“Are you taking me out back to hose me off?”
A look over his shoulder didn’t help him decide whether she was teasing or simply mortified by the whole idea. “There’s a bathroom off the kitchen where you can clean up. I can let Grams know you’re here. She’ll get you settled into your cabin.”
“I’m staying at the main house,” she said.
“Oh,” he replied, suddenly unsure of things. He’d expected some older woman, maybe one with full-grown kids who’d decided to try writing as a retirement venture. Someone who’d certainly pepper him with questions during his chaperone duties. But he hadn’t expected someone so . . . young.So attractive.
“I’m Wade, by the way. Wade Hol—”
“Wade Holbrook,” she cut in. “I know.”
“Of course.” Kate had made him a spectacle on the website Grams begged her to help build. He, along with a couple of the ranch hands, had been little more than bait dangled for the romance writers. Wade would do best to remember that, no matter how cute any of these writers might look covered in mud.
“You can rinse off in there,” he directed with a nod to the door at the left off the back patio. “I’ll let Grams know you’re here.”
“Thank you.”
“Where are your keys?”
“Wow, they really weren’t kidding when they said we had to hand them over.”
Wade raised an eyebrow at that, but let the comment go. Whatever Grams and Kate had cooked up, he’d try staying out of as much as possible. “I was going to pull your car out, actually. Of the mud.”
“Oh.” She reached into her pockets and came up empty. “I guess I left them in the car.”
He’d need help, but he could grab Allen. His main ranch hand—and the second oldest of the three cousins—should be about done feeding the horses and ready to join him in the north pasture. Allen could help with Wade’s escape before any more romance writers showed up. “I’ll let Grams know you’re down here,” he said again, because he wasn’t sure what else to add.
The bathroom door closed as he turned away. Shadow sat guard. Wade nearly collided with Grams in the kitchen.
“Who was at the door?” she asked, peeking around his shoulder as if he might be hiding something.
“Your houseguest.”
“Oh, that’ll be Trish. She’s the one you’ll be chaperoning.”
As if Wade needed the reminder. “She, uh, needs a towel or something. I’m going to go pull her car out of the mud.”
“You didn’t get the cones up.” No one else would consider the lightly spoken statement a means of scolding, but Wade knew better. He’d been so eager to dash away after hanging curtain rods that he’d neglected his most important task.
“I’ll grab Allen. We’ll take care of it.” He kissed Grams’ cheek and hurried away before she got any ideas about special introductions. If this Trish looked as cute washed up as she did covered in mud, Wade worried he just might be in trouble.
Chapter 2
Trish
Lina Holbrook wasthe epitome of a gracious host. Moments after Trish closed the door in Wade’s face, his grandmother knocked and offered her clean, soft towels and the cushiest terrycloth robe. “I’m certainly sorry that hole wasn’t marked,” Lina apologized profusely. “Wade was headed out to do just that, but looks like you beat him to it.”
A hot shower had never felt better in Trish’s life than it did after her tumble in that mud puddle. Leave it to her to look like a contestant on a wilderness survival show when meeting the dreamiest cowboy she’d ever laid eyes on.He probably thinks I’m a helplessidiot.
Wrapped in the warm robe, Trish dropped her cell into an oversized pocket and tiptoed from the bathroom into the seemingly deserted kitchen. If Wade was still lurking, she didn’t want to run into him. It would take hours for the color of embarrassment to fade from her cheeks.
Her muddy clothes were wadded up inside one of her towels. The welcome email said nothing about laundry accommodations, but hopefully Trish could beg the favor as she’d only packed one other pair of jeans. That was what she got for letting her best friend help pack.
The caramel colored floor tiles must have been the heated type; Trish felt the warming under her feet. Glancing around at it all, Trish found herself momentarily lost in the room’s beauty. The spaciousness of it was inviting with walnut cabinets, flower arrangements sprinkled around, and a display of cookies positioned in the center of a large granite-topped island. Their aroma lured Trish, her stomach rumbling on cue. She’d been so nervous about getting lost on her way to the retreat that she’d not eaten a thing since she left her hotel in Rapid City. At least, that’s what she told herself. It had nothing to do with Henry and his smug dismissal of her biggest dream that bungled up her nerves.
When she couldn’t stand her stomach’s angry growls any longer, Trish swiped a cookie and took a massive bite. Its warm softness melted in her mouth, along with the gooey chocolate chips. Trish moaned in delight.
“Not half bad, huh?”
