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Luke held a warning hand out. “I wouldn’t get too close to that…”
Too late. The mother goose already had her feathers ruffled as she sensed danger to her goslings. She opened her mouth wide and released a menacing hiss as she made a run at Kaylee.
Kaylee let out a terrified shriek and launched herself towards Luke, smashing the cake box between them as she flung herself into his arms.
His arms automatically wrapped around her waist, as if some primal instinct to protect her kicked in.Yeah, real tough, protect the city girl from the big bad goose. Although he was a grown man, and he still got the creeps when a dang goose hissed at him. Which must be why he kept one arm securely around Kaylee as he shooed the goose and her goslings towards the lake.
“You okay?” he asked, peering down at the woman. The cake had smashed through the corners of the box, and globs of white frosting smeared across the front of her shirt and into the ends of her hair.
“Oh my gosh,” she said, her eyes wide and her hands still clutching the crumpled cake box as she took a step away. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that.” Thick splotches of frosting covered the front of his shirt as well, and she reached up to wipe at the blob he could feel clinging to his chin. Then she jerked her hand back as if his skin was on fire. “I’ll buy you a new shirt.”
He shook his head with a mild annoyance at city folks and their need to throw money at every problem. But she seemed genuinely upset. “Don’t worry about it. This shirt has seen a lot worse than a little frosting.” He brushed at the front of his faded blue T-shirt, then scooped the frosting from under his chin and flung it on the ground. The golden retriever raced to the spot and lapped at the white confection.
He licked the remaining bits from his fingers. “Not bad.”
Her shoulders hunched as she tried to scrape the frosting from her shirt. She looked miserable. He wanted to tell her not to worry, it was just a little frosting, but his words didn’t seem to be making much of an impression. He looked around, and this time it was his turn to be searching for what to say. She had a nice smile, but now she just looked sad and uncomfortable, and he found himself wanting to draw that smile out again.
He gestured towards the open back door of her car. “You might not want to leave your door open like that. You never know what kind of critter could climb in around here.”
Ugh.What he thought was a joke fell flat as she looked even more embarrassed.
“As long as it isn’t a goose,” she said, pressing her hand to her stained chest. “That thing scared the heck out of me. I didn’t even know they could do that. That hiss was like something between a snake and a dragon.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, they are scary when they feel like their goslings are threatened.” He held up his hand. “Not that you were threatening them. They just get that way.” Why couldn’t he seem to talk to this woman?
She flicked another glob of frosting to the ground as she reached for the door. But instead of closing it, she opened it wider.
“What the heck is that?” He tilted his head as a funny-looking creature lumbered out of Kaylee’s backseat and headed for the frosting.
“That’s Gladys. My dog.”
“What happened to the rest of her legs?” he asked as his golden raced toward the other dog. The two of them wiggled happily around each other, taking turns sniffing each other and licking at the remaining frosting on the ground.
She pushed her shoulders back, bristling at his comment. “Nothinghappenedto them. She’s a corgi. They have short legs.”
“Huh. I’ve heard of them, but I guess I’ve never seen one before.” He squatted down and the dog loped toward him, licking first at his hand then at the splotches of frosting remaining on his shirt.Off to a great start, dude.First you insult the cake she brings, then you insult her dog. At least she now seemed more miffed than embarrassed. He ruffled the fur around the dog’s neck, and she leaned into his hand. “You’re a good girl, aren’t ya?” He peered up at Kaylee. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean any offense. She seems like a real sweet dog.”
“She’s the best.” A small smile of pride now tugged at the corner of her lips. “Yours seems sweet too. What’s his name?”
“That doofus is Cooper.” He laughed as the dog raced around his legs then lay on the ground next to the corgi, his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth. “He seems to be showing off for Gladys.” At least the dogs were getting along, and Cooper didn’t seem to care if he was making a fool of himself in front of the other dog. “You probably wanna get settled. Why don’t I help you grab your stuff and show you your room?”
“That would be great. But I can get it.” She opened the back end of the compact SUV and reached for the suitcase.
“I got it,” he said, taking the handle of the bag. “Faye would skin me alive if I let you carry in your own stuff.”
She let out a small laugh, and the soft sound made his chest feel funny. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.” She handed him a duffle bag then hoisted the backpack and a small tote bag on her shoulder. “I hope it’s okay for Gladys to sleep in my room.”
He shrugged as he closed the hatchback. “Doesn’t bother me. You can have as many animals as you want in your room. We’ve got a bunch of barn cats around here you can bring in, and we’ve got a goat who I’m sure would love to cuddle up to you in bed. I won’t even charge you extra. But I may draw the line at a cow. They snore too loud.”
She laughed, the sound somewhere between a giggle and a snort. He liked it and found himself laughing with her before he could stop himself.
He didn’t usually consider himself a funny guy. In fact, if truth be told, he was often a bit of a grouch. But something about this woman, with her adorable laugh and her funny-looking dog, and the endearing way she blushed, had him wracking his brain trying to come up with something else witty to say as he led her toward the house.
Kaylee followed Luke into the house, thankful she had a minute out of his line of sight to collect herself.
She’d spent the last several hours of her drive rehearsing what she would say upon meeting Faye’s brother. How she would channel her inner Sassy and come off as calm, cool and collected. But of all the ways she’d imagined meeting her host, shrieking in terror and smashing a cake into his chest while trying to climb him like a tree had not been among them.
And that was just the start of the craziness. She was also mortified that she’d called him Duke. Although as she followed his broad shoulders into the farmhouse, she was still marveling at the striking resemblance Luke Montgomery had to her fictional hero, Duke Ramsey.
