She made a face at him. “Reba May is almost as good a cook as Bria,” she answered proudly. “She used to do the cooking for all of our office parties and everything she made was delicious. I’ll give her a call a little later and see if she’s interested.”
“It sounds as though you have it under control.”
“If she’s interested in the job would you like to meet her before I hire her?” she asked.
“I trust your judgment.” He set his cup on the table and checked his watch. “I need to get down to the barn. I’m helping my men repair that stretch of fence in the south pasture today.”
“Will you be back for lunch?” she asked. “I may not know how to cook, but I can make a sandwich for you.”
When she nibbled on her lower lip, he barely managed to hold back a groan. She wasn’t trying to be provocative, but that didn’t lessen the effect her action had on him.
He shook his head as he rose to his feet to take his coffee cup to the sink. “When we’re working out in the pastures, the bunkhouse cook always packs lunch for us.” Giving in to the overwhelming urge to kiss her, he walked back to the table, pulled her up from the chair and, wrapping his arms around her waist, drew her to him. “And don’t worry about supper. I think it would be a good idea to eat out this evening.”
She laughed. “Where’s your sense of adventure, cowboy?”
“I think I used that up when you tried to cook breakfast,” he said, unable to stop himself from pressing his mouth to hers. Giving her a kiss that left them both breathless, he motioned toward the door. “The guys are waiting on me.”
“Thank you, Jaron,” she said softly.
He frowned. “What for?”
“For not firing me.” She kissed the exposed skin at the open collar of his chambray shirt. “I’ll see you later this afternoon.”
Nodding, Jaron quickly turned, grabbed his wide-brimmed hat from a peg beside the door and walked out of the house before he changed his mind about helping his men mend the fence in the south pasture. So much for the pep talk he’d given himself when he first got out of bed. It had taken less than half an hour and he’d already reverted to kissing her first and thinking about it later.
Mariah had been right about a couple of things. There was a lot more going on between them than ever before, and it appeared he was definitely fighting a losing battle. He should tell her it would be better if she found another job. But as much hell as he’d gone through the past week, he still didn’t want her to leave. Just the thought of her leaving caused a knot the size of a basketball to form in his gut.
Jaron took a deep breath as he walked across the yard toward the barn. He felt as if he had jumped off a cliff into the great unknown. But there was no way to turn back the clock. It appeared that when he’d made love to Mariah, he had started something that couldn’t be stopped. And, God help him, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to try.
* * *
Mariah closed the files on Jaron’s computer and couldn’t help but be very pleased with herself. She had not only reviewed all of the ranch files and felt ready to discuss goals for the ranch with Jaron tomorrow, she’d hired her former employee to take over the housekeeping and cooking duties at the Wild Maverick Ranch. Reba May had jumped at the job offer because of the close proximity to her son and his family, as well as the idea of being able to make a living doing what she loved—cooking. That was enough to make Mariah feel a lot better after the disaster with breakfast that morning. But when she talked to Reba May and learned that the woman had won the state fair pie-making contest with an apple pie, Mariah had been thrilled with her decision to hire the woman. Given his love of apple pie, she was fairly confident Jaron would be happy with her choice, as well.
As she sat there patting herself on the back for a job well done, her cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID, she smiled when she saw the call was from Bria.
“How is my favorite sister?” Mariah asked cheerfully.
“I’m your only sister,” Bria answered drily. “That makes me the favorite by default.”
“You sound tired.” Mariah leaned back in Jaron’s desk chair. “Has that sweet little nephew of mine been running you ragged?”
“Not any more than usual.” Bria sighed. “I’ve been battling a stomach bug for the past week that I just can’t seem to shake.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Mariah asked, immediately concerned. “If you need me, I can watch little Hank so you can get some rest.” Although Bria and Sam were more than financially able to hire a nanny to help with the toddler, Bria was a hands-on mother and loved every minute of it. She wouldn’t even discuss having help with her son.