Finally, he glanced back down at his cards and said, “I call.”
They both dropped their hands. He had four of a kind. “Straight flush!” Kat said triumphantly. “I win.” She was suddenly bummed out that they hadn’t been playing for anything interesting. So, she decided to improvise. “That means you have to tell me a story from your childhood.”
He shook his head with a half-smile. “We didn’t agree to that.”
“Humor me.” She leaned in and fluttered her eyelashes coquettishly. “Puh-lease.”
“Ah, why not?” he said, finally giving in. “What harm could it do?”
Kat sat back and crossed her arms, waiting for whatever story he was willing to tell her. She knew well enough how lucky she was to hear anything at all about him. He was such a closed-off kind of person that she doubted he ever told anyone anything about himself.
“Well…” He cleared his throat and thought a moment. “My dad was very old-fashioned about how he managed his ranch. He taught me how to ride a horse and herd cattle at a very young age, and I loved it. Our town even had a local rodeo competition, and it was my dream to participate one day.”
“Did you?” Kat asked, leaning forward on her elbows.
He gave her a little smirk before answering. “Of course I did. The real question was whether or not I won.”
“By the proud look on your face, I’m going to guess you did. Seems like you’re dying to tell me, though, so go ahead.” His smile dropped right as hers was growing. “See?” she said. “I can play poker, too.”
“I did win in one category,” he said. “Can you guess which one?”
He was turning the tables on her, making her play his game instead of the other way around. She didn’t mind in the least. Whatever kept him talking was fine by her. “Hmm… I’ll guess… that one where you spin the rope over your head and catch calves or something.”
For a moment, he just blinked at her from across the table. She was feigning a little ignorance to give him the feeling of having the upper hand, and it was working. “It was barrel racing.” He started shuffling the cards like they were about to play another hand. “What I’m best at, even on horseback, is running.”
Kat recognized that last bit as bait she was meant to take. If she did, it would trigger him into ending the conversation. He was trying to rip the bandage off now, but Kat wouldn’t let him. She wanted to keep him talking, to keep them talking to each other. She wasn’t interested in prying information out of him so much as making some kind of connection. She was in this for the long haul, even though she hadn’t admitted it to herself right away. So, rather than ask what he meant, she lobbed another joke at him. “You sure you didn’t win the beauty contest?”
Cole shook his head and laughed. “You mean the one for horses? Are you trying to call me a stallion?” He invited her to look him over again with a gesture.
Good. He was feeling playful again. That was a good sign. “Did your dad teach you how to do barrel racing?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said, his eyes glazing over with whatever memories the question pulled up for him. “He was a good teacher. Taught me to get back in the saddle, literally. Taught me to never give up, no matter how hard things got. He gave me my first horse, too. She was a beauty and faster than anybody thought she could be with the right rider.”
“That being you,” Kat added.
Cole nodded with a proud expression that made him even more attractive than he had been when he was busy brooding. “I was good.”
“You ever think about getting a horse again?”
He shook his head. “Kind of have to stay in one place to keep a horse.”
There was a comment worth digging into. “And you don’t?”
He took a sip of his soda and dealt the cards, which he’d been shuffling for far longer than Kat felt was normal. It was clearly a nervous gesture, some way for him to keep his hands busy. “I’ve been nomadic for years. Moved away from the ranch, said goodbye to everyone I knew, and never looked back. I haven’t stayed in one place for more than six months in years.”
“Do you like living like that?” Kat asked.
He shrugged. “There’s a certain charm to it. But it would be nice to have a horse of my own again.”
“Why not stick around here, then?” she said, and immediately, his expression fell. Clearly, she’d taken things a touch too far. “I mean, you don’t have to, obviously. But you could if you wanted to. You’re good at your job, so I’d like to keep you around for as long as you’re willing to stay.”
He pretended to misunderstand her, she assumed, in order to avoid addressing what she said. “Well, I’ve got to get going soon if I’m going to get to bed at a reasonable hour. It sounds like the rain has stopped, so maybe I can work on the truck some more.” He picked up his phone and glanced at the time. Then his eyes went wide. “It’s already ten thirty. How?”
“Time flies when you’re having fun?” Kat offered.
He dropped his cards and stood, and Kat was immediately reminded that he was wearing her pajama pants. They revealed far more than his jeans usually did, and she found herself growing hot in the cheeks again. He didn’t say a word but went immediately into the bathroom, probably to check whether his clothes were dry. Kat was certain they’d still be damp, at least.
Then, inspiration struck. “Why don’t you just stay here?” she said.
