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“Would you mind telling me?”
He shrugged. “Cord just took off for the western pasture to check on the cattle. He won’t be back for a while.”
She knew she should leave and come back later, but she didn’t want to—not until she talked things out with Cord. “Mind if I wait for him?”
Jesse shrugged again. “Suit yourself.”
He strode back into the barn, leaving Alexis alone with her thoughts. There was anot
her reason she needed to see Cord, and it had nothing to do with the land. Before her nerve failed her, they needed to have an honest conversation about what happened in the desert. Cord had to understand her feelings for him were real and that they had absolutely nothing to do with whether he sold her the land or not.
For the first time in her life, she longed to toss aside her cautious tendencies. She wanted to live in the moment and savor more of Cord’s spine-tingling kisses—more of all of him.
After their hike, she’d waited for him to think things through and understand her situation. He was a reasonable guy and would understand her need to do what was best for her father. For the last two days, she’d willed the phone to ring, but he hadn’t called for any reason. Either he was nursing a bruised ego, or he was as confused as she was about where they went from here.
Unable to sit still, she paced across the lengthy porch, waiting for her cowboy—um, Cord to appear on the distant horizon. Seconds soon turned into a half hour. She needed something productive to do with herself to avoid becoming a ball of nerves.
Then a thought came to her, a way to soften him up. She recalled their conversation at the canyon about how he’d like to come home to her and a hot meal. In that moment, she wanted to be the woman be envisioned sharing his evening meals with while catching up on the day’s events.
Her chest warmed at the thought of the surprise in his eyes and the smile on his handsome face. Anticipation fluttered in her stomach. Toss in a little of the wine she’d spotted in the kitchen and some casual conversation, and it’d be a perfect evening.
However, where exactly did she want this evening to go? She knew it should end with a tactful business meeting, but another part of her was eager for something more personal. They may not have forever, so why not make the most of the here and now?
She knew she was getting way ahead of herself. She didn’t know how Cord would react to seeing her again, specifically with the town meeting literally on the horizon. And that wasn’t the only problem with her plan. She hadn’t exaggerated about her lack of experience behind the stove. Her idea of taking care of dinner usually consisted of ordering takeout.
Unwilling to give up, she knew she’d need help if she was going to make this meal a success. A recipe book would be a good start. Would a cowboy have such a thing? Probably not. But with the way he clung to the past, she’d bet he still had his mother’s recipes.
She rushed into the kitchen and scanned the tidy counter tops. No books. She glanced in the cabinet drawers. No recipes there either. She was about to give up when she spotted a little rack of books atop the fridge.
She grabbed the first cookbook and flipped it open. She soon decided a casserole sounded the easiest. Mix everything up, toss it in a dish, and shove it in the oven. Even she could do that…she hoped.
Through a process of elimination, she settled on a taco casserole. It didn’t sound so hard, and it had a Southwest flair. Who didn’t love tacos? No one she knew.
She set to work, quickly learning that cooking kept you on your toes. Stirring this, chopping that, and mixing something else, but at last she got everything in the baking dish. She grinned like a little kid as she slid her creation into the oven, making sure to double-check the temperature.
She turned around, horrified at the mess she’d made of Cord’s kitchen. Where had she gone wrong? Weren’t casseroles supposed to be easy? She wiped her arm across her damp brow. If so, why in the world did she have so many dishes to clean?
She loaded up the sink with a fistful of utensils, a stack of bowls, a skillet, and a couple of cutting boards. The trick would be to get it all cleaned up before he got home. She turned on the hot water and set to work.
A full half hour later, the kitchen was spotless once again. The thought that she’d forgotten something niggled at her. She peeked in the oven to find dinner bubbling away. What was she missing? She bit down on her lower lip as her gaze darted around. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what it could be.
She gave up worrying and walked out to the porch to look for signs of Cord. She wrung her hands together. She couldn’t recall ever being this nervous about impressing a man in her life—not even her father.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Cord stood by the barn door, his eyes glued to the beautiful sight waiting for him on the porch. He drank in the view of Lexi’s purple T-shirt clinging to the swell of her chest and narrowing down to her waist before flaring out at her jean-clad hips. His mouth grew dry as he forced his eyes back to her smiling lips.
It’d been ages since he’d been able to come home to someone. He could get used to this—real easily. Not that he’d let himself. She’d already shot him down once. How many slap-downs would it take for him to learn his lesson?
She probably wanted to talk some more about the damn resort. His jaw tightened. The thought that she ventured here only for business dampened his anticipation.
“Wow-wee, looks like that cute missy is back.” Manny let off a low whistle. “She still tryin’ to get you to sell?”
“I don’t know what she wants.” Cord’s heart beat a little faster as he stared at her. “But I’m sure going to find out.”
He handed Manny his reins. “Can you take care of the horse for me?”
“Absolutely. Have fun. I know I sure would.”
