Country Heat (King Creek Cowboys Book 1)

by Cheyenne McCray

  The back was filled with the belongings she hadn’t put into storage. Mostly clothes and personal items were packed in the SUV, but she had brought along some of her favorite things that she refused to be parted from.

  “I just need my overnight case for now.” She rested her hand on the smaller purple bag. “I can get the rest tomorrow.”

  He slung a duffel over his shoulder then grabbed a pair of large suitcases that matched the overnight bag. “Might as well bring everything in now.”

  His voice thrummed through her, the vibrations sending shivers to every part of her body.

  No doubt she just needed to give in on things like letting him bring in all her belongings, because she wasn’t going to win. Not that winning had anything to do with it.

  She slid the strap of the overnight bag over her shoulder and pulled out a box with some of her personal “treasures.” She followed him to the front of the guest house, glad landscape lighting illuminated the path. Grass extended throughout the backyard of the main house, out to the guest house. It smelled like it had been freshly cut and the diamond sparkles across the tips showed it had recently been watered.

  It was the most adorable guest house she could remember ever seeing. If it was built into a hillside and had a round door, it could have been a hobbit hole. It had a small white porch and a pretty vine-covered arbor arched over the stepping stones before the porch.

  It had been painted a bright yellow with white trim, and had a small front porch with two chairs and a little table. During the fall, winter, and spring the Phoenix, Arizona weather would be perfect for sitting out here. The summer, not so much unless it was five in the morning.

  Carter was so tall he had to duck under the arbor. He set the suitcases on the porch and fished a set of keys out of his pocket. He handed her a key with Mickey Mouse chain attached to it. “This is the key to the guest house. Another key is at the house if you lose yours.” He showed her another keychain with a matching key. “This is my copy. Don’t worry—this is your home while you’re here, and no one will be entering unless there’s an emergency.”

  “Such as flooding?” She leaned against the yellow wall. “Or fire?”

  He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Those would qualify as emergencies.”

  The door swung open and he stepped aside so that she could walk through. She expected the place to smell musty and unused. Instead, warm smells of vanilla and cinnamon greeted her.

  Carter flipped on the light switch, and lamps brightened the room, casting a golden glow over the decorator furniture done in tapestry fabrics and mahogany wood. Artwork hung from taupe shaded walls and the floor was wall to wall Saltillo tiles with a colorful braided rug beneath the coffee table.

  “It’s lovely.” Kit stepped into the room. “It has such a homey feel.”

  “Mom decorated the place and Belle keeps it up.” He set the bags down in front of an armchair. “Belle likes to keep it welcoming, so she’s always freshening the place up in between guests.”

  Kit set her down her bags. “Am I going to be in the way when it comes to company?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. We have the smaller of the two employee houses that’s free. It’s larger than this and holds more people. This one is more cozy as Mom would say.” His eyes met hers. “Will this work for you?”

  She looked away from him and swept her gaze around the room again. “It’s perfect.”

  “I’ll bring in the rest of your things.” He started back to the door. “To the left is the hall to your room. To the right, through that doorway, you can see the kitchen.”

  She started to follow him. “I can help get everything out of the Lexus.”

  He paused and shook his head. “I’ve got it. You get settled in.” He turned and ducked out the door.

  She grasped her overnight bag and the box and headed down the hallway to the bedroom.

  Even before she entered the room, she caught the perfume of lavender and rosemary. When she flipped on the light, she smiled. The room was as perfect as the rest of the place. She set the box down on the Saltillo tile, and took her overnight case to the bathroom. A citrus scent filled the soft blue-painted room. On the sink were bottles of orange mango hand soap and lotion, with bottles of the same scented shampoo and conditioner that rested on a shelf in the marble-tiled shower.

  “Perfect.” She smiled to herself. “Absolutely perfect.”

  Carter finished bringing everything and shut the door behind him. “After the long day you had, you should be getting to bed.

  The mere mention of “bed” caused exhaustion to flow over her like a wave. “Until you said that, I was running on my second wind. I think you’re right and I should get to bed. I’ve got an early morning ahead.”

  He moved closer, so that he was mere feet away. “Breakfast is at seven, when the men are finished with their morning chores” His voice was low, husky, even as he talked of the mundane. “The office staff eats lunch with the men. The office hours are generally eight-thirty to five.”

  “Got it.” Kit gave him a thumbs up. “I’ll be ready.”

  He said nothing as his gaze darkened, as if he was drinking her in. She felt self-conscious, yet incredibly sexually aware as everything froze in time. He took another step forward, so that he was only a foot from her.

  She saw everything in his eyes—the desire to touch her, taste her, be inside her.

  Heat flushed throughout her body. She must be tired to read all of that into one look.

  But that look encompassed so very much.

  She wanted nothing more than to step into his arms, let his hands slide over her body as he lowered his head and took her mouth with his.

  What am I thinking?

  His throat visibly worked as he stepped back. “Get some sleep, Kit.” The words sounded almost choked as he spoke.

  “Good night,” she managed to say.

