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“Cinnamon?” He looked at me in surprise. “I’ve never heard of adding cinnamon to your cup of coffee.”
“Someone once told me that’s a trick to lose weight,” I said with a light laugh. “I don’t really know if it’s true, but I always add a little bit, just in case.”
“You don’t need to lose any weight Arya,” he said.
I felt my face flush as he looked me over. “I think every woman feels like she could lose a little weight,” I said, not knowing what else to say. “And all these cookies and cakes I’ve been eating recently haven’t been helping.”
“Oh well, that’s what happens when you live at Horseshoe ranch.” He started to smile then stopped. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that’s why you want to leave. So that my mom doesn’t fatten you up anymore?”
“Well, I can honestly say that wasn’t one of the reasons why I wanted to find my own place.” I laughed. “I haven’t had such good cooking in a long time.”
“Speaking of food, I made some sandwiches for us.” He held up a Ziploc bag. “I figured we could eat a little bit later. I know it’s kind of early for breakfast.”
“Later’s fine,” I agreed. “Never too early for coffee, though.”
“I have a flask as well.” He held up the flask next to him. “It’s got hot coffee, and I’ve got some containers with milk and some packets of sugar.”
“Wow. You really thought everything through.”
“I can’t lie, my mom told me what to do.” He made a face. “That sounds kind of weird, huh?”
“No. Why do you say that?”
“I’m a grown man and my mom’s telling me how to prepare for a ride out to the log cabin.”
“She just loves you, is all. And she wants to make sure you have an enjoyable trip too.”
“Okay, you ready? You got everything you need?”
“I do.” I nodded. “So, are we riding?”
“Oh no. That would be too long a ride. We’re going to take one of the trucks. I have a bunch of tools I have to take with me.”
“Oh, yeah. You’re redoing the roof or something?”
“There’re just some patches that I need to take care of. And then they want to do a little bit of a reno in the kitchen, so I’m just going to check it out. See what I need to do. But we’re going to go to the creek first. I thought you might enjoy that. And we’ll have a little picnic.”
“Don’t tell me. You made lunch for us as well?”
“No. My mom packed it last night.” He laughed and I joined him. It was funny how comfortable I felt with him, even though I was still quite upset. I had told myself I was going to let it go, though, at least for now. I understood where Chet was coming from, and I did appreciate the fact that he cared about my well-being, even if he had completely overstepped.
“Eloise still sleeping?” he asked as we walked towards the french doors at the back of the kitchen.
“Yeah. I think your mom will wake her up around seven or eight and then give her breakfast. It’s really nice having her take care of Eloise. It means so much to me, and Eloise just loves her.”
“Well, you know my mom looks at Eloise as her first grandchild, right?” His voice was dry. “I mean, good for Mom, I guess.”
“Do you not want to have kids?” I asked as we walked around the side of the house to the truck.
He was also good with Eloise and sweet and kind. But the way that he talked made me think that he didn’t want kids, which I thought would be a shame. I rather thought he’d make a good father.
“I don’t really know. There’s a lot of us Hamilton boys, and well, I feel like there will be a lot of kids coming and I’ll have plenty of nieces and nephews.” He shrugged. “Maybe that will be enough.”
“So you don’t want to get married either?”
He chuckled. “What’s with all the questions?”
“What? I’m just trying to figure you out.”
