Country Heat (King Creek Cowboys Book 1) (6 page)

W
hile 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.”

D
amn
.
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.

It wasn’t only her sexiness that attracted him, but her coolness under pressure and the way she took control of her new position without one moment of hesitation. Belle didn’t express her thoughts or feelings often, but she was fair and just, and had complimented Kit. She had been thrown into the fire pit yesterday, but she’d blazed through it like the professional she was.

A strong woman like Kit could stand toe to toe with him. He liked a woman who could challenge him in any number of ways.

He reached for his hat from the hat rack and looked back at her. She had her back to him, her cute backside to him as she scrubbed a pan. She glanced over her shoulder and froze when she saw him watching her. He couldn’t help it—he couldn’t look away from her.

She broke the connection by turning back to the pot and attacked it with the scrubber.

He shook his head and smiled before letting himself out the door.

* * *

K
it had never felt
nervous about going to a market and shopping in all her life, and right now it felt like she had some wild critter bouncing around in her belly.

Really? You’re nervous about shopping, Kit?

But then she’d never had anyone like Carter McLeod who had invited himself to go with her.

Great. Just great.

She checked her mascara in the mirror, more to do something to quell her panic than to make sure her makeup looked good. She didn’t even know why she wanted to look good. Instead of jeans and a shirt, she’d gone with a boho look with a nice flowy long top and leggings with sandals. While she looked in the mirror, she grabbed a carved wooden hair clip, pulled her hair back, and fastened it with the clip.

Of course she did. Carter. He was the reason for all these mad feelings stampeding through her.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was time to meet up with Carter. She grabbed the strap of her purse and headed for the door.

The moment she started to turn the bolt lock, the door vibrated as someone knocked on it.