  He gave her one last look before letting himself out and into the night and closing the door behind him.

  Kit dropped into the closest chair. “Oh, God.” She flopped back in her seat. “What in Your name am I supposed to do now?”

  Because not only was she incredibly attracted to her boss, but she was certain he felt the same attraction.

  “It would never work.” She straightened in the chair. “How could it? I’m an employee and he’s the boss. The last thing I want to do is jeopardize my job.”

  Not to mention, she had too many secrets…too many reasons to make him walk away if he eventually found out.

  It wouldn’t be if, it would be when. She could never hold back something so important. And when he found out, that would be the end of it.

  “Better not to start anything you can’t finish,” she said out loud. “You’re going to keep Carter McLeod at a distance and that’s that.”

  6

  While Kit flipped the last of six pancakes on the large stovetop griddle, she hummed to herself. If she was alone, she would have been singing the Eagles tune aloud, but she didn’t want anyone walking in on her while she belted out Hotel California.

  She reached beside her and grasped the handle of her coffee mug and sipped the still hot liquid. She liked her coffee exotic, black, and the darker the roast the better.

  “Nothing better than the smell of coffee in the morning.” The deep voice behind her caused a shiver to trail up her spine. “What do you have up your sleeve for breakfast?”

  She set her coffee mug on the countertop and looked over her shoulder at Carter, who stood with his arms folded across his broad chest. He watched her as though fascinated by what she was doing.

  Fact was she was fascinated by the big man who always had a flicker of fire in his eyes and a deadly sexy grin. He had a look so sensual she could imagine herself sliding into his embrace. He would wrap his strong arms around her as she pressed herself against him. She could almost feel his lips on hers, his hands roaming her body…

  She cleared her throat and offered a smile. �
�I need to do some real shopping Sunday, so I went with something quick and easy with what’s on hand—traditional pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage patties.” She looked back to what she’d been doing, and slid a spatula under one pancake before lifting up the dome on the platter next to her, and set the pancake on top of a growing stack. She repeated the motions until all six were under the dome. “I need a good couple hours of shopping to give the men and women variety.”

  “The men will be perfectly happy with a traditional breakfast and lunch every day.” Carter moved beside her. “No need to go to a lot of trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble at all.” She poured batter onto the griddle for six more pancakes. “It’s my job.” She looked up at Carter. “And I love my job.”

  He leaned his hip against the counter as she worked. “Hotel California, huh?”

  “At least I know my humming sounds something close to the actual song.” She smiled as she examined the first pancake. “Doesn’t mean I’m on key.”

  Carter gave a low laugh. “I’d say you do a very good humming job.”

  Her face grew hot as “hum job” popped into her mind. She tried to cover her hesitation by shooting him a smile and saying, “I’m flattered.”

  He chuckled. “You must have been out of bed early. I think you were here before the men got to work. The kitchen light was already shining when I went outside.”

  “You don’t run a kitchen and show up after the guests.” She looked from the pancakes to Carter. “Or cowboys in this case.”

  He had the same look of amusement as he’d had yesterday when he’d startled her. “I have to admit it surprised me.”

  “Why?” She flipped a pancake.

  He shrugged. “Past experience.”

  “Hmmm...” She shook her head as she turned over the next five pancakes. “No comment needed on that one.”

  He braced his hand on the counter, next to the buffet dome that would soon house scrambled eggs. The sausage patties were already made and beneath the buffet farthest away from her.

  He tapped his fingers lightly on the countertop. “Feel free to comment on anything.”

  “The fact that you even mentioned any cooks who might not have had food ready on time, says it all.” Even if she was feeling like crap, she would have gotten her butt down to the kitchen and done her job. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what she’d done throughout her career since graduating from the culinary arts school.

  “What do you have planned today?” She glanced at him. “Roping and riding?”

  He smiled. “Something like that.”

  “My grandparents had a farm, but they didn’t have horses.” A wistful feeling crept over her like fingers stroking her skin. She missed them like crazy. “I always wished they did, but Grandpa said horses need a lot of attention and it’s not fair to them if they can’t get their proper exercise and care.”

  “Your grandpa was right.” Carter shifted against the countertop. “Have you ever been on a horse?”

  She shook her head. “No. But I’ve always wanted to.”

  “We’ll make it happen.” He pushed away from the counter. “How about a week from tomorrow?”

  She glanced at him in surprise. “You’re taking me for a ride?”

  “I know just the horse for you.” He cocked his head. “Pack a lunch and I’ll show you the operation and the property.”

  “Can’t pass that up.” She started using the spatula to move the pancakes from the griddle to the platter beneath the dome. “That would be a Sunday.”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “Sure. I’d enjoy that very much.” The moment the words left her mouth, thoughts flashed through her mind that made her pause.

  Her. Carter. Alone.

  Not a good idea.

  A groan threatened to spill out. It was too late now to back out without looking like a jerk.

  She did her best to smile naturally as she scrambled the eggs. “Any special requests for lunch when we go for a ride?”

  He looked thoughtful. “Snickerdoodles. They’re my favorite cookies.”

