Stealing the Cowboy's Heart
Page 4
The space was smaller than he’d thought, with wood laminate floors, pale yellow walls and white clouds painted on the light blue ceiling. But no place to sit. So he settled in the corner where he wouldn’t be in the way, and leaned on his crutches as he waited.
The smell of fresh-brewed coffee drifted over to him. He didn’t see a coffeepot, and couldn’t tell if the aroma was coming from the kitchen or from the counter behind Kylie.
“Yoo-hoo, young man?”
Landon turned to the tiny, white-haired woman trying to get his attention. She waved him over to where she stood near the case. He sighed. Why had he thought the crutches would give him a pass?
He hobbled over to her. “Yes, ma’am, how can I help?” he asked with a polite smile.
“You can park yourself right here,” she said, gesturing to the spot in front of her. “Kylie can take your order next. No need for you to be waiting, you being a cripple and all.”
Cripple.
Landon tried not to cringe. “Well, that’s very kind of you,” he said, “but I’m just waiting for Kylie.”
“Oh, you’re a friend of hers?” she asked, curiosity etched in every line on her face.
The other women all turned and checked him out.
“I have a chair in the back,” Kylie said quickly. “Why don’t you wait there? I’ll even bring you a cup of coffee.”
“Can’t pass up that offer,” he said and nodded at the elderly woman, who looked disappointed. “You have a real nice day, ma’am.”
The place was utterly quiet as everyone watched him hobble around the counter, which made him feel awkward as hell.
“It’s just a folding chair,” Kylie said as he was about to enter the kitchen. “I’ll bring your coffee in a minute.”
“I can get it myself.” He spotted the coffee station directly behind her on the back counter. “Take care of your customers. I’m good.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about us,” said the tall woman ordering the birthday cake. “We have all the time in the world.”
The other three nodded.
Yeah, just what he wanted to hear.
“Well, I’m afraid I don’t,” Kylie said, turning to a pair of solid-looking upper oak cabinets and bringing down a three-ring binder. “Tell you what, Shirley, why don’t you have a look at these pictures of other cakes I’ve done while I box Eunice’s turnovers?”
Landon saw the mugs stacked in the open cabinet and leaned his crutches against the wall.
“What do you mean you don’t have time, dear? Will you be closing early?”
“Oh, for pity’s sake, Mabel. She has plans with the hunk.”
Slanting the eighty-something woman a quick look, Landon realized she meant him.
Kylie laughed. “Actually, I have Joe Hopkins coming at eleven-thirty.”
“What for?” Shirley had stepped aside as she flipped through the pages.
“To give me a quote on raising part of this front counter to accommodate some bar stools.”
“Bar stools?” Mabel repeated, frowning. “How do you expect us to climb up on those?”
Just as Landon squeezed in behind Kylie, he noticed that the rosy-cheeked Mabel and the woman standing beside her were twins. And that Kylie had stiffened up the way she used to when Gary said something stupid.
“Actually, the counter isn’t so much about a place to sit,” Kylie said. “I’ll be setting up a coffee station on the other end—”
“You mean you’re going to start serving all those expensive coffees I see on the TV commercials?” Mabel looked at her sister, who’d scrunched up her face as if she’d swallowed something sour.
“Just a couple of specialty flavors, but nothing else will change. I promise.”
“Why can’t you bring in a table and some chairs for us older folks?”
“It’s really too small in here,” Kylie said, keeping her voice conciliatory. “But I’m hoping to expand and then—”
“These cakes are something else,” Shirley cut in. “Would you mind if I borrowed this to show my daughter-in-law?”
“Not at all,” Kylie said eagerly. “In fact, I have—” She turned and slammed right into him.
The side of his head smacked the cabinet door.
Her eyes widened. A gasp slipped past her lips as he caught her waist to steady himself.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” She touched his face, her slender fingers as gentle as butterfly wings. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
She swept the hair off his forehead. “It’s red. You’ll have a lump.”
Her sweet breath tempted him to move closer. To taste those lush pink lips he’d been dreaming about for years. “Nah. You always said I was hardheaded.”
“True.” She lowered her hand. And jerked back. “Your leg...did I—”
“My leg is fine, Kylie.” He wondered if she remembered they were being watched. He looked in the cabinet and brought down a stack of flattened white cardboard. “Will this size work for the turnovers?”
She blinked at the cardboard, then looked back at him. “Why are you here, Landon?”
“Let’s save that discussion for later, huh?” The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass her, but he was pretty sure she’d spaced. Keeping his gaze locked with hers, he started assembling boxes. “Your customer’s waiting for her turnovers.”
“Good heavens, don’t fret over me.”
Comprehension widened Kylie’s eyes. After a quick glance at their eager audience, she grabbed a box out of his hands. “Eunice, I have your favorites this morning,” she said, reaching into the glass case with a pair of silver tongs. “One apple and two cherry, right?”
