with an armful of mismatched towels and draped one around her shoulders.
Once they’d dried themselves off as best they could with their clothes still soaking wet, he led her through the tiled kitchen and up the family-photo-lined staircase. Mia waited outside his bedroom, taking in the plain navy comforter and unadorned walls while he dug in a dresser for yet another clean T-shirt for her to borrow, along with a pair of sweatpants.
Then he led her to a bathroom down the hall and left her alone to get cleaned up. It was a Jack and Jill style bathroom that connected the two spare bedrooms, which she presumed had belonged to him and Andie growing up. Finding the shower stocked with essentials, she helped herself to a quick shampoo to wash away the last traces of goat spit and mud from the morning’s adventures.
Five minutes later, feeling considerably fresher, she emerged from the bathroom attired in the sweatpants and Texas A&M T-shirt Josh had loaned her. She heard his voice downstairs and followed the sound to the kitchen, where she found him at the back door talking to Ray.
The rain continued to pour down in buckets outside. Josh was barefoot and looking unfairly sexy as he stood inside the door in fresh jeans and a clean T-shirt. Ray stayed back on the steps, attired for the weather in a dripping cowboy hat, rubber boots, and a long yellow rain slicker. When he caught sight of Mia, he touched the brim of his hat in greeting.
Josh threw a glance over his shoulder and thanked Ray before bidding him goodbye.
“Is everything okay?” Mia asked as Josh closed the kitchen door.
“Fine. Ray was just letting me know he’d checked on all the animals.” He moved to the sink. “Do you want some coffee? I was about to make a pot.”
“I’d love some.” The rain had taken the edge off the heat outside, and the damp had left her feeling chilled in the air-conditioned house. She lingered at the edge of the kitchen, admiring the rear view while Josh started the coffee. The strong, broad lines of his shoulders formed a perfect V as they narrowed to an ass that looked like a million bucks in his old Levi’s.
“How long have you lived here by yourself?” she asked.
“A little over three years now. Since my parents retired.”
“Birdie said they moved to Maine?”
He nodded as he scooped coffee grounds into the filter basket. “They stuck around for a few years after I came back from college. Just to make sure I could handle the place on my own before they retired.”
Once he’d started the coffee brewing, he indicated they should go into the living room. Mia peered around curiously as she followed him. Most of the furnishings seemed to be old—left there by his parents, she assumed.
“Why Maine?” she asked. It seemed like an odd choice for retirement—somewhere a million miles away from Crowder, Texas. But maybe that was the point.
Josh sank down at one end of a worn leather couch. “It’s where my dad’s family is from. He inherited a house up there from his parents.”
Mia claimed the other end of the couch. A crocheted blanket lay draped over the back of it, and she ran her hand over the multicolored wool loops, admiring the intricate pattern. “Do they like it?”
“They seem to.” Josh’s mouth curved in a wry smile. “I think they’re both relieved not to be milking goats anymore.”
She could only imagine, after doing it twice a day every day for twenty-plus years. “But you like it? Running the farm by yourself?”
“I’m not by myself. I’ve got Ray and Antonio. I wouldn’t be able to keep this place running without them.”
She noticed he’d sidestepped the question of whether he actually liked it, but she didn’t press him on it. “What are Antonio’s plans after college? Stay here and work on the farm with his father?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure he knows yet, but he’s still got time to figure it out. I guess we’ll see in three years what he decides to do.” Josh’s gaze settled on Mia, lingering in a way that made her mouth feel dry. “What about you? Did you always want to be a mathematician?”
“Always. Ever since I was old enough to know what a mathematician was.”
“Why?”
“Because math makes sense to me, more than most other things in the world do. Certainly more than people do.” She glanced down at her lap self-consciously.
“Math follows rules,” he said. “People,