by A. J. Pine
He padded downstairs in borrowed socks that were in the pile with his borrowed clothes. Once he had some food in him, he’d start thinking clearly again—instead of thinking how beautiful and funny and sexy his traveling companion was.
Chapter Five
Jenna was spiralizing a handful of fresh zucchinis from Maggie and Robert’s garden while Robert worked on his “world-famous” tomato sauce at the stove.
“And by world-famous, he means that Jonathan and I like it,” Maggie said as she rolled out the dough from which she’d be making the noodles.
Robert shrugged as he continued stirring the contents of his pot. “Yours are the only opinions that really matter, so if you both approve, I call it a win.”
“Y’all are so sweet,” Jenna said, recalling the days when she and her sister, Clare, would help their own parents in the kitchen. She might be forty and all grown up now, but she still felt the pain of having lost them all too soon. Time could make life more bearable without the people she loved most, but it never erased the hurt. “Do you have any other family nearby?” she asked.
Maggie nodded. “If by nearby you mean a couple hours’ drive, then yes. But we don’t get to see extended family as often as we’d like. Such is the nature of farm life.” She gave Jenna a bittersweet smile. “But having unexpected guests show up during a storm makes it a bit less lonely.”
Jenna pierced another zucchini with the spiralizer and began cranking the vegetable into zoodles. “Do y’all do farm work?” she asked as she worked.
Maggie nodded. “I could have stayed and worked with my family, but Robert and I wanted to have our own place to start a family and raise our kids. We just ended up having a smaller family than we anticipated.”
Jenna knew all about plans turning out differently than expected. She hadn’t carried a child of her own or raised anyone from infancy to adulthood, but when her sister passed away and her brother-in-law took to the bottle to cope, she’d become a foster mother to her three teenage nephews. Raising them through the rest of their formative years after what they’d been through wasn’t easy for her or them, but she loved those boys with every piece of her heart and was damned proud of the men they’d become.
“Do you have any children?” Maggie asked.
Jenna swallowed the small lump in her throat. “No. Raised my nephews, though. And they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.”
“What can I do to help?” Colt asked, padding into the kitchen in his still-bare feet.
Now Jenna’s throat was tight for an entirely different reason.
She shook her head and laughed softly to herself, pushing thoughts of an unexpectedly naked Colt out of her head. Though not really.
Why did he have to be so charming and sexy and—flirty? What bugged her more, though, was that she liked it. All of it.
She glanced up from her zoodle making in time to catch him glancing at her.
“Thought you might rest,” she said coolly, remembering she’d done her best to shut down any further flirting between them.
Colt flashed her a grin, then seemed to think better of it, couching his expression like he’d just remembered their last interaction as well.
That seemed to be the problem for both of them. Jenna’s first inclination upon seeing him was to smile, and his the same on seeing her.
“And miss all this fun?” he asked. “Also, I’m a little bit hangry. We missed lunch.” He gave Maggie a sheepish grin, and she laughed.
“Dinner will be ready pretty early, but there’s a bowl of fruit on the counter if you want to grab a snack,” she said.
“You’re a lifesaver, Maggie. Truly,” Colt said, and he made a beeline for the fruit, inhaling a banana and then an apple while Jenna tried not to stare.
He was just so himself. Like he didn’t care who was watching. And Jenna had put that open and honest man in his place just before because it was the easy thing to do. The safe thing to do.
As soon as Colt finished his snacks, he strolled up next to Robert to breathe in the garlicky aroma of his sauce, then behind Maggie where she fed her flattened dough through the pasta maker. “May I?” he asked. “My sister is a whiz in the kitchen. Taught me a thing or two about pasta.”
Maggie stepped back, and Jenna couldn’t peel her eyes away as Colt took over without missing a beat, turning flour and eggs into long strips of linguine.
“Wow,” Maggie said, dusting off her hands. “You’re hired.”
Colt laughed, then looked at Jenna from across the butcher-block kitchen island only to notice her staring at him, mouth open in a small O.
“Surprised? Impressed? Or both?” he asked.
More like turned on, but she wasn’t about to admit that.
“None of the above,” she lied, then went back to her own meal preparation. Though she guessed needing to put her whole body into getting the spiralizer crank to turn was a little less sexy.
“To be honest,” Colt said—she didn’t know if he was speaking to her or the group but figured it was safer to keep her eyes on the squash—“I just about dozed off up there, but then I smelled Robert’s sauce, and I couldn’t have slept if I tried.”
“See?” Robert said, covering the pot and leaving it to simmer. “World. Famous.”
Maggie and Jenna laughed, and Colt’s brows drew together.
Jenna liked that she was in on the joke but felt the urge to bring Colt into the fold too. She fought the urge, of course, just like she’d fought the urge to encourage his flirting and would continue to do so.
Her stay at Meadow Valley Ranch was going to be time to disengage, focus on herself, and figure out what came next in this new chapter of her life.
“Anyway,” Colt said, breaking the short silence and dusting the flour off his hands. “I don’t want to step on the pasta maker’s toes. How else can I help?”
“How are you with dessert?” Maggie asked.
