“That really wasn’t necessary.”
He waited.
“But it was gallant.Thank you.”She climbed in and took a seat.
He exited the ATV for a moment to roll down some sheets of plastic, then fastened them to the side of the vehicle.
“Brilliant,” she said.
“Not our first rainstorm,” he replied.
The makeshift doors in place, he unzipped his side to slide behind the wheel.“Good?”
This time, she knew to hang on to the small bar in front of her.
After checking on Loopy, he hit the accelerator.This time he didn’t pause.Instead, he continued down the path at full speed.
He took a turnoff and headed to the rear of the big house.The back door was protected by a portico, and he stopped beneath it.
They each unzipped the doors then he had to unhook his side to let Loopy out.
“I need to close the barn door and secure a few things from the wind.Go ahead into the house,” he said.“The door leads into a mudroom then into the kitchen.Make yourself comfortable.”
For a second, she debated what to do.
Part of her wanted to put some real distance between them so that she could do some more research on BDSM.Now that she’d had a taste, she had another dozen questions.Unfortunately, since Lara and Connor had left for a honeymoon, she couldn’t ask her friend for advice.
But she had to remember she was here on business and still had to go over her presentation with him.Seeing that he was looking at her, waiting, she nodded.
“Stay with Sofia,” he said to Loopy.
The dog wagged her tail and barked.
He drove off at his usual quick pace.
Loopy dashed up the stairs and looked back, tail wagging furiously, as if she were encouraging Sofia to move faster.
Even though the area was covered, wind blasted through, bringing rain with it.
She held on to the door so it didn’t slam open and Loopy bolted inside, through the mudroom and into the kitchen, sliding across the floor like an oversized, fluffy mop.
Laughing, she forced the door closed.
The mudroom was a well-organized space, with an oversized sink, stacked washer and dryer, laundry hamper, a bench, cubbies for storage of shoes, towels and flashlights, thirsty mats and pegs for jackets and, obviously, cowboy hats.
She toweled dry, kicked off her shoes.Then, pushing away the feeling of being an intruder, she went into the kitchen.Here, at least, she felt more at home.
Over the years, especially while she’d helped her mother with the catering company, she’d been in a lot of big kitchens, but she wasn’t sure she’d seen anything quite like this.The appliances were industrial-sized, and a butler’s pantry stood off to one side.No doubt the house had been used for entertaining on a grand scale at one time.
Most likely, when the house was built, the kitchen would have been in a separate building.So that meant extensive remodeling had been done.And that could be another interesting addition to any book about the ranch.
She put water in the kettle using the pot filler above the stove.When she eventually bought a house of her own, that would be a necessity.
Going through the motions soothed her.Not only was it homey, she was accustomed to being the hired help and finding her way around.At least for a time, she was able to forget about what had happened in the barn, as if she’d temporarily been someone else.
Sofia turned the stove’s flame on high then wandered into the pantry to look for teabags.She found a glass jar with a few miserly bags in it, but thankfully, it was a brand she knew and liked.She located the brown sugar and honey, and she chose a ripe lemon from the fruit bowl.But she couldn’t find a bottle of whiskey.
Whoever had set up the kitchen had done a good job.Several mugs hung from a wooden tree next to the stove.After putting down the items from the pantry, she found spoons and a teapot.
