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“Maybe.” Clutching the mug handle, she pushed away from the table. To her caffeine addled brain, the chair legs scraping across the floor sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. The way she calculated the situation, she had just enough time to finish her lukewarm coffee, shower, dress, and hit the parking lot often referred to as a freeway. “I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m hoping he turns out to be a real prince.” Joan flashed a cheesy grin. “With a brother for me.”
One thing was sure, if Craig Baron wasn’t too good to be true, there were enough single men in that family to make a village of women very happy.
Despite a lack of sleep and over abundance of coffee, Kate was showered, dressed, and making great time on the bumpy road to the barn. At this rate, she was probably going to beat both Craig and Ted to the Martin place. Though, she supposed now it was the Baron property. Or Baron Studios. She actually shook her head at that. Who wanted a big business in the middle of rural Texas anyhow. The owl and its new habitat was the main concern, but who knew how many other animals all this construction was going to unsettle.
Already moving alongside the broken-down fence that surrounded the property, as she turned the bend that came just before the driveway, she could see a slew of cars parked by the barn in the distance. She had no idea why she thought a little past eight thirty in the morning was going to be too early for big business. Rolling her neck in a useless effort to ease the increasing stress making itself at home in every cell in her body, she took in a deep breath and blew it out ever so slowly. All this activity was most likely already stressing that poor bird. “Men.”
Resisting the urge to slam her car door and stomp over to where Craig and another guy hovered over the hood of a massive pickup truck, she straightened her shoulders, grabbed her binoculars and camera, and slowly marched across the gravel drive. “Morning, gentlemen.”
It took Craig a moment longer to stop tapping at the papers on the hood of the truck and look up. A smile touched his lips and darn that man if all the fire she’d been breathing for hours didn’t wash away.
“Your friend has been here for a while.”
“Friend?”Duh. “You mean Ted?”
Craig nodded. “I took the liberty of showing him these preliminary sketches that the architect drew up.”
“Morning,” the man she assumed had drawn the sketches nodded at her.
“Sorry.” Craig straightened and took a step back from the truck. “Kate Donovan, you remember my cousin, Porter Baron.”
She nodded and at the last minute decided there was no need to be rude and forced a smile. “Nice to see you again.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” Apparently, there wasn’t a Baron yet who hadn’t inherited the charming gene.
Craig cleared his throat and actually nudged his cousin back a step. That was almost enough to make her laugh.
“I should go look for Ted.” She cast a glance in the direction of the barn.
“He’s already been in the barn.” Craig straightened. “Last I saw he was walking the perimeter heading toward the main house. If you can wait a minute, I’ll go with you.”
Dressed in jeans and chambray shirt, another man came walking out of the barn. Even with the cowboy hat shading his eyes, she didn’t need a family portrait to know he was another Baron, but his name had slipped her mind. “You may not be as crazy as I thought.”
Craig looked from her to the latest guest to the party and she raised her hand at him. “I’ll go find Ted. I’ll be fine.”
“No. There could be snakes. Give me one second.”
She held out one foot. “Wore my boots today.”
“Still.” Craig pressed his lips tightly together and gave her a pleading stare.
“No need.” Porter pointed in the distance. “Here comes the fed.”
Right now the way both his cousins were practically drooling at Kate, Craig wasn’t sure if he wanted to scoop her up and whiz her away, or slug Porter and Cooper.
His still grinning cousin removed his hat and extended his hand. “Cooper Baron. Nice to meet see you again.”
“Likewise.” Kate shook his hand and looked from Porter to Cooper then to Craig. “If you’re both cousins, then neither of you is the architect? Or did I misunderstand?”
“You remembered correctly. The architect was busy this morning. We visited last week and he drew up the initial drawings. I brought them so we could get some preliminary plans confirmed while your friend is checking out the owl. Porter is the general contractor.”
The first cousin she’d met nodded and smiled at her again.
“That’s right.” She bobbed her head. “You did mention Porter before.” That made the cousin’s grin grow a little wider.
Craig waved a thumb at his other cousin. “And this guy is the engineer.”
