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“No, my fucking car decided to die on me, little fuck that it is. I had to leave it about a half mile from the house. I walked the rest of the way.”

Kate didn’t like that, and she quickly grabbed a mug, filled it with hot coffee, adding just a touch of sugar and a little splash of cream. She rushed to his side and handed him the mug, which he took with a thank you. She wanted to warm him up as quickly as possible.

“Come on, let’s get you in front of the fire.”

She took off his jacket, his boots, and then urged him into the sitting room. Belle was sniffing him.

“You haven’t cut yourself, have you?”

“No, she can smell the cattle.” He reached down and gave Belle a little shuffle of the head. “Good girl.”

“We were going to come look for you,” Kate said. “You were gone a long time.”

“Yeah, I would have been back sooner if it wasn’t for my truck. Useless fucking thing,” he said, and took a sip of his coffee. “Damn, that’s good.”

Kate heard the ding of the stove timer. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

She rushed away and quickly made her way into the kitchen. It was a chicken casserole with homemade biscuits on top. It was golden, bubbly, and looked absolutely delicious.

“I hope you’re hungry,” she said.

She let it rest while she grabbed the dishes and a large spoon to serve it with. She’d made enough to feed multiple people, so she didn’t bother with any vegetables. Kate made sure to give Cruz a couple of ladles full, and she took one for herself. She hadn’t gone out to work and instead just cooked dinner.

With dinner served, she took Cruz’s in with a spoon and fork, which he took from her, and she did the same, sitting next to him, as she started to eat. Tillie had taught Belle not to beg for food, but after each meal, there was always a treat for Belle for not begging or trying to steal any food. Kate had them on her, and she’d been using her the past day.

Had it only been a day that she’d been at Cruz’s home?

“Fuck me, that is good.”

At first, it was hard to get used to his gruff exterior, with his curse words, and just blurting things out the way he did. It was refreshing. Even if a lot of people didn’t like it, Kate did.

“You’re a damn good cook, Kate,” Cruz said.

“Thank you.”

She couldn’t help but blush, and she took a bite, enjoying the taste herself. She loved to cook and bake, and to sew and create. “How were the cattle?” she asked.

“All good at the moment. It’s a relief. Sometimes cold snaps like this can put them in danger and I have to pay the vet. Of course, when I call him out, he doubles the price.” Cruz shook his head. “It’s a fucking con, but he also knows I will do it for my cows.”

Kate smiled. “Did you always want to be a rancher?”

“Nah, not a chance. At first, I wanted to be as far from Higher Ridge as I could get. I didn’t want to be anything like my pop.”

“Now?”

“Ranching was always in my blood. I’m good at it, and sometimes it’s not about what you want to do, it’s what you’re good at, isn’t it?” Cruz asked.

“You know, I never thought of it that way.”

“What about you? Did you always want to own a fabric shop?”

Kate shook her head. “I remember when Mom told me what she’d done, I was terrified. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it work, and she’d put my name against some of those debts.”

“Are those debts paid?” he asked.

“Yeah, they are. It wasn’t easy. I mean, to be honest, it was kind of strange, as I got this really strong-worded letter that said someone was going to come and take the shop away from me. They were coming to price the assets, and I was so scared. I literally stayed with a sleeping bag and slept at the shop for nearly three weeks expecting someone to break in, steal my stock, and leave.”

“What happened?”