It was about three o’clock when he walked into the empty dining room. Looking out the sliding glass door to the patio, his gaze was automatically drawn to the picnic table where he’d sat beside Kate. A reluctant smile curved the corners of his mouth as he remembered her explaining how to start a fire with a condom. The smile disappeared when he realized that putting Kate, condoms and fire in the same thought was dangerous. The problem was that he was having a devil of a time getting her out of his thoughts.
“Damn it,” he muttered.
He couldn’t have just let her get back in that beat-up old truck and keep on driving. Not him. The stray guru. He had to go and hire her.
Shaking his head, he walked past the steam table and stainless-steel counter where the kids lined up to fill their plates buffet style. Behind this room was the kitchen. In the back was a storeroom and small office, which was where he found Caroline now, working at the battered and scarred old desk. On top was a laptop computer, upright file holder and a coffee mug with the words Camp Dixon on it that held pens, pencils and a bright yellow highlighter.
He stood in the doorway. “Hey, Caroline.”
Dragging her gaze away from the computer screen, she looked up, reading glasses resting low on her nose. “Cabot, I hate this weather. And I’m pretty sure the camp counselors are hating it even more than I am.”
“Days like this make me wish my job was in an office.”
“Then you’d have to wear a suit and tie.” Blue eyes took his measure.
“Yup.” He almost never thought about what his life might have been like if he hadn’t been obligated to take over the ranch responsibilities. But on days like today... “Today it might be worth it. The rest of the time, probably not.” He had begrudgingly taken over the ranch and was a single father to Tyler, but he was the boss and didn’t have to ask anyone for permission to come and go. “Guess every job has its pros and cons.”
“Yes, they do.” As the rain pounded on the roof, she added, “We need to remember to be grateful for this drenching. Some parts of the country are in a terrible drought.”
“True enough,” he said.
He’d heard stories from his father and grandfather about hard times when the land was parched and grass for the cattle to graze on was scarce. Hopefully that wouldn’t happen on his watch. Not that he could control it any more than he could control his damned attraction to Kate.
“Tomorrow when the sun is out, I’ll be grateful. Today I really feel like complaining.”
“Is the weather responsible for this mood?” Caroline removed her glasses and set them on the desk, topping a stack of file folders. “Or is it something else? Or someone?”
Whether or not that was the case, Cabot knew it was always best to let her say what was on her mind. “Why don’t you share your theory about my disposition?”
“Clearly it’s not PMS.” Her tone was wry.
“Got that right.” Probably things would be easier if that was his problem.
“Seriously, though, it seems to me that your grumpiness can be traced back to the day Kate arrived in town.”
Cabot wasn’t sure she was right about that, but he could put a finer point on the observation. He’d started to feel really jumpy after realizing Ty had ideas to push Kate his way. That wasn’t going to happen; only bad could come of it. So far there hadn’t been an opportunity to have a father-son chat about the situation, but he would make it happen soon.
“You’re not completely wrong about that,” he admitted.
The blonde leaned back in the chair as she studied him. “Do you like her?”
“What is this? High school?” He tried to make light of the question. “You’ve been hanging out with teenagers too long.”
“Maybe. But unlike some people I could name, I’m not living under a rock. And I don’t deflect questions that I’m uncomfortable answering.”
He leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb. “Remind me to warn Ty not to try and put anything over on you when he lands in your class eight or nine years from now.”
“That’s the thing. Adults are just big kids. Human nature doesn’t change even when maturity sets in. And your nature is all about turning your back on emotions.”
“Okay. Now I forgot the question.”
“No, you didn’t. But I’ll remind you anyway because now I’m even more curious. Do you like Kate?”
“Define ‘like.’”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t make me send you to the principal’s office.”
“Okay.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Let’s just say I’ve noticed that she’s not hard on the eyes.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She nodded, looking pleased. “It hasn’t happened to you since your wife left, and that scares the crap out of you.”
“Watch it, Caroline. I’m a guy. Nothing scares me.”
“No,” she agreed. “Unless you’re talking about personal feelings and commitment. And who could blame you? The only thing more scary to a guy than talking about feelings is being solely responsible for an infant, the way you were when your wife left. I’ve got news for you, Cabot. If a woman has no experience with a baby, she’s just as scared as you were with that little boy.”
“What about the maternal instinct?” He’d often wondered what Ty was missing out on without having his mom.
“I’m not sure. I just know being scared isn’t gender specific when it comes to babies.”
“You?” He didn’t believe she was afraid of anything.
“Oh, yeah. When Jake was born, I’d never held a newborn before, let alone been primarily responsible for keeping one alive.” She shook her head ruefully at the memory. “And I had a husband to help. God bless Nolan. The night we brought our son home, the baby was crying. I was crying. Nolan told me to go to bed and he’d make sure the little guy was okay. And he did.”
“Good man.”
