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“Hey, fancy meeting you here,” she said.
I looked up and instantly regretted it. The light from the sun hit her just right, creating a halo effect around her head. Her beauty struck me like a punch to the chest, and I twisted away. What the hell was wrong with me?
“What are you doing here?” My voice was gruff, and I came off sounding more irritated than I meant to.
Kat ignored my tone. “I’m watching the twins. Mindy needs the help, and I have the experience. Frank needs to get back to work with the campers coming in a week, and Mindy is trying to get settled in. She can’t do much since she’s still recovering.”
I peered over at her. “That’s nice of you to help.”
She smiled and looked behind me. “What classes do you teach?”
Orion shifted, and I took that as my cue to walk him back to the barn. I led him to the other side to the gate. Kat walked along the fence line and followed me to the barn.
“Jumping and roping. I used to compete.” I mentally kicked myself for blurting that out.
“Really? Were you any good?” she asked as she came up beside me.
I glanced at her. She seemed genuinely interested.
“Yeah. I was pretty good. I won some ribbons and medals. Frank, Jacob, my brothers, and I competed together. That’s how we all met and became friends.”
“That’s cool. I’ve never done anything cool like that before. Rebecca and I wanted to be in beauty pageants when we were little, but it was too much work, and my mom said if we didn’t want to commit, then we’d have to give it up. I enjoyed being outside and getting dirty more than practicing a talent or speech,” Kat said with a laugh.
I snorted. “You don’t seem like you’d enjoy getting dirty.”
Orion went back into his stall without a fuss, and I fed him some carrots before walking over to get fresh hay.
“I can get dirty, but I prefer to look nice,” Kat defended. “There’s more to me than what’s on the outside.”
“I’m seeing that,” I said. My eyes quickly roamed over her body before resting on her face. A blush crept up her neck and into her cheeks. She glanced away. “How come you aren’t inside with the twins?”
“They’re sleeping, and so are Mindy and Frank. She told me to go since they were all settled in. I offered to cook dinner for them, but I guess Laney is bringing them a meal. Kate set up a meal train for them. I’ll have to get the information from her so I know when they’ll need me to cook.”
“You cook?”
She lightly punched my arm. “Yes, I can cook. Pretty well, I might add.”
I shook my head. One corner of my mouth pulled up in a lopsided smile. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
She put her hands on her hips and huffed. “Is that a challenge, Sidney Lewis?”
“Maybe.”
She smiled, and it lit up her eyes, making them an even more vibrant shade of blue. What was happening to me? I didn’t normally notice things about her like that. It was the opposite, actually. She kind of annoyed me. But that wasn’t the case now. She was fun and flirty, and I was enjoying the back and forth with her.
I rubbed at my beard as I stared at her.
“Challenge accepted. You name the place and time, and I’ll be there,” she said.
“Tonight. At Simply Cook It.” I wasn’t sure why I blurted that out.
Her eyes widened. “Tonight?”
I nodded slowly, committing to it even though I wanted to take it back.
She bit her thumbnail as she thought it over. “Are they holding any classes, and if so, is there room for us?”
“That’s a good question. Hold that thought.”
