“Jack made them. I thought you might like some.” He sets the plate of cookies on the coffee table in front of her and sits catty-corner to her on the couch. He bends forward, elbows on his thighs, and watches her with rapt attention. She blushes even harder under his gaze and is sure she must be red as a tomato at that point.
He looks at her with warmth, and she doesn’t know how to handle it. Like she is the best thing he’s seen in a while. He must look at all the female guests that way, she thinks. He’s handsome, beautiful really.Strong and wide with a tapered waist leading to thick thighs. His pants are tight, and his boots well-worn and caked with a little mud. His eyes, though. She’s never seen eyes like his. Golden brown, more gold than anything. She wonders if that is their real color or if he wears some sort of colored contacts. She doubts it, though, he doesn’t seem like the type of person to wear contacts to change the color of his eyes.
He’s still staring at her when she finally clears her throat.
“Your brother made these?” she asks, unsure of what to talk to him about.
“Yes, ma’am. Jack, he’s the chef here. He went to a fancy French cooking school, then came back home to be the chef. Before him, my mother would do all the cooking. He’s very good, makes up a new menu every day.”
“And your other brothers work here too?” she remembers him mentioning that there are four of them total.
“Yes. There’s Raif, who handles the grounds and maintenance. He’s not the best with guests, and he stomps around a lot. And then Gunner, who is in charge of all the activities and the horses.”
“You have horses?” The awe is evident in her voice, but she doesn’t care, she’s never seen a real horse before. Growing up in New York City, her family rarely ventured outside the city. Her parents were well off but not rich in terms of New York money. They would vacation sometimes outside of the city. She would swim and lie out in the sun, but her mother wasn’t a fan of animals, and she never had a pet.
“Would you like to see them? I’d be happy to show you.”
“Yes, please.” She stands, unwrapping herself from the blanket and folding it back on the couch. Axel holds up the plate of cookies for her again, and she grabs one. He seems happy that she took one, and she tries not to read into it too much. He leads her outside to the stables. Staying close to her but never touching her. She appreciates the boundary he’s creating, but she longs to feel his warm hands on her again. She guesses that’s over now that she has proper shoes.
The stables smell of hay, but are very clean, she notices. A man is in there brushing one of the horses, and she immediately recognizes him as one of the brothers, he has the same golden eyes.
“Chloe, this here is Gunner. Gunner, Chloe.”
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
She smiles at him as they shake hands. His big hand envelops hers. It’s strong and firm, like Axel’s, but he holds her hand gently, which she appreciates. Too many men have squeezed her hands, crushing her fingers during a handshake, and she appreciates the gentle touch both brothers have. Gunner is attractive, too. He’s both taller and broader than Axel, if that’s possible, big and clearly built. He turns back to the horse and rubs his nose along its face. Clearly, he loves the horses, and the way the horse snuffles back at him, it loves him too.
Axel leads Chloe over to a beautiful chocolate colored horse. It immediately comes up to the gate for him to pet it.
“This here is Delilah. She’s the gentlest horse, great for new riders. Have you ridden before?”
“I’ve never seen a horse before. Can I?” She reaches her hand timidly out towards the horse, and Axel takes her hand in his, allowing the horse to sniff both their hands and then bringing her hand to stroke the side of its face.
“She’s gorgeous,” Chloe says softly.
“Yes, she is,” Axel responds, but he’s looking straight at Chloe when he says it, and it makes her face heat up once again with a blush.
She pets the horse gently. Moving all over its head and down its side, where she can reach. It’s a lovely animal, still a little intimidating, but lovely.
“I can take you riding later this week if you like,” Axel says, scratching Delilah’s ear.
“Oh yeah? I’ll book an activity, definitely.”
She sees his face fall for a second, and she wonders if she said the wrong thing. Like maybe he meant to take her riding as a friend and not a lodge guest, but that can’t be right. It’s just Montana hospitality that he’s being so nice. She just isn’t used to it being from New York. She isn’t used to any of this.
Chapter Seven
Axel
Axel could kick himself for not clarifying that he wanted the horseback riding to be a date. How he wanted to pack a picnic and show her the lake and his favorite cave. He let her assume he was suggesting a lodge activity, one she’d have to pay for, instead of just having the courage to tell her what he really wanted. He hoped there would be another opportunity.
Usually, they didn’t eat with the guests. Jack, his youngest brother, and Mary Lou, their server, would serve the guests' meals, and Jack would make himself and his brothers something to eat, and they’d eat after the dining room was cleared out. Now Axel is in the kitchen early. He’s puttering around, and Jack is shooting him glances but not saying anything. He helps with the cleanup, which he usually doesn’t, and waits for his other brothers to come in.
They pull up stools around one of the prep counters, and Jack sets down a big bowl of pasta carbonara. It’s Axel’s favorite. After they’ve all started eating, Jackclears his throat. Axel knows whatever Jack is going to say will be aimed at him.
“Surprised you didn’t go eat with your girl,” Jack says.
“What girl?” Raif grumbles. Axel can already see this conversation going badly.