“Well, no, actually I—”
Before the woman finished speaking, Kylie taped the box shut. “Here you go. I’m sorry for the wait.”
Looking puzzled, Eunice just nodded and laid some money on the counter.
Mabel whispered something to her sister and they both giggled like teenagers.
Shirley had closed the binder and was staring over her glasses at Landon. She was quite a bit younger than the other three, maybe in her midfifties. And tall enough that she nearly came eye-to-eye with him.
A timer beeped in the kitchen. Kylie mumbled something about checking the oven and hurried into the back.
Landon brought down a mug and poured himself some coffee. Forgetting where he’d left the crutches, he glanced around and discovered he was still in Shirley’s crosshairs.
He took a sip, then smiled at her. “Go ahead,” he said. “I know you’ve got something to say. Let’s hear it.”
She tucked the binder under her arm. “Kylie’s a sweet girl. She might not have lived here long, but she’s like one of our own.” Her eyes narrowed. “You got that, cowboy?”
“Yes, ma’am, I do.”
“Now, what did you do to your leg?”
“Got bucked off a horse.”
“Rodeo?”
Landon nodded.
“You ride professionally?”
Again he nodded, and reached for his crutches. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have. By now he was fairly certain Kylie hadn’t been following rodeo news and had no idea how high he was ranked. And that suited him fine.
“I thought you looked familiar.”
“My word, I thought so, too,” Mabel said, leaning closer and squinting at him.
Her sister huffed with annoyance. “You did no such thing,” she said, clutching her white sack. “If you want a ride home you’d better be right behind me.”
The pair bickered all the way out the door. Through the window Landon watched them stop at a big Chevy that had to be over twenty years old. “Should they be driving?”
“No.” Shirley chuck
led. “But they don’t go far and everyone knows to give them a wide berth.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get going too. Eunice, would you like a ride home?”
“Well...” The elderly woman peered toward the kitchen and then looked back at Landon.
“I’m meeting my daughter in Kalispell,” Shirley said. “It’s now or never.”
Eunice nodded. “It was nice to meet you, young man.”
“Likewise.”
“Remember what I told you,” Shirley said, wagging a finger as they headed for the door.
“Yes, ma’am.” He caught her little grin as she turned her head and figured he’d passed inspection.
They’d barely made it outside when a woman, who looked too young to have a toddler resting on her hip, paused at the window.
He cursed under his breath. Maybe if he hung the closed sign for a—
“Sorry about that. I had to pull out the cupcakes—” Kylie stopped in the doorway. “What did you do, chase away all my customers?”
“I wish.” He glanced toward the window.
She followed his gaze and grinned. “Oh, that’s Mary Sara,” she said, waving. “She won’t come in until after she goes to the bank.”
“Don’t you have any help?”
“I did. There was a teenager who used to come in after school, but she left for college last month. I’m pretty sure I’ll have someone else starting soon.” Kylie blew at the stray wisps of hair fluttering around her face. Her cheeks were flushed, probably from the heat of the oven.
Though he’d like to think he had a little something to do with it.
The way she watched him sip his coffee sent his heart rate into overdrive. When he realized she wanted to smooth her hair back without using her hands, he reached over to help her out.
She ducked. “Why don’t you come on back with me while I make some frosting,” she said, pulling her gaze away. “At least you can sit.”
Without waiting for a response, she whirled around and retraced her steps.
Landon hung on to his mug and used one crutch to follow her. “So, you might be able to expand?”
“That depends on a number of things.” Kylie sighed. “I can’t believe I brought up the bar stools. That was so dumb. I wanted to play down the whole city coffee bar thing.”
“Better they know ahead of time, right? So they get used to the idea.”
“I can’t afford to alienate my customers, and honestly I don’t want to hurt their feelings. Most of them are just nice, lonely old women.”
“So, then what about two small tables?”
“In that little corner? I’m busy in the morning and the tables would just be in the way.”
“I meant really small, like those round tables you see in cocktail lounges. That should fit.”
“With chairs, too?” She shook her head. “Anyway, I’m trying to preserve the rustic feel of the place to balance out the coffee bar. Keep it from looking like I’ve gotten too citified.”
“Okay. I get it,” he said. “How about a couple of bench seats built against the wall? That wouldn’t take up much space. Make ’em right, and people won’t be camping out all day.”
Kylie laughed. “Are you saying the seats shouldn’t be too comfortable?”
He just grinned.
The kitchen was old but spotless, which wasn’t surprising. In between rodeos some of Gary’s so-called friends had used the house he and Kylie shared as a crash pad. Yet Kylie had always managed to keep the place clean. Landon had mentioned something about it not being fair to her, and Gary had blown up at him. Told him it was none of his goddamn business. Landon couldn’t argue with that.
Kylie stopped at a scarred butcher-block island that sat in the middle of the kitchen. Leaning against it was the metal folding chair. “This is sturdier than it looks,” she said, glancing at him as she set it up. “I should’ve brought your coffee. I’m sorry. Where’s your other crutch?”
