When they reached the ranch, they were bombarded by people. Bo, Jane, and Noah were at the front of the fray, their relieved glances telling her everything she needed to know.
“Thank the Lord you’re okay,” Jane called out, running toward them. “Are you hurt?”
“Just my ankle,” Kat grimaced. “I fell when we… were hiking.” She exchanged a glance with Leo, but his expression remained stoic. “I’ll be fine. Just need to take it easy.”
Leo hopped off his horse and started toward her, but Noah stepped in his path, reaching for her. She cut a look in Leo’ s direction but still couldn’t get a read on him as Noah’s strong grasp wrapped around her waist and deposited her on her feet.
“We were minutes away from sending out a search party,” Bo grumbled, his warning stare locking with Leo. “I lost count how many times your mother tried to reach you, but it went to voicemail.”
“I tried your phone, too,” Jane reached for Kat and pulled her in for a hug. “It started going to voicemail a couple hours after the storm hit.”
Kat made a face. “I lost it on the hike. I’m guessing its buried beneath mud by now.”
“I’ll take you to town tomorrow to get you a replacement,” Jane offered.
“I can take her.”
Kat stilled then glanced over her shoulder to Leo. He wasn’t looking at her and she wasn’t even sure if she heard him correctly. Maybe it had been someone else who spoke.
But no, she would have recognized Leo’s voice anywhere after last night. Her face flushed and she turned a bright grin to Jane. “There you have it.”
Jane frowned. “You sound hoarse. Are you getting sick?”
“Got caught in the rain is all. I might be coming down with something, but I’ll just make sure to drink lots of fluids.” She gave Jane another hug. “Really, I’m fine.”
A couple of the other cowboys she recognized but couldn’t put names to faces yet nudged each other and chuckled. “That’s good to hear. We were hedging bets on who would kill who first.”
All the muscles in Kat’s body seemed to go tight at once. They weren’t far off. Had Leo not come to her rescue, she might have still wanted to ring the man’s neck. But now? One look was all it took for her to accept that something had definitely changed between them. Only, she wasn’t going to let any of them know.
“I hope you bet on me, otherwise you would have lost all your money.”
Leo scoffed.
Kat shot him a dirty look. “I might be small, but I’m vicious.”
“Oh, no arguing with you there,” he muttered, taking the reins of the horses in his hands. “But don’t forget you’re still just a princess who’s playing pretend. If you think you could survive me, you’re sorely mistaken.”
Something about his words had heat crawling up the back of her neck all over again. He wasn’t talking about going head-to-head anymore. That shift between them had been noted by them both. The way he’d held her while they’d slept said more than words ever could.
Before she could come up with a witty comeback, Jane had her arm around Kat’s waist. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up. You look like you got in a fight with a tornado out there.”
Kat frowned and reached up to touch her once tame locks. The straight style had definitely seen better days. She had a natural wave when her hair was wet and since she hadn’t been able to do a thing with it when they were at the cabin, she probably looked a sight.
Leo hadn’t uttered a word on her appearance. He didn’t crack a joke. Didn’t point out that she resembled a monster from the bog.
The man was going soft.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“So, what does it look like?”Leo murmured, his thoughts on the conversation he’d had with Kat in the cabin. Her agreement with her father.
Kat lifted her eyes from the clipboard in her arms. They were doing their first official walk through after the exterior had been framed. There were nails, screws, and all sorts of tools scattered around the building. Kat looked less out of place these days, opting to forego her usual slacks and heels for jeans and boots.
She frowned at him, the crease between her brows far more adorable than it should have been. “You’re going to have to expound on that. What doeswhatlook like?”
Leo cleared his throat. “What does success look like—to your father.”
Still, she seemed confused. Of course she was. While their conversation might not have meant anything to her, it had stuck with him, causing more than one restless night. “The agreement you made with your father. You get the promotion if this project is a success, right?”
