“Mornin’,” he replied. “Did you sleep well?”
Something in his tone tripped her pulse and drew her gaze. She had dreamt everything—hadn’t she? “Um, yeah, I did…why?”
His shoulder lifted, and he stood to go rinse his bowl in the sink. “You seemed upset last night after we talked—I hoped it hadn’t kept you awake.”
She took a drink of her coffee, eyeing him over the rim of her cup. She’d forgotten all about that, forgotten that she was angry with him for being so nosey and perceptive and for sounding as if he’d cared.
Finally, she lifted a shoulder with pretended indifference. “As if I’d let you bother me.” Then she got the heck out of there before she noticed how damned sexy he looked in his gray shirt.
Chapter Fourteen
Colton arrived home from visiting his father Saturday afternoon to find Kendra dumping a bucket of mop water behind the house. Because they seemed to have struck up an unspoken truce—albeit a silent one—over the past few days, he waited for her at the door.
“I could’ve cleaned—it’s my turn.”
“You did the dishes all week,” she reminded, swinging the bucket at her side.
He held the door open with a smile. He rather liked their recent camaraderie, but refused to think about how much he liked it. The quiet inside the house was as noticeable as the pine-fresh, clean smell.
“Where is everyone?”
“Left for their camping trip.” She spoke over her shoulder as she put away the cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink.
His pulse kicked into high gear. “You didn’t go.”
She closed the cupboard and stood with a grin. “Can’t put nothing past you, can I?”
Just the two of them. No kids. No Joel watching his every move with his sister.
Her grin faded and he realized he was frowning. With a grunt, he spun around to go change into work clothes. Lucky could use a work out—and given the immediate direction his thoughts took upon hearing he and Kendra were alone on the ranch for the next three days, so could he.
She was nowhere to be seen on his way out to the barn, and didn’t appear until over an hour later, when he turned and spotted her on the top rail of the fence. He’d felt her presence even before turning Lucky.
He tensed with that realization, and the sudden change of leg pressure made the Arabian respond to his unwitting command. Only Colton’s quick reflexes kept him in the saddle as Lucky took off across the pasture at breakneck speed. He let the stallion run since it took his attention off Kendra until he could get his reaction under control. When he felt confident enough to face her, he rode up to the fence.
“A guy named Jordan just called,” she said. “He said he’d call later.”
Colton nodded. “Thanks.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but remained silent.
“What?” he prompted.
After a brief hesitation, she said, “You were going to teach me to ride.”
“You want to learn?” he asked as Lucky pranced beneath him with excess energy.
“I said I did.”
He scoffed with a reluctant smile. “That whole conversation was so confusing I wasn’t sure what you wanted.” Her annoyed scowl widened his grin. “Okay, so now I know.”
He swung his leg over to sit sidesaddle. “Ready?”
She blanched. “Now? On him?”
“Sure, why not?”
“He’s so…tall, and…wild.”