“I get along just fine with one.” Closing in on the island, he took the last foot with a short hop on his good leg. Coffee sloshed over the rim onto his hand.
“Uh-huh.” A grin teased the corners of her lips. “You were saying?”
“No fair. You’re making me nervous.”
“Me?” She let out a laugh. “Please.”
“Come here.”
Wariness changed her expression. “Why?”
“Jesus, I’m not gonna bite.”
She slowly rounded the island. The second she was within reach, he caught her wrist and held her hand against his chest. “You feel how fast my heart’s beating?”
“So what? So is mine.” Her eyes widened when she realized what she’d just admitted. The second she tugged her hand back he let her go.
While he still had his wits about him, he said, “I figure we can call it even.”
Her cheeks matched her pink apron and made her eyes sparkle like emeralds. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but he might have waited too long to reenter her life. He owed it to her to wait and see where she stood.
Chapter Five
Kylie combined the ingredients for the frosting in a bowl while Landon got comfortable. The darn man had been in town only a matter of hours and already he was making her jittery.
“Tell me about the expansion. What does it depend on?”
“Well, the city owns the building and they use the space next door for town meetings. Sadie—she’s the mayor—thinks they should move to a bigger location. If they do, she’ll give me first crack at renting it.”
“How big is the place?”
“Big,” she said as she got busy whipping in the chocolate. “I wouldn’t have to rent the whole thing. They could break it down. I’d still have plenty of room for tables and chairs, and I could build up the coffee bar business, too.”
He was quiet for such a long time that she glanced up at him. Oddly, he was staring at the mixing bowl and frowning.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hmm?” He met her eyes. “Nothing. When do you see something like that happening?”
“Maybe never. I just don’t know at this point. Anyway, it wouldn’t be cheap since I’d have to knock down part of the wall. I’d have to save up.”
“So, you’re getting a quote just on the counter?”
She nodded. “And a matching condiment cabinet.”
“Sounds like a good place to start.”
“Except for the older customers.” She started icing the cupcakes for the special order that would be picked up soon. Hyperaware of Landon watching her, Kylie fumbled the spatula and gouged a hole in the third cupcake. Calmly, she set down the spatula before she did something stupid, like throw it against the wall.
“Did you do that on purpose?”
She looked up and saw that he wasn’t joking. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Maybe to put something extra in it?”
“Like what?”
Ignoring her snippy tone, he asked, “What is it they put in those cakes during Mardi Gras in New Orleans?”
Kylie managed to shake her head without rolling her eyes. He was just trying to help. No reason to snap at him.
“Okay, look,” he said. “Why don’t you give me something to do? No sense me just sitting here.”
“I agree. Why don’t you go have some lunch at the diner? Or go relax in your room?”
“Trying to get rid of me, Kylie?” He spoke evenly, without a trace of accusation or annoyance or anything at all. Idling in neutral was typical for Landon.
“After all that driving I figured your leg must be stiff and you might want to stretch it.” She went to the sink and washed her hands. Mostly to avoid his probing eyes. “By the way, how was the motel?”
Thank God she had her back to him. Even knowing the question was inevitable hadn’t helped her prepare. And just because she wasn’t facing him didn’t mean he’d stopped staring. So hard she could almost feel her skin burn. “It was nice.”
His prolonged silence finally got to her.
Hoping and praying the bell over the door would ring, she grabbed a dish towel. Not a single customer for almost thirty minutes. Now, they all stayed away? As she turned to face him, she concentrated on drying her hands. “Tell me about your leg.”
A smile curved his mouth and struck a raw nerve. “Are you going out with him again?”
Kylie felt her blood pressure climb. “How is that any of your business?”
He shrugged. “I’d just hate to see you get mixed up with a guy who isn’t right for you just to show me.”
“Show you what? I hadn’t given you a second thought until yesterday.”
After studying her for a few seconds, he said, “I thought about you a lot.”
She could barely catch her breath. “I don’t blame you for Gary’s behavior. You can stop feeling—”
“It had nothing to do with Gary.” One side of his mouth hiked up. Not in a smile exactly. More like a challenge as his gaze held hers steady. “At least not in the way you’re thinking.”
Kylie swallowed. The look he was giving her scrambled her brain. She’d seen it before, over the years when she’d caught him watching her. She never understood how she could panic and melt at the same time. As it was, she’d almost done something unforgivable.
“Who’s been taking care of you?” she asked, darting a look at his leg.
“First, I take care of myself just fine. Second, I didn’t come all this way for you to be my nurse. Or to discuss Gary. Or to rehash the past.”
“Okay.” She cleared her throat. “Then I’ll ask you again, why are you here?”
“That answer hasn’t changed since yesterday. But I’ve got a question for you,” he said, and there it was again. Although it seemed to be more an entreaty than a challenge this time.