“You’re hard on the boy.”

“He’s earned it.” Zane grabbed a fork and napkin. “You hear me about those two?”

Cookie’s mouth twisted. “They’re vegetarians, Zane. You gotta let me have a little fun.”

“They’re my responsibility.”

“Aw, hell.”

Cookie grumbled as he tended the cook fire, but Zane knew the old man would respect his request. He depended on his crew, and they rarely let him down. If only he could say the same about Chase.

He headed toward the group of canvas and metal chairs that had been set up for the meal. The kids were sitting a few feet away from C.J. and Thad, close to the wagon. Neither of them were eating.

Just perfect, he thought as he stopped next to them.

“Don’t you like your lunch?” he asked.

The girl—Lucy—looked up at him. Her light brown eyes were wide and full of mistrust.

“We heard what that man said. About the burgers.”

The boy nodded, then swallowed. “Are we really eating a cow?”

Zane silently ran through five swearwords, using some in combination, damning Cookie, the tree huggers and Chase most of all. He set his plate on an empty chair and crouched in front of the kids.

He knew in his world that the reality of food coming from something in the garden or one of the four-legged critters out in the field was no big deal, but these were city kids. They might know that meat came from animals, but they’d never spent the day riding next to steers, then dining on one just like them.

“You two in school?”

Tommy looked at his sister, then nodded.

Zane smiled. “I was. A long time ago. Right after the dinosaurs died out.”

Lucy’s mouth twitched a little. “You’re not that old.”

“Gee, thanks. Okay, so maybe it was a little after the dinosaurs, but not by much. I remember this one kid everybody liked to pick on. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t nice, but we did it. Do you two have someone like that at your school?”

Lucy nodded slowly. “It used to be us, but I can beat up a lot of kids, even if they’re bigger than me. Tommy can, too, but he doesn’t like to do it.”

Zane let that go. He had a point, and it wasn’t that beating up on other kids was a bad idea.

“So you understand about teasing people, even when it’s not very nice,” he said. “That’s what Cookie was doing. He was teasing Andrea and Martin about the hamburgers. Grown-ups do that, even when they should know better.”

Thad shifted his chair closer to Lucy. “Zane’s right. I’m sure Cookie’s sorry for what he said.”

Zane doubted that, but he wasn’t going to contradict the guy. Not when Lucy’s expression of mistrust began to fade.

Thad picked up his burger and took a bite. “Cookie sure knows how to make good food.”

Zane reached for his lunch and sampled the hamburger. He didn’t have to fake his pleasure.

Tommy exchanged a look with his sister, then picked up his burger. “I’m hungry,” he said.

Lucy went for a small nibble and chewed.

“Better than the ones at school?” Thad asked.

She swallowed and shrugged. “We get a hot lunch, but we don’t hafta pay for it like other kids. We get a piece of paper that says it’s free.”

Zane watched as Thad glanced first at his wife, then back at the girl. “What about McDonald’s? Are Cookie’s burgers just as good?”

“I can’t remember,” Lucy said. “Tommy and me haven’t been to McDonald’s for a real long time. Not since before staying with Mrs. Fortier.”

“She says that taking kids to restaurants is too expensive,” Tommy added. “And that fast food is a waste of money. But sometimes she and Mr. Fortier have it for dinner.”

The boy sounded wistful as he spoke. Zane saw C.J. turn away as if she didn’t want to hear any more.

Zane took his plate to an empty chair and sat down. As he ate, he glanced around at Eddie and Gladys talking with Maya and Phoebe on the far side of the camp. Phoebe met his gaze, blushed slightly, then looked away.

He found himself wanting to know what she was thinking. He had a couple dozen other questions for her as well, the most pressing of which was would she join him in the privacy of a grove somewhere for a quickie up against a tree.

Real romantic, Nicholson, he thought grimly. That was sure the way to convince a lady of his intentions. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t had it this bad since he’d been sixteen and so hot for Aurelia Ronwell that he’d driven into Fool’s Gold three nights a week on the pretext of studying with her.

While she’d talked about their classes in school, he’d fantasized about becoming a man in the secret darkness of her young body. When their relationship had ended, all he’d earned for his trouble was two sightings of her bra strap, half a dozen gut-twisting tongue kisses, a slapped hand for trying to touch her breast and straight A’s. The grades hadn’t been worth the agony. Right then and there he’d vowed to never let a girl make him act like a fool again.

He’d lost his virginity that summer to a college girl he’d met at the Summer Festival. Sheryl had been working one of the concession stands, and he’d helped her out when she’d had a flat tire. One thing had led to another. She’d given him his first blow job in the front seat of his truck. At the crucial moment, he’d nearly put his foot through the floorboard. That night he’d stayed with her at her place, and she’d shown him the possibilities between a man and a woman.