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Her phone beeped with a text as she strode toward the barn. Checking the sender, she pressed delete seeing Natalie’s name again. Tolerance for Tony’s twin’s grief was one thing; allowing her to continue this constant harassment was another. She didn’t want to cause trouble, but she would never attain the peace she’d come here to find if she didn’t put an end to this.
Nicole entered the barn, tabling that decision until these renovations were done and she could consider the options with a clearer head. Of course, if Slade kept coming around, the clearer head might not ever return. How could a bad case of lust last so long? She had indulged in more sex with him in the last ten days than she had the previous ten months, yet she still went damp with one look, one simple touch.
Deranged Cowboy syndrome.Or insanity. There were no other explanations she could come up with.
“Wow, you move fast,” she told Jim, her gaze scanning the insulated walls and cleared concrete floor.
“I have a good crew. Work moves faster without obstacles. Open spaces like this are easy unless we run into problems. So far, nothing I didn’t already find on the inspection has popped up.”
Six young men had worked up a sweat even in this cool interior. Nicole shivered inside her coat, nothing she wasn’t used to. Growing up in the frigid Chicago winters with the wind blowing off the lake didn’t mean she endured long cold months without complaint.
“The pups and I will enjoy the heat once it’s in.”
“You’re paying a hefty amount to heat this place. Bedding them inside with hay would have saved you a lot. Just saying.”
She shrugged. Investing Tony’s money in the charity work that brought them together helped settle her conscience over inheriting from his suffering. The Renaldis didn’t need it. Natalie resented her for it, but Nicole just added it to the list of other things she resented her for, like breathing.
“It’s going to good use; that’s all that matters. My new handyman is here already and wants to help if you wouldn’t mind giving him something. Let’s just say he needs busy work.”
Jim patted her shoulder in a fatherly manner. “You’re a good person, Nicole. I can find something for him. I have the heating contractor coming tomorrow. With luck, we’ll have that going before the snow predicted at the end of the week. Planning on drywall and paint Wednesday, kennels and cleanup Thursday, maybe into Friday. The counters for the cottage will be in next week.”
“Sounds good. I’ll make a trip in to Casper midweek and stop at the shelter with an update. Thanks, Jim. See you in the morning.”
Nicole brought Sam inside when she returned to the house. Ever since she’d made the mistake with the coyote, she hadn’t left him out alone at dawn or dusk. She disliked owing Slade gratitude, yet she wouldn’t discount his timely appearance that evening or his enlightening information. And there she went, thinking about him again.
Annoyed with herself, she fed Sam then started on dinner. Paul would like her spaghetti pie. There wasn’t anyone she’d fixed it for who didn’t, and it was one of her favorites. She ignored the phone when it rang while she was mixing the cooked pasta with butter, eggs, and parmesan. Her parents were away on a cruise, so it was likely Allie or Lily. While she enjoyed their friendship, they would want to bring up Slade, and she was trying hard not to dwell on whatever was going on between them.
She was closing the oven door when she heard someone drive up and got halfway to the door when Slade’s loud voice followed his sharp rap.
“Nicole! Open up, or I’m coming in.”
Flinging the door open with a scowl, she snapped, “What are you ranting about?”
“You didn’t answer your phone,” he stated in a relieved, much calmer tone than the strident worry she’d caught at first.
Moving back, she held the door open since it appeared he was coming in anyway. Nicole closed it with a sigh, betrayed again by that damn little skip in her pulse upon hearing him, the instant pleasure at seeing him again.
“I was busy. What did you want?”
Instead of answering, he sniffed, tossed his lined denim coat on the sofa, and walked toward the kitchen, saying, “Smells like my timing is perfect. What are we having?”
“We?” She honestly couldn’t think of anything else to say.
It was his turn to scowl at her, hands fisted on his hips, that darn sexy Stetson still tipped low, hiding his eyes. “Yes.”
“You don’t sound happy about it.” About as pleased as she was, she imagined.
“I’m in the adjustment stage of our new relationship, same as you.”
A few words and the man left her dumbfounded. “We’re in a relationship?”
“Yes, and from watching my brothers this past year, eating together is apparently one of the things couples in a relationship do together. Where are the plates? I’ll set the table.”
She pointed to the cabinet behind him, delayed in questioning him further when Paul knocked on the back door. “That’s Paul, my handyman. He arrived early and is getting a plate to take to the cottage. He didn’t want to join me here. Respect that,” she told Slade.
“Of course,” he replied, setting his hat on the counter.
***