“No argument here. But you didn’t have anyone when Jennifer walked out. And you had a ranch to run, not a nine-to-five job. No one can blame you for not ever wanting to be that vulnerable again.”
“So, you’re not going to tell me to get over it and take a chance? Get back up on the horse?”
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to. Part of me does.” She sighed. “But mostly I don’t want to see you hurt like that ever again.”
Cabot would second that motion. “Then why are we having this conversation about whether I like Kate?”
“Because I’ve seen the way you look at her. Ty, too. The Dixon men both have a crush on that runaway bride. That alone should make you take off in the other direction.”
“So, you don’t like her.”
“I didn’t say that.” Caroline folded her arms over her chest. “I actually like her quite a bit. She’s a hard worker. Funny. Very pretty. But—”
“What?”
“She’s got secrets. And not about that jerk she left at the altar.”
“And you know this—how?”
“When you’ve worked with teenagers as long as I have, you learn to spot that in a person. Not saying the secret is a bad thing. Or a good thing, for that matter. Just that she’s hiding something. I wanted to give you my take on that.”
“Okay. Consider it shared.” He started to turn away, then remembered why he was here. “How are the kids? Rain can put a damper, no pun, on outdoor activities.”
“Jim and his staff have it covered. They’re showing videos, playing board games and doing crafts. Indoor stuff. The usual.”
“At least they have an extra pair of hands with Kate here to fill in when someone needs a break.”
“True—” She stopped. “Except, now that I think about it, she should be back by now.”
“Where is she?”
“I sent her into Blackw
ater Lake with a short list of a few things I needed for the breakfast menu. But that was a couple of hours ago.”
“Maybe she came back and is with the other counselors and the kids,” he suggested.
Caroline shook her head. “She’d have dropped the groceries off here first. No. I hope nothing’s wrong.”
“Don’t borrow trouble.”
“Can’t help it. I’m wired that way.” She shrugged. “Just have a feeling.”
“I’ll go look for her.”
“Thanks, Cabot. That would make me feel better.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He left Caroline at her desk and trudged back up to the house, where his truck was parked. He got in out of the rain and, after fishing the keys out of his pocket, turned on the ignition. The engine roared to life and he backed out of the space, then headed slowly up the road. Worry nagged at him—partly for Kate’s safety, but partly something else.
The first thing he’d learned about her was that she’d run away. Caroline had just reminded him about that. It crossed his mind that she might have run out now, and the thought tied him in knots. That realization proved his control over this attraction thing wasn’t nearly as tight as he’d wanted to believe.
Only one road could take him into town, so if she was stuck or out of gas, he couldn’t miss her. Proving his point, a couple of miles from the ranch he spotted a lone figure walking toward him. A closer look told him it was Kate and she was soaked.
He stopped the truck beside her and hit the button to roll down his window. “Hop in.”
She nodded and walked around the front of the vehicle. It was bad enough that she was shivering, which made him want to strip off her clothes and hold her close to warm her. But she was wearing a white T-shirt that might as well be invisible because it was wet and nearly transparent. Thank God she was wearing a bra, although he could make out the size and shape of her breasts.
He put the truck in Park and released his seat belt, then slipped off his slicker. When she was in the passenger seat, he said, “Put this on. It will help a little. I’ll have you back to your cabin in ten minutes.”
“O—okay.” She slid her arms into the too-big coat and pulled it closed.
Everything that made his mouth water was covered, but some sights you couldn’t un-see or convince yourself that you didn’t want to see more.
“What happened?” There was nothing the least bit gentle in his tone and he was really sorry about that.
“T—truck broke down halfway to town—” An attack of shivers stopped her. “No idea what’s wrong with it. But do you realize there’s not a lot of traffic on this road?”
“Yeah.”
“I forgot my cell phone. So I finally decided to walk.”
“Now you’re soaked to the skin.” He burned all over just from saying the word. “You should have stayed in the truck.”
“I did that, but clearly there’s no traffic on this road. I finally decided to walk back for help because I thought Caroline might need the things on the list.”
“She can work around them,” he snapped. “No one’s going to starve.”
“I don’t know why you’re so crabby.”
Worry did that to a man. And she wasn’t the first female that day to wonder about his mood. “Let’s just call it PMS.”
“Oo-kay.”
At least that shut her up for the rest of the drive. When they got back to the ranch, he drove her straight to her cabin. “Get dry clothes on.”
“Really? You think I require an order for that?” She shot him a look. “Because I look like I enjoy being soaked?”
No. Because he couldn’t handle much more of knowing that underneath the slicker he’d given her there was a wet T-shirt that clung to her breasts.
“You’ll be more comfortable when I take you into town to get that stuff for Caroline and arrange to have your truck fixed.”
“Give me five minutes,” she said and hopped out.
He blew out a long breath and rubbed the back of his neck. The quicker she put on dry clothes, the sooner he would stop thinking about getting her naked. Possibly he would even stop aching to touch her bare silky skin.