  “I wouldn’t have pictured you as a snickerdoodle man.” She laughed as she made sure the eggs were done in the giant pan. “More like an oatmeal chocolate chip kind of guy.”

  He grinned. “My grandma baked a lot of great cookies, but snickerdoodles have always been at the top of my list.”

  “I have a killer recipe.” She mentally went through her list of recipes. “I make a variation called a ‘toffeedoodle.’”

  “Sounds like something I’d enjoy.” His expression was sooo damned sexy. It should have been a shootable offense for a man to look that good, that lickable. She could just picture herself licking him like one of the beaters she used to make his birthday cake.

  Stop it. She had to pull herself back together. She turned back to the eggs and frowned at herself. The eggs were going to burn if she wasn’t careful and didn’t pay attention to what she was doing.

  The sound of boot steps sounded against wood outside the back door.

  “Sounds like the boys are coming in for breakfast,” Carter said.

  “Good timing.” Both for the food and to put a halt to her screaming attraction for the man. At least for now.

  It only took her a few moments to finish breakfast as the cowboys came through the door. They came in sporadically over the next ten minutes, until everyone was seated around the larger of the two tables. Carter helped Kit serve the men by assisting her in taking the buffet platters to the table.

  It wasn’t until the men were digging into their food that Kit realized how hungry she was. She should probably feel tired too, thanks to a long trip, late night, and early morning, but she felt energized and keen to start the rest of her day.

  While the men ate, joked around, and laughed, Kit went into the dining room with her own breakfast. She didn’t feel comfortable sitting with the men—at least not yet. But she did want to let them have at it while she was out of the room so that they’d feel free to say whatever the hell they wanted without worrying about what the new female cook would think.

  She ate a piece of toast with marmalade from a jar she had found in a cabinet. In addition to that, she had one soft boiled egg and a small sausage patty.

  When she heard the sounds of the men getting up along with the clank of plates and silverware, she swallowed her last bite of toast, then returned to the kitchen. The men were stacking the plates by the sink and setting the silverware on the counter.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at the men.

  Each one of the men put on their hats, gave her a nod, or said “thank you,” directly to her.

  When they left, Carter came up to her. “Need some help shopping tomorrow?”

  “I’m sure you’re busy.” She started rinsing off the dishes before she put them in the dishwasher. “Thank you for the offer.”

  “Nothing going on Sundays after I do the feeding.” Carter started helping her with the dishes. “I’d be glad for an excuse to get out. Not that I’m crazy about shopping, but I think I’d survive.”

  “Aha.” She rinsed off silverware before putting it into the dishwasher. “That settles it. I go alone.”

  “I’ll take you to the farmer’s market after we hit Costco.” Carter set his dish towel on the counter and moved closer to her. “You don’t have an assistant and I’m sure you can use the help. I’d be happy to.”

  She couldn’t say “No” to the boss no matter how many warning bells were going on in her head. It was clear he had made up his mind.

  “All right.” She wiped down the counters as he loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. “You don’t know what you’re in for.”

  “I’m sure I’ll survive.” He looked at her with amusement. “I’ve been through worse.”

  She couldn’t help a mischievous grin. “You’ve never shopped with me.”

  Damn. Carter mentally shook his head. Yeah, right now he should be out taking care of the
daily duties involved with running the ranch, but he wanted to be around Kit and get to know her better. She had one hell of a pull on him, and he wasn’t sure how or why.

  “Is that a challenge?” He looked down at her and wanted to pull the clip out of her blonde hair, setting it all free so that he could slide his fingers through the silken strands. Even more, he wanted to draw her warm, hard body against his and taste her lips and her mouth. He wanted to explore every part of her. His throat worked.

  “It might be.” She gave an impish grin. “I doubt you could keep up with me.”

  Carter resisted the strong, primal pull she had on him. Every time he looked at her and their eyes met, he knew she felt the same way as he did, but she would never be the first to take action on those feelings.

  He would love to start right now, right here.

  Damn it. Kit is an employee. Keep your distance.

  The little warning voice was trying to fight its way through his barriers, but his libido was having none of it.

  “You’re on.” He itched to touch her as he thought about what he would like to choose as a reward. “How about when I win, you make both snickerdoodle cookies and the toffeedoodle recipe.”

  An instant of hesitation told him that she was thinking twice about letting him join her on the shopping trip. She was likely just as concerned about what was going on between them…even though nothing had happened. Yet.

  She seemed to switch speeds, humor in her eyes. “When I win, you get to make the cookies for me.”

  “I want a dozen of each.” His grin broadened. “Since tomorrow is Sunday and you don’t need to make lunch, I’ll meet you at the guest house at ten-thirty. Costco will be open by then.”

  “Ha. We’ll see if you can keep up with me.” She picked up a pot scrubber with a long handle, and held it as if defending herself with it. “I’d better get to work on this kitchen and start pulling together today’s lunch.”

  Carter couldn’t help a slow grin. “See you at lunch.”

  She gave a single nod before he turned and walked away.