LITMIR.BIZ

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summer. All three of them were enjoying a leisurely moment over dessert and coffee.

      “Mary Lou, nobody can make a chocolate cake like you can.” Keri pushed back her chair. “I’m having a second piece.”

      “Believe I’ll have a second piece of that cake, myself.” Watkins rose from his chair.

      “Hold on there, cowboy.” Mary Lou caught his arm and pulled him back down. “Your jeans are getting a might snug.”

      Watkins sighed and resumed his seat. “That’s a fact, but it ain’t fair.” He used a napkin to wipe cake crumbs off his handlebar mustache. “Keri eats and eats, and she doesn’t gain a pound. I just look at a second piece of cake and I have to let out my belt another hole.”

      “That’s because Keri is twenty-seven and you’re fifty-four,” Mary Lou said. “Your metabolism is slower.”

      “That may be, Lou-Lou, but the rest of me hasn’t lost a step.” He winked at Mary Lou. Although they’d only been married a year, he’d been after her for a long time before that, and his delight at finally getting her was obvious.

      Mary Lou rolled her eyes. “There you go again, bragging on yourself.” But she said it with a smile. Then she glanced at Keri. “I thought you were getting more cake?”

      “I don’t really need it.”

      “Don’t give it up just because Watkins will stare at you mournfully while you eat it. Be strong. Claim your cake.”

      “I will stare at her mournfully, too,” Watkins said. “That is the best damn cake in the world.”

      “Oh, for crying out loud!” Mary Lou picked up his plate and hers. “I’ll cut you a tiny slice, you whiny baby. You can eat it slow. And I’ll have some more, while I’m at it. Give me your plate, Keri. Might as well cut them all at once.”

      Keri grinned and handed over her plate. “Thanks, Mary Lou. Make it this big.” She held her thumb and forefinger about two inches apart.

      Watkins shook his head. “I don’t know where you put it all, girl.”

      “It’s the grave digging,” Mary Lou said as she uncovered the cake and started slicing. “Keeps a person slim and trim.”

      “I guess I’ll never live that down, will I?” Keri didn’t mind the teasing, though. Mary Lou only teased the people she liked.

      “You not only buried him, you erected a monument.” Mary Lou set a good-size piece of cake in front of Keri, a medium-size one for herself and a sliver in front of Watkins, who made a face.

      Keri picked up her fork. “Jack asked me to make sure the dogs couldn’t dig it up.”

      Watkins laughed. “They sure as hell won’t after you piled about twenty-five rocks on it. You’d need a backhoe to get that varmint out of the ground, now.”

      “But at least we know where She buried the little bugger,” Mary Lou said. “I won’t get a nasty surprise next summer when I plant my petunias.” She glanced over at the door that opened onto the large dining room and lowered her voice. “Don’t look now, but the greenhorn’s on his way.”

      Keri’s pulse jumped. She’d been thinking about Michael as he’d sat eating his meal with the Chance family in the formal dining room. She wondered how he’d liked the mashed potatoes, which she’d beaten until there were absolutely zero lumps. She usually didn’t take such care with the potatoes.

      Despite Mary Lou’s warning not to look, Keri turned in her chair and her gaze met Michael’s. She knew before he spoke that he’d come searching for her. Her pulse ratcheted up another notch. He was one good-looking man.

      Mary Lou stood. “If you’re after another slice of cake, you’ve come to the right place. We’re all having seconds.”

      Michael took in the scene and hesitated for a moment. He didn’t seem to have come there for cake. Then he smiled. “I’d love another piece. Thanks for asking.”

      “Have a seat next to Keri. I’ll get it for you.” Mary Lou opened a cupboard and took down another dessert plate.

      Michael’s presence next to Keri created a dramatic change in temperature. He also took up space, and she moved her knee so she wouldn’t brush against his. She became aware of his slow, measured breathing and the scent of his aftershave. Until this moment, she’d avoided being close enough to smell it.

      “Coffee?” Mary Lou asked.

      “Sure. That would be great.”

      “Cream and sugar?”

      “Just black.”

      His voice stroked her nerve endings, putting them on alert. She felt tension coming from him, too. If she had to guess, she’d say he was as hyperaware of her as she was of him. This would be an interesting week.

      “I’m Watkins, by the way.” The barrel-chested cowboy reached across the table to shake Michael’s hand. “Mary Lou’s husband.”

      “I’m so sorry!” Keri was mortified. “I should have introduced you two. I forgot Michael doesn’t know everyone.”

      “Don’t worry about it.” Michael glanced at her with a smile. “I barged in here uninvited. I hope I’m not intruding.”

      “’Course not.” Mary Lou set a piece of cake in front of him, along with a fork and napkin. “My kitchen’s open to anyone on the ranch. Sooner or later, everybody comes through here.”

      “After tonight’s meal, I can see why,” Michael said. “Dinner was great. The mashed potatoes were perfect.”

      “Keri made those.” Mary Lou poured coffee into a ceramic mug and brought it to the table.

      Michael turned toward Keri again. “Well, you did a terrific job on them.”

      “Thanks.” Keri’s cheeks warmed. Men had given her compliments before, but never about her cooking. Until she’d moved here, she’d only known how to operate a coffeepot and a microwave. “Mary Lou’s a good teacher.”

      “Apparently I am,” Mary Lou said with a laugh. “You knew squat about cooking when you came, and now you’re not half bad at it.” She reclaimed her seat at the table.

      “Yep.” Watkins beamed at Keri. “You caught on real quick. Today you graduated to the mouse-burying business. Next thing I know, you’ll be shoveling out stalls.”

      “Bring it on.” Keri felt Michael’s attention on her, and she tried to squash the squiggles of excitement that attention produced. “I’ve cleaned up after eight adolescent boys. Nothing scares me.”

      “Wish I could say the same.” Michael picked up his fork and started eating his cake. “But Jack Chance scares the bejeezus out of me.”

      Watkins chuckled. “He likes doing that with greenhorns. You’ll be okay.”

      Michael swallowed a bite of cake and reached for his coffee. “That’s what I told myself, until Sarah mentioned the liniment and Epsom salts. Now I’m worried.” He turned toward Keri. “She said you’d find them for me. That’s why I came looking for you. I’m glad I did.”

      Her breath caught at the unmistakable flicker of desire in his eyes. “Yeah, you got an extra piece of cake out of the deal.” She hoped Mary Lou and Watkins hadn’t noticed her tone was slightly strained.

      “Exactly.” His gaze held hers for one more heartstopping moment. Then he broke eye contact and went back to eating his cake and asking questions about the ranch as if nothing of significance had passed between them.

      But, oh, it had. She started to pick up her coffee mug and had to wait a moment until she stopped trembling. Good Lord. She wanted this man, and he wanted her right back. They’d be sleeping across the hall from each other for a week. Keeping a lid on this mutual

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