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Chapter Fourteen
Luke heard Gladys scratching on Kaylee’s door as he walked by it the next morning. She’d told him it was okay to let the corgi out if he was up first.
He eased open the door, just enough to let the dog through. Gladys came flying out, racing around him and Cooper then popping to a sit in front of him. Holding her head up for a scratch, the corgi’s hind end wiggled with excitement.
“You are a pretty cute little mutt,” he said, giving her neck a brisk rub. The dog’s eyes closed in bliss as she reveled in the attention, then she took off again, stopping to sniff her and Cooper’s food bowls before she ran to the front door.
Even in the short time they’d been here, the dog had settled into a routine, making herself at home.
The dog wasn’t the only one, he thought as he peered into the bedroom at the woman sleeping in his guest bed. She lay on her side and had her fist tucked under her chin. His throat caught at the flood of emotions that ran through him as he took in the serene expression on her face and the mass of wavy chestnut hair spread across the pillows. She looked like an angel.
She slung one arm out as she rolled to her back, and he noticed she had on the flannel shirt he’d given her the night before.Dang. She’d worn his shirt to bed. That fact sent a slew of questions running through his head. Was she wearing it because shelikedhim? Or did she just pull it on in the night because she was cold?
Kaylee Collins had landed in his life, with her pudgy dog, hot pink cowgirl outfit and a smashed vegetable cake, and he hadn’t been the same since. He’d expected her to be snooty or even a little stuck up, but instead she’d been sweet and charming and brought a breath of fresh air to his otherwise dull existence.
She made him see his life and his old farm in a new light, and he was finding that he liked it. Even when he’d thrown dull or grubby tasks at her, she’d attacked them with the kind of zest and excitement akin to if he’d offered her a job as a taste-tester in a cupcake shop. She seemed to make everything fun. Which was something he hadn’t realized how much he was missing in his life.
He was actually looking forward to today’s celebration, which he hadn’t done in years. He’d often skipped it, entrenching himself in chores to have an excuse to stay home. Some years, Dean and Emma had dragged him out, but he hadn’t stayed for the street dance in a long time.
He and Kaylee had talked about going together, but the fluttery feeling in his stomach he was getting from watching her sleep suddenly made him wonder about tonight. Was this adate? Would she think it was? Or was this just two friends going to a concert and street dance together. Were they even considered friends?
Of course they were. What else would he call them? Except he couldn’t recall getting jumpy and nervous about going to an event with any other friend before. But this event involved a warm summer night and music and oh man…what if she wanted to dance with him? The idea of taking Kaylee in his arms and leading her around a dance both thrilled and terrified him.
Double dang. What was this woman doing to him? And why was he still standing in her doorway getting all moony over her wearing his shirt to bed and having sappy thoughts about her looking like an adorable angel.
Her steady breathing dipped, and she let out a low snore. A grin broke across his face. Make that an adorablesnoringangel.
Gladys whined from across the room, and he carefully pulled Kaylee’s door shut and went to let the dogs outside.
He was still mooning over the woman twenty minutes later as he finished catching up on his email and emptying his first cup of coffee. He’d let Gladys back into her room, and the corgi had jumped on the bed and cuddled up to Kaylee. He’d actually caught himself feeling jealous as she sleepily threw her arm over the dog’s neck and curled around her.
He needed to get out of here, needed to clear his head. He poured fresh coffee into a travel mug then scribbled a note to Kaylee about taking Max out for a ride. At the last second, he added a line about planning to leave for the Pancake Breakfast and parade at nine.
But that wasn’t considered a date either. Was it?
Kaylee heard the sound of hooves and caught sight of Luke’s back as he rode into the pasture as she stumbled into the kitchen for coffee fifteen minutes later.
He nudged the horse forward, and she was captivated by the vision of him galloping the huge black horse across the bright green pasture. His cowboy hat was pushed low over his forehead, and he leaned forward in the saddle as if he were trying to outrun the air behind him.
She pressed a hand to her chest as she let out a sigh. That man wasn’t even in the same room with her, and he still had her heart pounding as if he’d just taken her hand. Which brought up more heart hammering as she remembered the way her hand had felt gripped in his.
They’d had such fun the day before. But she wasn’t here for fun, she reminded herself. This was supposed to be work, research. Although she’d practically filled one notebook already with thoughts and ideas and bits of prompts for new scenes and settings.
And today held another array of opportunities for hand holding…er, more research. Luke had made the pancake breakfast and parade sound droll and boring, but she couldn’t wait. All the events of the day sounded fun to her.
She found Luke’s note and checked her watch. She’d had an idea the night before and calculated how much time she would need. Yes, she should have just enough to get ready then run into town and get back before they needed to leave.
Thirty minutes later she was pushing through the door of Milligan’s Mercantile. She waved to the woman behind the register and was greeted with a warm smile. “Hi, Pearl,” she called, crossing the empty store. “How’s Bud doing?”
“Oh hey Kaylee,” Pearl said, leaning back against the side of the counter. “He’s doing real well. Almost completely back to his ornery self. Thanks for asking. Something I can help you with this morning?”
“Yes, actually there is. You know Emma Austin?”
“Of course.”
“And how she’s had her eye on that bicycle in the front window?”
Pearl nodded. “She’s been hounding me about it all summer.”
