“I don’t have time for this, Axel,” she snapped, not amused with him using this same line again.They needed to focus on the task at hand.
“Sorry, my bad.What do you need me to do?”Axel said as he backed down immediately.
“You’re about to get a crash course in getting horses inside in a hurry,” she said.
By the time the last horse was brought into the barn, rain was pouring down in silvery sheets, and the bright yellow raincoats she’d supplied had kept them relatively dry.
Before each horse was settled into its stall, Jenna took the time to instruct Axel on the proper care required.She showed him how to clean out the stalls and emphasized the importance of providing fresh feed and water for each animal.
While Jenna went through these instructions, she noticed how serious Axel had become and how quickly he picked up the tasks she gave him.His work was both fast and well-organized, which impressed her and she busied herself giving each horse a good brush down in the barn’s main area.
As they continued working, Jenna carefully checked the results of Axel’s work before she showed him how to lead each horse to its respective stall.Every time she did a stall inspection, she found his work met her high standards, and he consistently passed with flying colours.
“They’ll be in their stalls for the rest of the day.They’re social animals and they prefer to remain outdoors but bringing them in is the only safe choice,” Jenna explained.
“Not fair for them to be locked up for so long.But I understand,” Axel grumbled.
“You’re more than welcome to stay out here and keep them company, or we can get inside before the storm gets worse.”
She headed for the exit door, relieved when Axel decided to follow.They donned their raincoats again, and hurried to the ranch house, where Jenna noticed that Nick had returned because there came a gold splash of lights bursting from the kitchen windows.
She inhaled a deep breath and wondered how the evening would go with two hot sexy men in her home and her crazy hormone issues.At least she hoped they were her hormones.
Nick had just been looking out the kitchen window watching the flashes of lightning and the sheets of rain pour down through the grey gloom when he’d spied Jenna and Axel sprinting across the pasture toward the ranch house in yellow raingear.
Talk about good timing!
They’d be greeted by a delicious aroma of freshly baked cake.It’s scent was filling the air as he pulled the cake out of the oven.The storm had cooled things off outside as he felt a nice refreshing breeze drifting in through the slightly open kitchen window.
He loved the contrast of the storm outside and the friendly atmosphere of this country kitchen on the inside.He was a free man now, well, kind of, and he was still trying to wrap his head around everything.One thing he knew for sure, he was very lucky to be here, and he didn’t want to make any wrong moves to screw things up.
“Hey, just in time for supper and dessert!”he called out as he heard the two of them enter through the backdoor.
“That is one crazy storm,” Jenna called out.
“I think my shoes drowned.”He heard Axel mutter.
Jenna gave a soft curse.
“Sorry, I forgot.We’ll have to get the both of you some steel belted boots.It’s not safe to be around horses without them.One step on your toes and you’re crushed.My bad.I should have given you Tim’s boots, but I think they would be too small.”
Tim’s boots would be too small.He couldn’t help but recall that old saying about men with small feet had small cocks.
Axel didn’t offer a reply, and Nick wondered if he was thinking the same thing.Was Jenna’s late husband not everything she’d hoped for in the bedroom department?He caught himself before the thought could go any further shaking his head, chastising himself.It wasn’t right to think ill of the dead.
The sound of raincoats being shed reached Nick as he placed the cake pan on a wooden cutting board on the countertop to cool.The kitchen was soon filled with the muted sounds of water running from the bathroom down the hall, suggesting Jenna and Axel were washing up together.The silence between them was notable and Nick wondered if Jenna was still upset about the kiss she had shared with Axel earlier this afternoon.
Moments later, Axel appeared in the kitchen.He looked refreshed, his cheeks red from the weather.
“Hey, welcome back!Did you see anything suspicious?”Axel asked, his voice echoing through the room as the storm continued to rage outside.
“Nothing out of the ordinary.Never noticed anyone following either.I kept eyes at the back of my head,” he replied.
“Good.Maybe the storm is keeping this creep away,” Axel said as he drew closer to Nick.
His friend’s face was all lit up as he spied the cake set in the pan.In prison they rarely got a proper dessert.So having a homemade cake was going to be awesome.He’d found the recipe in the little box of recipes on the counter, and he’d baked a cake or two before getting sent to prison, so he knew his way around a kitchen.
“What kind of cake is that?It smells so good I swear I’m floating along the aroma waves,” Axel said with a huge smile as he moved in close, his gaze fixated on Nick’s creation.