Maybe, but not likely.
Chapter Eight
Cabot’s crabby mood didn’t improve on the way to Blackwater Lake. Kate had made several attempts at chitchat, but his one-word answers didn’t invite conversation. It probably didn’t help that she’d kept him waiting longer than five minutes. The lure of a hot shower had been a temptation she couldn’t ignore. It was one thing to get soaking wet in the rain and quite another to do it under a hot spray. She’d been freezing, and that was the quickest way to warm up. Now her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was wearing dry jeans with a camp T-shirt. No makeup. Because Cabot was driving her to town, she’d been tempted to put on mascara and lipstick, but there hadn’t been time. He didn’t look like a man who wanted to be kept waiting.
On the road they passed the sad truck. She had no idea why her brother had such an attachment to the thing, including naming it Angelica, but he was a man. Who knew why they made certain choices?
Case in point... She glanced over at Cabot. Why didn’t he let one of the ranch hands drive her into town to pick up things for Caroline and take care of her dead truck? Clearly Cabot didn’t want to be here, so why had he chosen to come?
Darned if Kate knew. She just wanted to take care of business and get back to the kids. They were much less complicated and a lot more fun.
“We’re going to stop at McKnight’s Auto Repair.”
For groceries, she wanted to say. But he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. She was in the mood to poke the bear just a little, though. “Aren’t you going to tell me it’s the best place in town?”
“It’s the only place in town.” He glanced over. “But Tom McKnight is honest and good at what he does. He taught his daughter, Sydney, everything she knows. Between the two of them, I don’t think there’s anything they can’t fix.”
“Is Sydney McKnight the son her parents never had?”
“Well, her mother died when she was born. And since she has two older brothers, I’d have to say no to the son thing.”
Wow, she’d never known her mom. Kate couldn’t imagine growing up without her own mother. The woman had been her anchor every time the family moved when the army reassigned her dad.
“Maybe she’s competing with her brothers for her father’s attention.”
“Don’t tell me. You were a shrink in your other life.”
“No.” At least she’d gotten him talking. “I’m just wondering why a woman would choose a career working on cars.”
“Family business.”
Hmm. Apparently he wasn’t the only one pressured into taking over. “Why didn’t her brothers go to work in the garage?”
“Ben McKnight is an orthopedist who works at Mercy Medical Clinic. His brother, Alex, owns a construction company.”
“So Sydney was forced into it.” She looked at Cabot and saw a muscle in his jaw jerk.
“I can’t picture Tom McKnight laying a guilt trip on any of his kids. He’s salt of the earth and just wanted them to do whatever would make them happy.” He met her gaze for a moment. “I also can’t see Syd doing something she doesn’t want to.”
“You must know her pretty well.”
“Yeah.”
And they were back to one-word answers. In the silence, Kate’s thoughts turned to the female mechanic and how well Cabot knew her. If Kate had to put a finer point on the feeling squeezing her chest, she would call it jealousy. That was stupid, so she decided not to define what she was feeling.
But she couldn’t stop wondering. Caroline had said he discreetly dated, and Sydney was certainly handy. But, seriously, a female mechanic? Grease
, dirt, engines? What kind of woman would want to...?
That was where she stopped herself. People could say the same thing about her and why she would want to take part in skeet-shooting competitions. The saying about glass houses and throwing stones came to mind.
And then they were driving down Main Street in the town of Blackwater Lake. Every time she saw it, the charm of the place pulled her in a little deeper. They passed the Grizzly Bear Diner. Beside it was Potter’s Ice Cream Parlor and Tanya’s Treasures, a souvenir and gift store. The Grocery Store came up on the left and again she felt as if the combination of businesses and residential areas made up a magical village surrounded by evergreen trees to protect it from encroaching civilization.
“There’s McKnight’s,” Cabot said. “Just up ahead on the left.”
As they got closer, Kate decided it looked pretty much like any other garage she’d ever seen—an office connected by an overhang to the work area, where vehicles were elevated on hydraulic lifts so the mechanic could easily look underneath. A tow truck took up a parking space and sported the business name and phone number on the side door. The building was white with royal-blue trim, and a sign visible from the street declared in bold black letters McKnight’s Auto Repair.
The rain hadn’t stopped, so Cabot pulled up and stopped beneath the overhang outside the office. “I’ll introduce you.”
“Okay.”
As she slid out of his truck, a man somewhere in his late fifties walked out of the office. He was tall, handsome and distinguished looking with a full head of silver hair.
Cabot walked over to him, hand extended. “Hi, Tom. How are you?”
“Great. Good to see you, Cabot.” His gaze settled on her.
“This is Kate Scott.”
She smiled. “Nice to meet you, Mr. McKnight.”
“Call me Tom.” He was friendly and easygoing, and then something that looked a lot like recognition slid into his eyes. “Aren’t you the runaway bride I heard about?”
The Rancher Who Took Her In (The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake) Page 9
