w that he was really seeing his surroundings, he realized that old man Anderson had let the place get kind of run down.
“Why didn’t Anderson fix this place up? He was bringing in pretty good money.”
Brow twitching, she shook her head. “Uncle Jerry never had any money. The ranch stopped being profitable years ago, and he sunk too much money into trying to make it profitable again. About five years ago, he sold off all the livestock and equipment so he could pay off the mortgage, with a little left over for the bills and groceries and such.”
Frowning, Seth put down the bread he’d been about to take a bite of. “Amelia, no. I don’t know how much he had before he started hosting the fights, but he made a pretty big profit from them over the years. Especially after me and the guys started fighting for him, because we draw in bigger crowds.”
“Didn’t he use the admission money to pay the winners, though?”
“No,” he replied with a shake of his head. “I mean, he paid us a cut, and it was always a good one, but he kept the majority for himself.”
“Well, bugger, I didn’t know that. I used all the proceeds from the last fight to pay you all.”
Seth threw his head back with a laugh. “I was wondering why my payday was so much larger than usual last Saturday.”
She shook her head as she laughed along with him. “If he was making as much as you say off the fights, I wonder what in the world he did with all the money. He had hardly any money in the bank, and what was there matched up with what he would have left after selling everything, minus the bills, of course.”
“Maybe he hid it around the house or something,” he said with a shrug.
“Maybe. I’ve gone through the house since I’ve been here, but I only poked my head in the master bedroom once. Perhaps it’s in there. Want to help me look when we’re done eating?”
“Yeah, sure. Have I told you how good this is yet? It’s amazing.”
Flushing, she smiled sweetly at him. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
They fell silent after that, concentrating on eating. He meant every word of his compliment. This was the best meal he’d had in a long time, maybe ever. He even liked the salad. He’d never been a big fan of salad, but whatever dressing she put on it was delicious, and made all the difference.
“That really was delicious,” he said, putting his fork down.
“Do you want some more?” she asked, pushing her own plate back and taking a sip of wine.
“No, thank you. I already had two huge slices of lasagna, not to mention the salad and garlic bread. I’m stuffed.”
“There’s some chocolate chip cookies, as well. I got them from Mansfield’s. I remembered how much you like them.”
Groaning, he said regretfully, “If I thought I could fit even one more bite in my stomach, I’d be all over it. Maybe later?”
“Of course. Whenever you like,” she said with a smile, pushing back from the table.
Putting his hand over hers as she reached for her plate, he stopped her, not saying anything for a moment as he enjoyed the warmth when they touched. He finally spoke when his leopard started purring in his chest, not wanting her to hear it.
“You cooked this amazing meal. Let me do the clean up.”
A smile crept across her face as her eyes warmed. “Okay. I’ll get all the leftovers put away.”
He nodded, grabbing his plate and bowl and moving to her side of the table to get hers. Stopping her as she made to move out of his way, he reeled her in with his spare hand, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Pulling away, he smiled at the hazy look in her eyes, and finished gathering up the dirty dishes.
She finished putting the leftovers away and joined him, rinsing while he washed. They made quick work of it, and when everything was clean, except for the lasagna pan, she stopped him.
“Just put some soap in it and add hot water. It needs to soak before it can be washed.”
Nodding, he did as she told him, then quickly rinsed and dried his hands. “You ready to check your uncle’s bedroom?”
“Sure, let’s go. This feels like we’re on the hunt for treasure,” she said, leading him to Anderson’s bedroom.
“I mean, we basically are,” he said with a smile, following her into the room.
“It feels weird being in here, but I suppose I would have had to come in eventually.” She looked around the room with a grimace. “I should have come in here sooner. This place is a mess. All of this needs sorted through, and anything that’s in good shape should be donated to charity.”