Joel walked him to the back door. “I do appreciate your concern. It means a lot that you cared to ask.”
Colton nodded with a knot in his throat before making his way across the yard. Entering the guesthouse, his determination to figure out what wa
s going on grew. Cody and Noah sat on the living room floor playing cards and watching TV. At first glance, he thought Kendra watched the movie, too, but a second look revealed she was out cold. He quietly shut the door and looked at his watch.
“Time for bed guys.”
“Aw, come on, Colton,” Cody protested. “Mom said we could stay up.”
“Then take the game to your room, and you can play a little longer in there.”
“You can’t say,” Noah argued as Cody gathered the cards.
Colton kept his tone friendly but firm. “Your sister is sleeping, so, yes, I can say.”
Noah cast him a mutinous glance, but they both went to Noah’s bedroom. Colton wondered briefly why the kid suddenly showed him such dislike.
Noah was quickly forgotten when he faced the couch. His gaze was drawn to Kendra like a horse to its grain. Her dark lashes rested against her cheeks, and she was curled on her side with her knees drawn up. She looked like an innocent little girl.
His gaze swept the length of her, drawn to the curve of breasts and hips, lingering where her pajama top had ridden up a few inches above the bottoms. His blood heated, and he was forced to revise his thought. Nope, no girl here, she’s all woman.
Reining in his imagination, a glance at the loud TV made his mouth quirk. So much for her claim of not being able to sleep with the noise. Yet another lie, trivial though it may be.
The odd angle that her head rested on the couch arm convinced him she’d be more comfortable in her bed, so he sidled up to the couch and softly said her name. She didn’t stir. Two subsequent attempts in a little louder voice yielded no results.
Noise fib aside, he thought about the number of mornings he’d heard her in the kitchen well before dawn. She may sleep like the dead, but maybe a few hours at a time was the only sleep she actually got? His hand hovered above her shoulder, bare save for the thin strap of her top. Now he hesitated waking her when he could easily carry her to her room.
Just like a little girl? his subconscious mocked.
Chapter Nine
Kendra woke to find Colton’s face directly above hers. Disorientated and alarmed, it took a moment for her to realize he’d squatted next to the couch and was lifting her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” She struggled to sit up.
Thrown off balance, Colton said, “Just wait…hold on—”
“I’ll give you hold on…”
Her lunge upward made him lose his battle with gravity. He landed on his butt and Kendra fell on him, grabbing his shoulders to keep from tumbling all the way to the floor. As it was, he brought his hands up to her waist to steady her and their noses ended up less than three inches apart.
She froze between the initial fear of her unexpected awakening in a man’s arms, and the sudden insane desire to press her lips to his. She could smell a hint of the beer he’d drank under the stronger scent of mint. Staring into his eyes, she finally blinked. With that brief break in eye contact, she realized she sat on his lap, her butt cradled by his muscular thighs. Her cheeks flamed as she searched for an apology.
Wait a second! He started this. She squirmed to get off his lap. “Where’s Noah and Cody?”
“Noah’s room playing cards.” His voice sounded a bit rough.
Another attempt to leverage herself off him elicited a groan. Then his large warm hands spanned her waist, assisting her to her feet. She slapped at them, then watched him pick himself off the ground.
“What exactly were you doing?”
“I was just going to put you to bed,” he said quietly.
“I bet.” Kendra made no attempt to hide her distrust.
Colton stiffened. “To sleep,” he clarified.
“Do my legs look broken to you? Keep your hands off.”