprise him for dinner.
    There were some pork chops in the freezer and she placed them on the defroster rack that she had witnessed him using earlier.  Fifteen minutes later, they were ready to be marinated.  She found frozen peas in the freezer and brown rice in the pantry, along with chicken stock.  By the time Wilfred arrived at the house, she had made dinner and was setting the table and calling Gianni in to eat. 
    He stopped in the doorway.  She stopped as well. Dear Lord, she hoped she hadn’t overstepped.
    “I’ve been here for a week and you’ve been cooking every day.  I just thought I would lend a hand.”
    She raised her eyebrows as if she knew a secret, besides it was too late to ask if it was okay.  Pork chops were his favorite and all he wanted to do was eat.  The carbs from the sandwiches made him feel pudgy and he knew he had eaten badly the last few meals and he could feel it.  “Nice—pork chops my favorite.  Thank you, it smells fantastic,” he told her. He was happy to see that she had cooked brown rice and steamed peas and had not fried the chops.
    Dinner was delicious and Gianni was happy.  He took Champ for a walk while Elsie began to discuss the idea for Friday’s cookout.  The conversation continued as they headed to the patio to their respective seats and she began to make notes of what she needed. It was going to be a fast week.  And it was.
    Friday came pretty quickly and the employees were happy to be invited to the big house.  Rod and Jaelon seemed to have sparked a friendship.  Rita, on the other hand, had sparked up something else, and it took a determined effort by all to not gasp when she touched Rod on his arm.  White Bear took over grilling and Raul added some chili and Poblano peppers to the grill rack.
    Rod took