“Of course I do,” Cole said, and Kat got the distinct impression he was telling the truth. “I said I’d keep ’em for you, didn’t I? Listen, kitten.” He leaned in, and Kat instinctively reacted by leaning away from him. “I may seem like a shady guy to someone like you, but I always keep my word. Ask anyone who knows me. Ask him.” He pointed at the server who was passing by again on his way to the kitchen.
Kat shook her head with a laugh. “I believe you. Anyway, do you think you’ll be in town long enough to need a job? Because if you will, I have work for you.”
“I’m listening.” He leaned in again, and this time, she did not lean away from him.
“My current hand has thrown his back out, and I’m insisting he get some rest. I need help in the meantime, and you seem to know what you’re doing. I can’t pay a ton?—”
“I’m in,” he interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
“I haven’t even told you how much the job pays.”
“It doesn’t really matter,” he assured her with a wink. “I take work on how interesting the job will be rather than how much it will pay. And a city girl trying to run a ranch? I can’t imagine anything more entertaining right now.”
“So you’re going to work for me just so you can watch me struggle?” She glared across the table at him, still unsure whether their personalities would clash too much to work together.
He shrugged. “Does it matter what my motivation is? The outcome is the most important thing, right? And I can promise you’ll be happy with my work.”
He made a good point, or at least it was a point that appealed to Kat’s practical nature. Of course, his personal reasons were none of her business. As long as he was a good and honest worker who accepted the pay she could offer, she had nothing to complain about. “All right,” she said, holding a hand across the table. He took it, and they shook. “You’re hired. But remember, this is my ranch. I’ll hear your advice, but the final decision on everything, including your employment, is mine.”
He smiled with a look that could be almost interpreted as respect. “Understood… Kat.”
PART II
CHAPTER 7
COLE
The main problem with Katherine Naylor, Cole’s brand-new boss, was that she was far too cute to criticize. Luckily for her, Cole was a pro at criticism and would not let her adorable expressions stop him from telling her what she needed to hear.
Before anything else, she had him fixing the front gate, followed by the goat pen. He watched her drive past multiple times in his pickup, which he had allowed her to use, carrying supplies for the ranch. The problem, he noticed, was the supplies themselves. They were all decorative. She even brought in one of those ridiculous, fake wells people usually had in their front yards. She’d also marked out several spaces around the property and started landscaping for some mysterious reason. There weren’t even buildings there yet.
Once, while he was securing the lock on the gate, he refused to open it for her like usual. When she leaned out the window to glare at him, he asked. “What in the world are you doing?”
She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Decorating.”
“Obviously,” he said. “What I want to know is why? You aren’t even decorating areas that make sense. Why are you spending money on this?”
She didn’t seem the least bit perturbed by his doubt. “Because ‘this,’ my friend, is going to be the money maker on this ranch.”
“How?” He was truly baffled.
“The place has to look nice for guests. Otherwise, they won’t even show up.”
“Guests?” What in the world was she talking about? He couldn’t begin to imagine. She was idling there in the truck, smiling like she had a delightful secret. She was excited about something, and Cole wasn’t entirely sure it wouldn’t wind up being a disaster. “You’re not turning this land into a hotel, are you?” He’d meant it as a joke, but when she didn’t deny it, he started to panic. “You wouldn’t do that. I mean, what about the ranch? Is this what your uncle would have wanted? You’re just going to knock it all down?”
“Relax, I’m not knocking anything down,” she said with a chuckle. “Why do you care so much, anyway? It’s not your ranch. Don’t worry. You’ll still have a job.”
There wasn’t a lot more Cole could say to her without giving her too much information. The long and the short of it was he had partly taken this job due to the fact that he’d be in minimal contact with the general public. He actually wanted the isolation. He’d been looking forward to it. It had felt like destiny when she’d offered the job so easily. There was no chance he’d continue working in any kind of hotel.
At lunch, she wandered over to him, looking pleased as punch. He was eating a sandwich on a pair of deck chairs just outsidethe barn that she’d put there for the electricians. Why she was bothering to completely rewire a barn that housed one ancient horse and a few goats was way beyond Cole. “I’m going to see about a horse,” she said when she reached him. “You want to come with me?
He raised an eyebrow. Finally, she was doing something that made sense. If she was going to use horses for some of the labor around the ranch, she would definitely need one who wasn’t older than dirt. “Sure. Are you looking for purchasing advice?”
“Mmm…” The fact that she even thought about it should have given him pause. “Only negotiating advice. I’m not familiar with value. But I’ve decided on this horse, and you’re not going to talk me out of it.”
Oh, this was going to be bad for sure. “Give me ten,” he said, “and I’ll drive you there.”
“Perfect,” she sang. “I knew you’d come in handy.”