He shrugged. “Eating it or making it? Because I’m a champ at the former. Baking, though, that’s all my sister. Willow makes this toffee shortbread. Had some for the trip up to Meadow Valley until Jenna and I had an unfortunate run-in behind my truck.” He paused and looked at Jenna.
Jenna winced. “Accidents happen,” she said with a nervous laugh.
Colt raised a brow. “And hens descend like vultures on fresh-baked goods.”
Maggie smiled. “Sounds like quite the run-in,” she said. “And that’s a pretty name, Willow.” Then Jenna saw something in the other woman’s expression shift. “Colt, what did you say your last name was?”
A smile bigger than Jenna could have imagined spread across Colt’s face. Seeing him that happy made it hard for her to breathe, so much so that she forced herself to look away even though she had no more zucchini left to spiral.
He was just—good Lord the man was beautiful to begin with, but the way he lit up when he thought about his sister? It made her pulse race and her palms sweat.
She dried them on her jeans, silently chastising herself for the little crush she was failing to shake.
“Morgan,” he said. “Willow’s legal last name is Hammond—for the family who adopted her after our mother passed. But she uses Morgan for professional purposes.”
Jenna’s head shot up, her eyes wide, forgetting all about her little crush because…
“Your sister is Willow Morgan?” she asked in unison with Maggie.
“Who’s Willow Morgan?” Robert asked, and the two women scoffed, again at the same time like they were some sort of Greek chorus.
“She’s an up-and-coming country singer,” Maggie said. “Mainly local right now, but she’s opened for a lot of big bands that came through the area.”
Jenna nodded. “She played a short set at the state fair last summer. I drove all the way there just to see her.” She turned her gaze to Colt. “I can’t believe that’s your sister. You never said anything.”
Colt’s smile faltered for a second, but it was enough for her to notice. �
�Didn’t think we were doing the whole tell-each-other-our-life-stories kind of thing,” he said.
She guessed they hadn’t really had time for that. And after the way she’d shot him down upstairs, she suspected he wouldn’t be sharing much more. Which was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
Maggie squeezed his shoulder affectionately. “You must be really proud of her. And I’m sorry for the loss of your parents,” she said. “Sounds like you two might have spent some time apart, but I’m glad you found your way back to each other.” She spun toward the white Shaker cabinets above the counter and pulled out a handful of ingredients. “Not as fancy as toffee shortbread, I imagine, but always a crowd pleaser.”
She brandished a bag of Nestlé Toll House morsels and laughed.
“Thank you,” he said to Maggie. “Next time she and I are both in the area, you and Robert will have to head on out to Oak Bluff to meet her.”
Maggie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that would be wonderful!”
Colt grabbed the bag of chips with a smile. “And as for the cookies being a crowd pleaser, we’ll see if you all feel the same after entrusting this job to me.”
But he went to work reading the ingredients, squinting at the back of the chocolate chip package until he finally pulled a small case from his back pocket and withdrew a pair of reading glasses.
Do not be adorable in those glasses. Do not be adorable in those glasses.
He put the wire-rimmed spectacles on and was, of course, unquestionably adorable.
“Only ever needed ’em for reading,” he said when he noticed Jenna staring.
Because of course she was staring at the handsome rancher who somehow managed to get more attractive every moment she was in his presence.
“I’m going to go peek in on Lucy,” Jenna said, after scraping the last of the zoodles into a bowl. “Promise I’ll be back when it’s time to cook all the pasta.”
She didn’t wait for a response, deciding that removing herself from close proximity to Colt Morgan was the best course of action for now.
She strode toward the garage and let out a long breath when she was finally on the other side of the door, Lucy squawking with excitement to see her.
Jenna squatted down to greet her feathered friend, but instead of Lucy crawling onto Jenna’s lap like she usually did, she pecked at Jenna’s knees and her toes. Then she squawked, paced, and pecked again.
“I know,” Jenna said. “You don’t like sleeping in an unfamiliar place any more than I do, but Maggie and Robert are taking good care of us. By this time tomorrow, we’ll have you at the ranch where you can stretch your wings a little more.”
Lucy henpecked her way to the door that led back into the house, tapping her beak against the bottom of the two steps that led to the door.
Jenna sighed. “Sorry, girl. You’ll have to sleep out here tonight.”
Sure, Jenna let the animal into her home from time to time, but for the most part, Lucy preferred the outdoors. It wasn’t cold in the garage. Not by any means. And Robert and Maggie had left her plenty to eat. So what in the world did she want in a strange house?
Lucy looked at Jenna, then at the door, then back at Jenna again.
Jenna’s brows drew together. “You want me to leave?” she asked, incredulous.
Lucy squawked her approval, and Jenna shook her head and laughed.
“Fine. Have it your way. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Jenna made her way back to the door, and Lucy actually moved out of her way, staring her down with her beady chicken eyes until Jenna was up the stairs and back through the door.
So much for getting her head on straight before seeing Colt again.
Her stomach flipped and her throat tightened at the thought of heading back into the kitchen, but her only other option was the storm.
She looked out the window at the downpour, considering the alternative for a millisecond, then groaned.
