Underwear. In the process of closing it, curiosity got the better of him. His hand halted, dipped inside, and lifted out a pair of silky, lace-edged black panties. The sight of what he’d fantasized sent a jolt of desire straight to his groin. He shoved the panties back and slammed the drawer shut. A curse split th
e air as the wood bit sharply into his thumb.
Okay, she hadn’t left. It was time to get the hell out of her room. In the kitchen, he tried to think of something to get his mind off…things. But the house was clean. Damn, a dirty toilet was just what he needed right now. So, he cleaned it again. Realizing he was scrubbing in his church clothes, he muttered a few more choice words and went to change.
Laundry. That should do the trick.
It didn’t. Because as the machine did its job, he found himself dreaming up reasons why Kendra had left the ranch. Maybe she’d gone shopping. Or she’d stolen something and went to pawn it. Or she’d just gone for a drive. Or, maybe she had a partner and was meeting with him to discuss her progress.
A flash of jealousy accompanied the last thought. Annoyed by the unwelcome emotion, he slammed out of the house to the barn where Lucky whickered a welcome. The stallion fidgeted impatiently in the crossties as Colton readied him for a ride.
“A little full of it today?” he asked the five-year-old stallion. The horse seemed to answer with a nod, but in reality, Colton knew he was just anxious to get going. He smiled grimly and tightened the cinch strap on the saddle. “Good. I’m in the mood for some work.”
Lucky gave him what he wanted, seeming to sense his mood. He pulled at the bit so hard Colton’s arms began to ache with the effort it took to hold him in check. He shied at everything with excess energy and even gave Colton a good bucking session in a small clearing about halfway through the ride.
One moment Colton was in the saddle, the next he lay on the ground, stunned. Lucky walked up and nudged Colton with his nose. Then he jerked back when Colton gave a burst of laughter.
Colton was pissed that the ride hadn’t taken his mind off Kendra—even blamed her for getting him bucked off a horse for the first time in almost seven years—but the look on Lucky’s face was priceless. He hadn’t thought a horse could show emotions with facial expressions like a person, but he’d swear ‘til the day he died that Lucky hadn’t meant for him to be sitting on his ass right now. With a rueful smile, he rose to his feet, dusted off his jeans and patted the bay’s neck.
“Now you know you can do it, buddy, let’s not let it happen again.”
Back at the barn a couple hours later, he was relieved to see the truck parked back in its regular spot. As he put Lucky back into his stall, Kendra walked into the barn. One look at her dark, cascading tresses, her damn loose T-shirt, hip-hugging jeans and sensible boots, and the urge to pull her into his arms nearly overrode any remaining common sense in his brain.
The best offense is a good defense.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Chapter Ten
Kendra missed a step, confusion washing over her at Colton’s harsh tone. “You’re the one who just got back.”
“Where were you earlier?”
His irate demand ignited her temper like a match struck to flint. “None of your business.”
She’d come out to ask him for her next lesson with the horses, seeing as how they’d parted so amicably that morning. She’d even revised her opinion of him during her drive and short hike, deciding that maybe he was as nice as Joel and Britt proclaimed—after all, he had apologized for the faucet trick, and last night.
Then he’d kissed her. She’d started thinking maybe he liked her despite his stated preference for blondes. Maybe kissing him wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Apparently, maybe pigs could fly.
Kendra exited the barn without another word, but Colton followed. “I’d like an answer,” he insisted as they approached the house.
“I’d like to be above suspicion. Doesn’t seem like either one of us is going to get what we’d like, does it?”
She punctuated her sarcasm with the abrupt release of the screen door. In the kitchen, she faced him with her arms crossed over her chest and met his glare. He braced his hands on the breakfast counter that stood between them.
Time stretched. Tension crackled. A subtle shift in the vibrations, and suddenly she forgot what they were arguing about. The air hummed with excitement, dancing along her nerve endings until her entire body felt alive. Deliciously, achingly, frighteningly hot with anticipation.
He felt it, too; it was there in his eyes. She swallowed to get rid of the lump in her throat, but the pounding of her heart pushed it right back up there again. She wasn’t ready for this. This attraction was too powerful for her to handle right now. She needed—
“Ken? We’re back!”
Colton’s expression flitted from disappointment, to acceptance, to annoyance. Kendra thanked God for the interruption. She stepped around the counter to go greet Noah. In response to the argument they’d been having, she told Colton in a firm undertone, “It’s none of your business.”
She avoided him the rest of the day, went to bed early to ensure she got some sleep, then was up before dawn from the nightmare. After dressing, she read her book in her room until six-thirty before making her way to the kitchen. The coffee was brewed, with a neatly written note resting on the counter, listing her assigned chores for the day.
Colton spent the entire morning in the training ring with Britt and was still there when Kendra took her lunch break. After a quick glance out the kitchen window, she opened up the phone book.