Hannah eased her way back to the ladder positioned at the edge of the roof. Her legs wobbled as she lowered her feet, one at a time, to the top rung.
“I’m sorry.”
Pleasure rippled through her at the deep sound of Travis’s voice. She chanced another glance at his handsome face. He’d pushed to his hands and knees, watching her.
“For what?” she asked.
“For not paying attention.” He lowered his gaze to her boots. “Some of those boards were too weak for us both. I kept off the ones you stood on, but I wasn’t looking when you moved. I didn’t transfer my weight to another beam when I should have.”
“You were watching out for . . . ?” Hannah looked away, her chest tightening. “It wasn’t your fault.” She faced him again. Forced herself to meet his eyes. “Quite the opposite, in fact.”
“How’s it going up there?”
Hannah started at Red’s shout. She glanced to her left to find Red, a water bottle in each of his hands, and Margaret, holding two small paper bags, strolling across the field toward the stable.
“It’s after nine.” Reaching the stable, Margaret shielded her eyes against the fully risen sun and smiled up at them. “You’ve been working for over two hours now. Thought we’d bring you breakfast.”
A cool breeze swept across the roof, fluttering beneath Hannah’s loose shirttails and sweeping over her sweat-slickened belly. She shivered and, face heating at the thought of her close call, glanced at Travis. “Well, I had—”
“To adjust to me getting in the way,” Travis interrupted. He pushed carefully to his feet, rubbing his left arm as he looked down at Red and Margaret. “I had trouble keeping up.”
Red laughed. “Yep. She’s a go-getter, and hardheaded as a mule sometimes. I was hoping she hadn’t run you off.”
Travis smiled, his brown eyes meeting Hannah’s. “No. Not at all.”
Cheeks burning even hotter but grateful Travis hadn’t mentioned her mishap, Hannah ducked her head and made her way down the ladder until her boots settled on the firm ground below. Travis followed close behind. She studied his scuffed tennis shoes, eyeing the worn heels and loose seams.
“Red,” she asked, “you still have that extra pair of hiking boots in your closet?”
“Yep.” He handed her a bottled water. “It’s hard for a man to chuck his favorite pair of boots, even after he gets new ones.”
Hannah looked at Travis. “What size shoe do you wear?”
“Fourteen,” Travis said. “But—”
“Perfect.” Red laughed. “’Bout time I met a man with feet as big as mine.” He smiled at Hannah. “That’s what you were thinking, right?” At her nod, he passed Travis the remaining bottle of water, turned on his heel, and headed back toward the lodge. “Be back in a minute.”
“While he’s doing that,” Margaret said, lifting the paper bags in her hands, “you two might as well eat breakfast. You won’t last for much longer up there with growling stomachs. I brought you flapjack sandwiches stuffed with bacon, eggs, and cheese.”
Hannah, appreciative of the distraction, took one bag and smiled. “Thanks. That was thoughtful of you.”
Travis took the other bag and expressed his thanks as well. “Very thoughtful.”
Hannah sat, cross-legged, and opened her bag. The mouth-watering aroma of crispy bacon and maple syrup escaped, and she unwrapped her sandwich and took a bite, humming with pleasure as the delicious flavors of sweet pancake and salty meat hit her tongue.
“Oh, Margaret.” Hannah closed her eyes, savoring the hearty bite as a cool breeze swept through her hair, the long strands tickling the back of her neck. “This hits the spot.”
Margaret clasped her hands together at her waist and blushed with pleasure.
Travis settled on the ground nearby and dug into his sandwich, too. They sipped water and finished off their breakfast as Margaret walked around the stable, commenting on the large pile of rotten beams they’d removed and remarking on how much the new metal roof would improve the look of the stable. She seemed pleased with the progress Hannah and Travis had made so far and hinted at how relieved she’d be when the walkways were relaid as well. Even went so far as suggesting that different colors of rustic flagstone would really perk things up around the ranch, and wouldn’t that be a delightful welcome for new guests?
Despite her impatience with Margaret’s extravagant changes, Hannah still managed a smile at that.
Minutes later, Red returned with the boots, handed them to Travis, and waited as he removed his tennis shoes and tried them on.
“How do they feel?” Red asked.
Travis raised his heels a few times, then smiled. “Perfect. Thank you.”