Lucy didn’t think—she wasn’t forcing Jenna to spend more time in the kitchen with Colt.
Was she?
“You really are off your game, girl,” she whispered through the door. “Because as much as I want to make this fling thing happen, you’ve got the wrong guy for the job.”
Then she sighed and strode back the way she came, hoping at the very least the guy had put those damned glasses back in his pocket.
Chapter Six
Colt leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand over his satisfied belly.
“Maggie…Robert…Everything was delicious. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful we are for your hospitality,” Colt said.
Then he second-guessed himself. Should he have referred to himself and Jenna as a we? They were traveling together, and for a hot second he thought they might have even been flirting.
Okay, he’d definitely been flirting, but he’d also definitely misread her. He’d thought they cleared that all up, but Jenna had barely made eye contact with him throughout the whole meal, which had been a feat because she was sitting right across from him.
“Yes. Delicious. Grateful for y’all taking us in,” Jenna said, echoing his sentiment. “I’ll clear everyone’s plates!”
She sprang from her wooden chair before Maggie or Robert could protest and began busing the table like it was peak dining hours at the most popular restaurant in town.
“Wow,” Maggie said, eyes wide as Jenna moved with remarkable speed and dexterity around the table. “I guess I’ll put on the coffee and we can see how Colt did with the cookies.”
Colt finished the last of the red wine in his glass and blew out a breath.
“I don’t think I could eat another bite,” he said with a tinge of regret. Those chocolate chip cookies smelled good. No, fantastic, if he did say so himself.
Robert folded his hands behind his head.
“I’m with him,” the older man said. “Already unfastened the button on my jeans.”
“Oh Robert,” Maggie chastised, but Colt could see the hint of a smile. “Not in front of our guests.”
Robert shrugged. “I mean no offense to Jenna and Colt, but when a man eats to his heart’s content—and then some—the button’s gotta go.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Colt said with a grin, then undid his own jeans as well. He sighed. Being here with Maggie and Robert—with Jenna—it felt like he’d known them all for years rather than hours. For someone who spent so long without a true family of his own, Colt could tell he was among three people who got it, who understood the importance of what he’d missed out on and what he was still trying so desperately to find.
People with whom—a woman with whom—he was comfortable enough to be completely himself.
By unbuttoning his pants when he was full.
Maggie threw her hands in the air and then laughed.
Dishes clanged in the sink, and they all looked at Jenna, who was staring straight back at them.
“Sorry!” she said. “I just—I wasn’t expecting everyone to be undressing at the dinner table.”
Maggie raised her brows. “See?” she said, narrowing her gaze at both men, victorious. Then she glanced back at Jenna. “Robert doesn’t get out much,” she teased. “I’m guessing neither does Mr. Morgan.”
Colt leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not many places to go in Meadow Valley other than the local inn or tavern. Guess I just feel very much at home with you and Robert.”
Maggie laughed and stood from the table. “Should I even bother with the coffee, or are you men about to burst?”
“Burst,” both of them said.
“You both must be exhausted after the drama that started out your day,” Maggie called over her shoulder as she moved past Jenna to where the cookies sat on a cooling rack next to the oven. “How about I make you a plate of cookies and give you a bottle of fresh milk to bring upstairs. You can relax, snuggle into some pajamas…” She spun back to face the table where the two men were both still sitting. “Robert, can you grab them each somethi
ng to wear to bed?”
Colt straightened in his chair. “No need for that, Maggie. Looks like there’s a break in the rain. I’ll run out to the car—carefully, of course—and grab our bags.”
The last thing he wanted was to put Maggie and Robert out even further or to take another mud bath.
He watched as Jenna looked up from where she stood at the sink.
“Are you sure?” she asked him. “I would love my own stuff, especially my toothbrush—and my homemade face mask.”
“Oh?” Maggie said, eyes wide. “I’d love to try it.”
Jenna beamed, and Colt felt an odd sensation in his gut that had nothing to do with how much he’d glutted himself at dinner. This was a light, fluttering sort of feeling that happened in direct reaction to Jenna Owens smiling, even if she wasn’t smiling at him.
“Come on, Colt,” Robert said, and he stood and buttoned his jeans. “I’ll help you with the bags. Then we can give these two a little face mask time while you tell me about your ranch.”
“Deal,” Colt said, following suit and doing up his own jeans—which were Robert’s jeans. It would feel good to have his own stuff as well. Only, he didn’t exactly have pajamas. He wasn’t sure he knew another thirty-year-old man who did, but maybe that was just the circles he ran in—the pajamaless circles.
He shrugged and followed Robert to the door and braced himself to tread through the mud once more, this time, he hoped, with far better success.
They made it back inside just as the rain started up again, a light drizzle for now, but a new storm front was supposed to show up in a couple of hours.
“We can finish the dishes,” Robert said to Maggie and Jenna when they’d made it safely inside and removed their mud-caked boots. “You two can go do your face masks, and Colt and I can get to know each other a little better.”
Maggie gave her husband a pointed look. “You’re going to break into that bottle of bourbon Jonathan gave you for your birthday, aren’t you?”