I hung up with Salem and set my phone down.
“Salem and crew will be home tomorrow night. So thatmeans dinner at the Ridge. Mr. Powell already invited you, so you can’t make up an excuse not to go.”
“Freckles.”
“Beanstalk.”
“I need a new nickname,” he groused. “I’m not a fan of Beanstalk.”
“How about Desperado?”
He paused.
“Beanstalk it is.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Ranch
“What’s that?” I asked as Muddy set a plate of food down in front of me.
“It’s breakfast,” she said in confusion. “You’ve seen breakfast before, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but I already ate a donut. Why would I need breakfast?”
“Are you really gonna make me lecture you?”
I grinned. “You sound like Brooks.”
“Speaking of Brooks, you two were looking pretty cozy this morning when you said goodbye by the truck.”
“Cozy . . . yeah. Getting cozier by the minute,” I admitted. My cheeks blazed when I remembered what we’d done together just that morning.
She smiled like she knew what I wasn’t saying. “Another cup of coffee?”
“Please.”
Light footsteps traipsed down the stairs, and a momentlater, Mr. Powell’s thirty-year-old girlfriend appeared in the kitchen. Her hair was in a high ponytail and her skin looked wan in the early morning light.
“Hi, Poet,” Jane greeted.
“Hi,” I replied.
“Morning, Muddy.”
“You look like hell,” Muddy said to Jane.
“Thanks,” Jane drawled with a grimace. “This is what happens when you have a patient go into labor in the middle of the night.”
“Dog?” I asked.
“Raccoon.”
“Oh sure,” I said with a nod.
“So,” Jane began as she went to the coffee pot. “You’re staying in town for a while?”
“Maybe,” I said.
