The Texan's Tennessee Romance

She turned her head, then smiled. “They’re beautiful.”

“They are, aren’t they?”

They watched in silence for a moment, and then something—a scent, a motion, a sound, perhaps—startled one of the does. She lifted her head, looked directly at Casey and Natalie, and then turned to melt back into the woods, followed by her companions.

“We’ve certainly seen the animals today, haven’t we?” Natalie said, looking at him again. “Think a black bear will come out of the woods next?”

He grinned. “I kind of hope not. Dogs and deer I can handle. Bears—not so much.”

She chuckled. “The ones around here usually leave you alone if you do the same with them. Tommy and I saw one on a hike once. It looked at us, we looked at it, and then we all turned and went our own ways. Fortunately, Tommy and I had been making a lot of noise, so we didn’t startle the bear when we appeared. That’s when they’re particularly dangerous, when they’re frightened or protecting their young.”

“We didn’t see many bears back in Dallas. Saw a few rattlesnakes on my uncle’s ranch. I didn’t care for them, either.”

Natalie shuddered delicately. “Neither would I. I don’t like snakes.”

“Ah. So there is something that intimidates the intrepid Natalie Lofton.”

“Intrepid?” she repeated, lifting an eyebrow.

Shrugging, he admitted, “It’s a word I tend to associate with you, for some reason. Maybe because you seem so hard to rattle. Broken pipes, blood, stray dogs—bears, apparently. You deal with it all without blinking. I’ve only heard you admit to two things that intimidate you—snakes and babies.”

She blinked and he could tell that he had taken her completely off-guard, something that apparently didn’t happen much with her. And then she gave a little smile that didn’t quite reach her somber eyes and said, “I’ll admit to being wary of both snakes and babies, though maybe not quite to the same extent. As for the rest—I’m not sure intrepid is the word to describe me. Trust me, I don’t handle everything as calmly as you suggest.”

“Coulda fooled me.”

He’d always considered himself fairly proficient in interpreting body language. Something about the way she crossed her arms and then huddled a bit into her sweater made him wonder what it meant. A slightly self-protective gesture, perhaps hinting at a recent blow that had been difficult for her to handle? Or was she just chilly and he was reading too much into the emotions he’d thought he glimpsed in her expression?

“The temperature seems to be dropping,” he commented, telling himself to mind his own business. “Maybe you’d better go back inside.”

She glanced again at the clean, empty deck. “I guess so, since we’re finished here. You’re done for the day, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s getting too close to dark to start anything else. I guess I’ll head on back to the cabin I’m staying in. I’m going to do some work on the floors there this evening. I’m sanding and refinishing them, starting in the kitchen.”

“So you’re working on both at once?”

“Pretty much. The regular maintenance guy had already finished the outside of mine before he was in the accident. So I’ve been working inside there for a couple hours a day after leaving here.”

“I know Kyle and Uncle Mack must appreciate your help.”

He shrugged. “As you’re well aware, I’m not the most skilled handyman, but I want to contribute what I can while I’m here.”

She took a step toward the cabin, then stopped and looked back at him. He could almost see a debate going on in her head before she asked, “You said you’re working on the kitchen floor in your cabin?”

“Yeah. I’ve got the room cleaned out and everything taped off, so I’m going to start sanding tonight.”

“What about dinner?”

“I figured I’d pick up a burger and fries on the way.”

She took a quick deep breath and then said very casually, “I have a few things I can make quickly here if you’d like to eat with me before you go. If you’re going to put in more hours of work this evening, you need to eat something a little more nutritious than a burger and fries.”

Though he was surprised that she’d offered, Casey didn’t hesitate to accept. “I’d love to join you for dinner. Thanks.”

She smiled somewhat tentatively. “Okay. Great. Come on in and you can wash up while I get started.”

Leaving his toolbox at the foot of the steps, he followed close behind he

r as she moved toward the door.