“Thank you.” She followed the girls to the door. “Thank you all. I didn’t know how much I needed this. I’ll never forget what you’ve given me today.”
“You’re welcome.” Becky was the last one out the door. She paused and gave Rose a swift hug, taking the time to whisper in her ear, “If you don’t drag that stud muffin into bed and burn some sheets, sister, then let me tell you, you’ll regret it.” With that whirlwind, Becky and her tribe were gone, closing the door softly behind them.
Rose exhaled slowly as she went back to the kitchen. “Want some muffin batter?” she asked, pointing to the almost full bowl on the counter. “Because I’m not sure you’re going to want to try the muffins if I bake them.”
Caleb chuckled and walked to her. He stopped close to her and looked pointedly from the spoon to the bowl and back again. Her mouth went dry as she grasped that he wanted her to feed him.
Holy shit. Could anything be hotter?
Well, it probably could, but this was stealing the air from her lungs, and her breathing hitched. She scooped some batter onto the spoon, cupped her hands under it to catch the drips, and brought it to his lips. Her gaze fastened onto his mouth as he opened it, and those full lips wrapped around the spoon.
Damn, that’s hot.
So Hot.
Reluctantly, she withdrew the spoon, dipped it in the bowl, and offered him some more.
“It’s good,” he said after he’d swallowed.
“Won’t be after I cook it.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah.” The oven dinged, breaking the moment between them. She reached for the oven gloves and went to rescue the muffins the girls had put in a few minutes before.
“Do you know what baking calls for?”
He moved out of her way, and she placed the tray on the sink. She glanced over her shoulder. “Tell me.”
“A picnic. Baking calls for a picnic.” It was freaking adorable how out of his depth he sounded. “Will you come on a picnic with me, Rose?”
A picnic in the snow could be fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gone on a picnic, and she’d never been on one when there was snow on the ground. “I’d like that.” She nodded to the hot tray. “Can you put those on the cooling rack? I’ll put the bowl in the fridge.”
“Sure.” Together, they went about cleaning up the kitchen. When everything was either waiting in the sink for the dishwasher to finish or was in the fridge, he gripped her hips and tugged her toward him. “Do you want to go on horseback, or take a four-wheeler as far as possible and then hike a bit?”
“Hiking isn’t really my thing.” Not unless he wanted to piggyback her all the way there and back. Not that she’d be opposed to it, mind you.
He smiled that crooked smile which made her almost forget that she was leaving. Almost, but not quite. “Then we’ll go on horseback.”
“Can we?” She didn’t know how to ride a horse either. But she was so much more willing to do that than she was to hike in the snow.
“Sure, if Jack agrees.” He fished in his pocket for his phone.
She had no idea who Jack was, but as she listened to Caleb calling him, excitement built. Today, it seemed, was all for firsts, and she was here for it.
“He agreed.” Caleb ended the call. “He’ll have them ready just as soon as we get to the barn.” They put some of the fresh baked goodies into a box, and Caleb grabbed some soda and water from the pantry to add to a rucksack he produced from somewhere. “Dress warmly.” He nudged her toward the bedroom. “It’s going to be cold out there.”
24
Caleb shifted the treat-filled ruck to his other hand and unlatched the gate, which gave them access to the barnyard from the residential area of the compound. He waved Rose ahead of him and made sure to close the gate behind them.
“There’s so many horses.” Rose paused near a corral to watch the yearlings as they rolled and romped in the sand. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many in one place except on TV.”
“City girl,” he teased.
“Yeah, I am.” She took his hand and fell into step with him as he led her into the barn.
Caleb stopped them just inside the huge doors and called, “Jack?” He knew better than to just wander around in here.
