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“Not if she knows I volunteered and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“Why the hell would you want to do manual labor while you’re here? Aren’t you on some type of holiday vacation?”
I flinched a little at what he assumed was my reason for being here. I wasn’t on vacation. I was escaping my life, trying to figure things out because something had to give. “I’m not on vacation per se. Just a pause of sorts and I think working here might help. I could use the distraction.”
“Distraction from your life?” His eyes narrowed and his gaze was curious.
“Is that so terrible? Wanting a distraction from life. Everybody needs to press pause every now and then.”
“No, not terrible, Boston. I’m just curious about what could be so heavy in your life that you needed to run away from it.”
“I’m not running,” I shot back. He nodded sternly and offered a smile.
“Alright then, not running, just pressing pause. I don’t see any issue with taking a break from life.”
“Good. So use me however you want while I’m here.”
His eyes flickered and that sexy smile resurfaced. I blinked a few times, acknowledging my mistake before closing my eyes briefly to regroup. “As a worker to help out on the ranch,” I asserted.
He grinned wider. “I knew what you meant, Boston. Didn’t need the clarity.”
He also knew what I’d insinuated based on his smugness.
“Great, then that’s settled.”
“It is, but I’ll warn you. Ranch life is hard. We work our asses off ‘round here. I’ll expect the same from you too.”
“I can handle it.”
His expression was laced with amusement. “I bet you can.”
My cheeks warmed with the look he gave and the intensity in his eyes but he lowered his head seconds later. I sucked in a quiet breath.
“How about we bless this meal so you can give your final determination on whether or not I should keep my ass out of the kitchen.”
I smiled, lowering my head just as he said a quiet prayer. Once he was done, I cut into my steak while he watched until the first bite blasted with flavor on my tongue. I mumbled my approval while chewing, slowly nodding in happiness.
“You get my vote. Stay in the kitchen. Final decision.”
He chuckled and tipped his head. “Eat up then. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Were you serious about the six a.m. thing?”
“I sure am, breakfast by six thirty and out the house by seven.”
“I’ll be ready.”
He flicked his eyes across the table at me, shoving a forkful of steak into his mouth and like the desperate, man-deprived woman I was, I watched and enjoyed. Maybe this week wouldn’t be so terrible after all.
ChapterFive
Like most days, I dragged my ass out of bed at six a.m., showered, threw on a pair of jeans, a long sleeved tee, and shoved my feet in a pair of thick socks and boots. I’d layer up with a light jacket once I was ready to leave the house. I couldn’t work like I needed to with heavy layers and tried to avoid doing so most days. I wasn’t ever still out on the ranch so my body generated enough heat that I didn’t need to overdo it with winter wear.
Clothing, however, wouldn’t be my issue this week. My problem had landed at the train station yesterday and was now sleeping peacefully at the end of the hall in one of my guest rooms. My night had been anything but peaceful, so maybe one of us got some rest. The tossing and turning I did barely classified as rest.
Most of my night was spent thinking about all the shameless flirting I did with Shore and how she’d reacted to that shameless flirting. She liked it. She was down right engaged with most of it which I caught through subtle hints like the shifts in her breathing, the way her lids fluttered, and those luscious lips parting when I made the catering comment.
She damn sure had plenty to enjoy with those pretty ass eyes, bow-shaped lips, and curvy little body. Shore wasn’t exactly short but not tall either. Maybe a foot below me. That put her at the right height for tossing around while I fucked her.
