Page 7
“No, not yet.” He’d been in one of the spare bedrooms upstairs, finishing up some of the paint work. He’d done all the replastering himself, which was not a job he liked, as he had to be super neat. And he was not super neat.
It took a lot longer than he hoped it would, but now, it was all done, apart from one or two spaces. He was currently painting the walls that had been replastered and given the relevant time to dry. Ranching was dirty work.
He liked to keep his home neat and tidy. He didn’t like filth in his home. It drove him crazy with Jaxson’s meddling.
She handed him her jacket. “How about I cook for you?”
“You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you?” he asked.
“That you can’t cook?”
He raised his brows.
“Yeah, I have, and, well, I’m not exactly a can-of-beans kind of girl.” She rubbed her hands together. “Wow, that is cold, isn’t it?”
“It’ll warm up soon.” He was trying not to look down at her tits and see just how cold it was.
“Do I have permission to cook you some food?” she asked.
“Yes.”
He wanted to press his face against her coat, and he knew if he did, they would be entering creep vibes, and seeing as Kate was now stuck with him, he wasn’t going to scare her. At least, he was going to try not to scare her.
He took her coat and hung it up with his. Belle had already turned and sat her ass back in front of the fireplace. He looked toward his dining room, then made his way into the kitchen, where Kate had already put some plates, knives, and forks. Cruz hadn’t even been gone long, and she already had a skillet with some oil on to preheat, along with some chicken pounded out.
He watched, a little amazed, as she got to work seasoning the chicken, and then she had some kind of breadcrumb coating, which was actually panko. He didn’t even realize he had that in his cupboard.
He watched in amazement as she worked, dipping a piece of chicken into some flour, egg, then seasoned breadcrumbs. The oven was also on, it glowed, and he didn’t know what she had in there.
“You work fast,” he said.
“When you work late and get home hungry, you learn to cook quickly.” She worked with four pieces of chicken, and the skillet was wide enough to take the four pieces.
It looked like she had split that chicken right down the center, and then given each piece a little smack.
With the chicken sizzling, she went and washed her hands.
“Just so you know, it would be better to use potatoes to make fries rather than have these,” she said, holding up a bag of store-brand flavored fries.
“Noted.”
“Especially as you have a large bag of potatoes right there.” She pointed toward his pantry, where he stored them.
They were from his ranch. He had a lot of fresh produce he got off the ranch, and attempted to store over winter. Some of the items lasted, and others not so much. He did what he could, so he avoided going into town and to the store. The last time he was there, the seasoned fries had a discount and claimed to be quick. Kate was working at the counter, and he went to the fridge, looking to grab a beer.
“Do you want a beer?” he asked.
“No, I don’t drink.”
He was tempted to put his beer back, but instead, he went to the kettle, which meant he had to be close to Kate. She was so sure of herself as she worked the stove, and it did smell really good.
He liked having her in his home, and not just because she was standing at the stove.
Chapter Three
Kate listened to the quiet house.
She was in one of Cruz’s spare bedrooms, as the ranch was large, and it had a lot of space. She was a little worried that it might smell like paint, but this must have been one of the rooms he finished first, as there was no lingering paint smell.
