He laughs in surprise before stepping away and toward the fridge. “I’m glad you noticed how good I am in here. Just wait until you eat, then you’ll really be impressed.”
Crossing my arms, I part my lips to speak just as he opens the freezer and takes out a steamer pack of frozen broccoli. Dammit. It really is the exact recipe. Broccoli and all. I snap my mouth closed when his eyes meet mine, and the asshole winks at me.
“We’ll just see about that,” I say before I push off from the counter. “I’m going to go check on Sierra. You just keep dominating in here.”
My cheeks are heated, but I refuse to acknowledge it. Or look at him. Walking out the front door, I do my best to pretend not to have a care in the world. Like I’m not completely thrown off and flustered as he shows me yet another part of himself. I don’t make it far before I run into Sierra. I’m surprised when I look behind her and don’t see any horses in the paddocks. I take another glance behind her before returning my gaze to hers.
“I put the horses in, like I did with Hayden the past few days. So, you don’t have to worry about it later.”
Color me surprised. And impressed. “Well, thanks! I might have to keep you around.”
Laughing, she falls into step beside me. “So, what’s for dinner? Spaghetti with sauce from the jar?”
A bubble of laughter escapes me. I never expected to thoroughly enjoy the company of a teenager, but she’s pretty damn amazing.
“Actually, he’s making chicken alfredo,” I respond in a tone dripping with surprise and skepticism.
“Oh, good! He’s made that before. It’s really good. He said he got the recipe from his friend’s mom because it’s her favorite. I think you’ll like it.”
There’s no simple word to describe the feelings surging through me at what she just said, but it feels dangerously close to the “L” word. I tried to convince myself that he didn’t learn how to cook my favorite meal for me. I tried to convince myself he wanted to make it for himself. Or even for Sierra. I didn’t ask why. Or when. I don’t want to know the answer. Not when I can’t have him.
“Oh, yeah? Well, we’d better get in there while it’s hot.”
Looping arms, we walk the path to my house and go inside. It smells delicious, and I immediately regret this little contest we agreed to. No man has ever cooked for me before. And as much as we’ve been pretending nothing has changed and we can be friends, knowing he, too, might be struggling with lingering feelings makes it damn near impossible for me to keep on pretending.
Chapter 25
Miranda
“Are you still okay having Morgan with you tonight? She’s pretty much ready, but I understand if it’ll be too much if Sierra shows up, too.”
Turning away from the horse I’m brushing, I meet Joy’s gaze from where she stands just outside the stall. “It’ll be fine. I’m excited to finally work with Morgan, and I’m sure Hayden will be around if Sierra needs anything, which I doubt she will. She’s been super helpful when she’s here.”
It’s been so busy at the ranch with us being shorthanded that I haven’t even had a chance to talk to Morgan for more than a few minutes here and there. Joy has been handling the training since she is supposed to be taking it easy, while I’ve been making sure to finish up everything else. I’m looking forward to a chance to get to know Morgan a bit.
Everything ran smoothly earlier, so I’m not worried about working a rodeo night with her. You can tell when someone is familiar with the world, and it makes training a breeze. Everyranch does things its own way, but it’s all basically the same work.
“Hi, Miranda.”
Morgan makes her way to me with a contagious smile that I instantly return. She appears to be maybe a few years older than me, and she’s absolutely gorgeous. Flawless medium-brown skin framed with fiery red hair. She’s tall and curvy but has a muscular build.
“Hi, Morgan. We finally get to work together,” I say as I walk over to meet her. “It should be a pretty chill night. Most times, one of us is plenty for rodeo nights. Joy used to do it by herself a lot, but we would rotate working during the day and the night of the rodeo.”
“Sounds a lot like the last ranch I used to frequent. They had a few ranch hands around, but most people took care of their own, so it wasn’t bad.”
“Do you compete?”
“Used to,” she answers as she joins in to help with what needs to be done.
She seems to know what to do without me even telling her, so that’s a plus. As much as I’m looking forward to working less hours, I’ll probably still come by for the rodeo to soak up as much as I can before I move.
Instead of showing Morgan what to do, we work together in tandem so we can get finished in time to watch the start of therodeo. I barely even notice when Sierra joins us because she also doesn’t need much direction. It doesn’t take long before we finish up and head outside in time for the opening ceremony.
“Will we be able to watch the entire thing?” Sierra asks excitedly as we reach the gate near the chutes.
I laugh quietly. “We should be able to, unless someone needs something. But you don’t work here, so don’t feel obligated to join us if we have to go off and do something. Enjoy the show.”
I glance up in time to catch Hayden’s gaze from the platform behind the chutes. His expression is unreadable, and he looks away before I have a chance to nod or smile in greeting. But it doesn’t stop me from appreciating the way he looks in a pair of perfectly fitted Wranglers and a tan T-shirt that hugs his muscles. And his cowboy hat is the finishing touch.
