True-Blue Cowboy - Vicki Lewis Thompson Page 0,20

me, seeing as how you have night vision. I’m liable to scald myself.”

Nick grinned. “I’ll turn on a—”

“Heck, no. You’ll spoil all the fun of pretending we’re living in olden times.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you.” He handed Rafe a steaming mug.

“I’d say it fits me perfectly. I take it you’re jacked up about spending the day at Eva’s place?”

“Keep your voice down.”

“No worries. Those boys are nighty-night. Anyway, we all know you’re hung up on her. Stands to reason you’d be anticipating today’s assignment like a kid on Christmas morning.”

“I’m not that far gone.” He was exactly that far gone. “Here’s the thing. Last night, when we were saying goodbye on her porch, there was a moment when I’d swear she was into me.”

“Don’t go kidding yourself. I’ve made that mistake too many times with Kate.”

“I don’t think I’m wrong, but speaking of Kate, aren’t you taking her out for a day-long horseback ride in a few hours?”

“That I am. I knew she planned on bidding to win, but I don’t think she can afford what she ended up paying.”

“Same with Eva.”

“I thought about offering to reimburse Kate, but she’d just get mad. I’ll make the ride nice as I can. Jake’s fixing a lunch for us.”

“Have you ever been alone with Kate?”

“Not to this extent. Jake thinks I should make a move, but…”

“You should.”

“I will if you will.”

“Forget it, bro. Our situations are totally different. You and Kate have been dancing around each other for almost two years. I’ve only known Eva since March, and until two months ago she was all about CJ.”

“Who’s now happily engaged, so you have a clear shot.”

“I’m not saying I’ll never make a move, but it won’t be today. Like you pointed out, I could be wrong about that look she gave me last night.”

“Can you describe it?”

Nick sipped his coffee. “She was on a rant about how if I insisted on giving her twelve hours of hard labor, she’d by God cook me a bunch of food in return. I was planning to take my own, but she’d worked up a head of steam about providing it for me.”

“That’s a good sign. Women don’t tend to cook for a guy unless they like him.”

“I thought it was great that she wanted to, so I gave her a big smile and accepted her offer. That’s when she stared at me like she was seeing me for the first time.”

“Maybe you had food in your teeth.”

“I didn’t. I checked later.”

“A booger in your nose?”

“No, Rafe. Not a booger. I think she felt something.”

“Likely heartburn, then. Lots of rich food last night. Those crackers topped with cheese and jalapeno would give anybody—”

“Damn it, that’s not what I was getting from her. I’d know if it was indigestion. In that moment, she was into me. Startled us both.”

“For your sake, I hope you’re right.” Rafe rinsed his mug in the sink and put it in the dishwasher. “Ready to go feed those ponies? Leo’s up, too. He said he’d be down in a few minutes. That way we’ll get done faster.”

“Good.” Nick gulped the last of his coffee, rinsed his mug and put it in the dishwasher rack next to Rafe’s. Had he misinterpreted Eva’s expression last night? What if she’d suddenly remembered she’d left her curling iron turned on? Or a candle burning?

That made no sense, though. If she’d remembered something like that, she would have quickly excused herself and rushed inside. Instead she’d stayed right where he’d left her, like her boots were nailed to the porch.

Then again, she’d been emotional after watching Ellie Mae and Ed jitterbug. He’d be wise not to expect a similar response from her in the light of a new day. At least he’d be allowed to spend more time with her than he ever had before.

Her offer to prepare some food had promise according to Rafe. She wouldn’t bring him a plate and leave him to eat it alone, either. That wasn’t Eva. They’d eat at least one meal together. Likely two.

Barn duty went quickly with three of them working, so Nick left Leo and Rafe to finish up. Hot-footing it to the bunkhouse, he cleaned up before helping Garrett fix breakfast. Garrett had taken over kitchen detail except for chuck-wagon stew night on Friday. That was still Jake’s deal.

Nick usually made toast, leaving the eggs and bacon to Garrett. That cowboy had a way with scrambled eggs, always finding new ingredients to throw into the pan.

This morning he