never had. His ex-fiancée had been a kind person, or seemed to be, until Cary told him the truth about her. He’d been badly taken in. He didn’t trust his own responses. What if Cassie was playing a game? What if she wasn’t what she seemed to be?
He dismissed the thought. She was as honest as the day was long, and why would she pretend to be poor, anyway? It was obvious that she and her father had very little money. She’d worried excessively about paying the doctor. She was proud, too, offering to pay him back when he knew she didn’t have the money.
No, she seemed like the genuine article. But he’d do well to put on the brakes. He had enough to take care of at the ranch, with the improvements he was finally making. He’d keep close to home for a bit. But he’d check on her in the morning, because he’d promised.
* * *
He knocked on her door midmorning. She opened it with a big smile. She was wearing the housecoat, but her color was better.
“Those antibiotics work very fast,” she said. “I can feel the difference already.” She paused to cough into a tissue. “Well, I’m still coughing, but it’s not as bad as it was. Come on in. Would you like coffee?”
“You shouldn’t be up,” he fussed.
“Yes, I should,” she replied. “My doctor back home told me that it’s never a good idea to stay in bed completely with a chest infection. You have to keep moving so that you’re more likely to cough up the bad stuff. I’ve been in the kitchen.”
He followed her in. On the counter was a baking sheet with several rolls just rising. They were covered with a sheet of plastic wrap.
“I made those for you,” she said gently. “Let them rise for another hour or so, then bake them at three hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit for about sixteen minutes. If they’re not brown, let them put them back in the oven for another couple of minutes.”
“I’ll enjoy them,” he said. “Thanks.”
She grinned. “I love to cook. But I especially like to make breads. I love the feel of dough. It’s almost alive.”
“My mother could make bread,” he said. “But it’s been a long time since I’ve had any fresh from the oven. This was nice of you.”
“Payback,” she teased. “For your kindness yesterday.”
“It’s not hard to be kind to someone as sweet as you are,” he said, and he wasn’t teasing.
She searched his eyes and felt her stomach drop. It was new, the feelings she had with him.
He saw that and grimaced. Everything she felt was plain on her face. “Listen,” he began worriedly.
“I can’t get married this morning,” she broke in, embarrassed by what he’d likely noticed, and desperate to change the mood.
He stared at her. “Excuse me?”
“I can’t get married this morning,” she said firmly. “Or this afternoon. Not even this year. And that’s final. I’m sorry, but I have my heart set on climbing Mount Everest. I’ll need an oxygen tank, of course, and the right clothing, and I’ll have to save up. But I should have enough in about twenty years, so you can check back with me then.”
It took him a minute to realize that she was teasing. He chuckled, deep in his throat. “Just when I think I’ve got you figured out, you throw me another curve.”
“I’m quick, I am,” she joked. “Sit down and have some coffee, if you’ve got time.”
“I’ve got time.” He tossed his hat into a spare chair and sat down at the table.
She poured coffee and sat down beside him. “I love coffee first thing in the morning.”
“So do I,” he said, sipping his. “Nice. I like strong coffee.”
“Dad and I do, too,” she said.
“I noticed. He makes good coffee as well.”
“I forgot to offer you cream and sugar,” she said suddenly.
“I don’t take either. When you serve in the military, you get used to life without the frills,” he chuckled.
“Reporters learn that early,” she told him. “I was always on the run. It’s a hectic sort of life.”
“Your dad said the excitement made your asthma worse.”
She nodded. “It did. I missed it, though.”
“So, what did you do for a living before you moved out here?” he asked.
She just stared at him. That was the one question she hadn’t anticipated, and there was no way she could tell him the truth.
Chapter Six
JL scowled. She looked guilty, and he wondered why.
She thought for a minute. “I had a