LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Yes, ma’am.”

      

      Caroline reassessed the damage, not to her kitchen, but to her heart, and decided that it was a good thing Sam Beaumont was only interested in an honest day’s work. He’d been up front about it. He’d been truthful. That’s a heck of a lot more than she’d ever gotten from Gil.

      Caroline had more than her ego on the line. And if Sam Beaumont was the man for the job, then she was one step closer to seeing her dream come true. She hadn’t gone into that honky-tonk last night looking for love. She’d gone looking for an employee.

      Caroline grabbed the bag of food she’d bought from Patsy’s Pantry, burgers fully loaded, fries and two caramel and fudge sundaes, still frozen she hoped, and exited her truck. She’d left the house three hours ago to run errands and then, because her kitchen was in turmoil, she’d picked up dinner.

      It was after seven o’clock when she walked through her front door. Sam had been working all day, and if the cabinets looked half as good as the man fully immersed in the job, wearing a tight white tank and those faded blue jeans, then Caroline had found herself an employee.

      “Dinner,” she announced, setting the bags on the kitchen table.

      When she glanced up, she found Sam standing back from the cabinets, admiring his work. “Almost through,” he said.

      Caroline swallowed, looking at the work he’d done. He’d managed to reface the existing cabinets so that they appeared an identical match. No one would have guessed that there had been burnt and charred wood there just hours ago. “They’re beautiful.”

      “I couldn’t find a match to the old doors, so I put on all new ones.”

      “I see that.” Caroline loved the new look, but she hesitated. “I hadn’t planned on renovating my entire kitchen. Those new doors must have been expensive.”

      “Nah,” Sam said, finally glancing over to her. His dark eyes twinkled and Caroline’s stomach flip-flopped. He was a man who, when he gave a woman his full attention, could turn her inside out. “I made the lumber store manager a deal. Trust me, you got more than a fair shake on the doors.”

      “How?”

      “How’d I make the deal?” He seemed pleased with himself. “You’ll do all your lumber business with him during the renovations and you’ll give his kid free riding lessons.”

      “Free riding lessons?”

      “Yep, you were planning on giving lessons, weren’t you?”

      She chuckled. “I am now.”

      Actually, aside from boarding and grooming the horses, Caroline had toyed with the idea of giving lessons after school and on weekends. Sam had just cemented the notion into reality.

      He set the invoice for the cost of the lumber, doors included, onto the kitchen counter. Caroline leaned over to take a look. She couldn’t fault him for being excessive since he had indeed gotten a fair price for the materials. She glanced up to meet his eyes. “Looks like I can afford you after all.”

      “So I’m hired?”

      Caroline nodded. “For the month. Yes, I’ll hire you. And I don’t plan on starving my one and only employee. I brought dinner home from Patsy’s Pantry. It’s nothing fancy but the food’s the best in five counties. Hungry?”

      “I could eat,” Sam admitted, “but I’d like to clean up first. Mind if I take a shower?”

      A shower? Caroline’s mind spun in a dozen directions, but it came back to earth quickly and focused on one final thought. Sam Beaumont, with his bronzed skin and strong body, naked, in her shower. The instant mind flash caused her a moment of doubt in hiring him.

      He was good-looking to a fault. And sexy as sin.

       Oh, Caroline, get a life.

      “Sure, you can take a shower. Follow me.”

      Caroline grabbed a towel from the linen closet on her way toward the bathroom. “Sorry, all I have is this color.”

      Sam took the fluffy flamingo-pink towel. “Thanks. As long as it dries my bones, I’m happy.”

      “Take your time,” she said once they reached the bathroom. “Dinner will keep.” With that, Caroline headed for the kitchen, blocking out the image of hot steamy water running down Sam’s bare body. Instead, she was grateful that Sam didn’t have one of those macho, don’t-give-me-anything-pink attitudes so many men share. A real man is secure enough in his own skin not to worry about trivial things like that. A real man knows who he is, and what he’s made of.

      It had taken Caroline twenty-nine years to realize what made a real man, and unfortunately, she just hadn’t met too many of that breed in her lifetime.

      She entered the kitchen, setting out paper plates and napkins, two glasses of lemonade and then…She remembered the fudge and caramel sundaes! “Oh, no!”

      Quickly, she dug into the bag and came up with both ice cream concoctions. She sighed with relief. They weren’t completely melted, so she set them into the freezer, hoping for the best.

      Not ten minutes later, Sam reentered the kitchen. He’d dressed in his jeans again, but his chest was bare. Caroline blinked, opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her naked-shower fantasy didn’t compare to seeing the real thing. His jeans hung low, dipping under his navel and hugging a tight butt in the back. His chest, wasn’t massive, wasn’t muscle-man broad. No, it was simply the perfect amount of bronzed strength.

      With hair slicked back, and tiny beads of moisture still caressing his skin, he headed straight for her in a slow sexy saunter. Sharp tingles coursed through her body as he came closer. Caroline held her breath, unable to move, staring.

      “Excuse me,” he said, passing her to reach for his shirt hanging on the back of the kitchen chair, the one he’d removed just before he began ripping out the damaged cabinets. He slipped his arms into the sleeves and turned to face her, buttoning up. “Smells good.”

      Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly “Oh, uh, yes. Let’s eat.”

      Fantasy over.

      And it was a good thing, too. Because if Sam Beaumont had reached for her hand, Caroline would have followed him.

      Right into the bedroom.

      

      “I’d like to seal the cabinets tonight, so I can get started tomorrow with the stables. The doors I can do outside, but I’m going to have to put the sealant on the existing cabinets where they are. Only problem is that the fumes will be too strong for you to sleep in the house.”

      Sam Beaumont collected his paper trash, helping Caroline clean up the kitchen after they’d eaten their meal. She wiped down the counter and table then turned to him. “Not a problem really. I can sleep in one of the stable stalls tonight.”

      “Are you sure?”

      She shrugged. “The cabinets need to be finished. And I’ve got a sleeping bag. I’ve slept out there before.”

      “Oh, yeah? Have you lived here all of your life?”

      “Most. When I married Gil, my parents retired and moved to Florida. They gave us the stables to run as a wedding present, along with the house I’d grown up in. They weren’t crazy about changing the name of the stables to Portman, but they’d agreed. Gil had a thing about that. Status was everything to him. I should have known better, but I agreed, too. After all, I’d married into that name. At least when the place went to the dogs, my parents’ name wasn’t associated with the stables any longer. They’d worked hard most of their life to build up what Gil ruined in just four short years.”

      Caroline didn’t want sympathy. And Lord knows, she’d agonized about this for too long. She wasn’t looking back any longer.

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