He put his hands in his back pockets. “About three months. I was doing it myself, but to be honest, it’s a lot of work and I don’t want to do it anymore. Paul’s request came at an opportune time. Well, I’ll be back in about an hour.”
“Perfect. That will give me a chance to look around.”
He left, closing the bedroom door after him.
She sat on the bed before her legs collapsed and fanned herself with her hand.What in the world have I gotten myself into? I can’t become involved with anyone now. My future is so up in the air I can’t possibly consider romance no matter how nice or handsome Ryan is.
CHAPTER2
Kaylie unpacked the suitcases and it was like Christmas. All new clothes, underwear and even shoes, including two pairs of pumps to go with the two dresses, one for casual wear and a little black dress for dinner out, though she couldn’t imagine she’d be wearing that one, and a pair of cowboy boots. She wondered what she’d wear those for, but she figured they were probably appropriate footwear on a ranch.
After she’d unpacked, she went back out to the kitchen and took stock of available ingredients. She found the makings for a chocolate cake and proceeded to mix the batter and bake one for dinner. She was surprised he even had powdered sugar for the frosting.
Once the cake was in the preheated oven, she took the open bag of potatoes and washed all of them. Then she oiled them and wrapped them in aluminum foil before turning on the other oven and putting them in to bake.
She’d wait until later to put the salad together and she’d make her special homemade oil and vinegar dressing. She popped another antacid into her mouth.
When everything was ready to go, she decided to explore the house. The main floor had her bedroom and bath, plus a half bath across the hall from her room. Following the hall, she found what looked like Ryan’s office. He had a dark wood desk, leather chair, a leather sofa and two walls full of bookshelves. A large window with dark blue drapes and white sheers was along the third wall.
The living room was last and featured huge picture windows that overlooked a massive porch that was about ten feet wide and ran the length of the front of the house.
Looking out the window, she saw more open land than she’d ever seen in her life. The landscape was dotted with patches of snow and purple mountains stood like sentinels in the distance with bright white peaks. The muddy driveway was a long, brown ribbon running down the middle of two parcels she assumed were pastures since it looked like hundreds of cattle roamed in both of them. Three rows of barbed wire held up by sturdy looking posts formed the fence along either side of the driveway.
The living room boasted a television that was at least eighty inches.Definitely a single man’s house.It was in front of a sofa with blue swirls on a cream-colored background. On either side of the sofa sat a leather recliner and an end table was between the chairs and the couch.
On the last wall was a fireplace made of rock with a pretty mountain landscape painting on the wall above the mantel.
She was tempted to go upstairs and look around but decided she’d see it soon enough when she was cleaning.
Back in the kitchen, she checked the potatoes and made a pot of coffee, happy to find decaf in the pantry. It was too late to think about drinking regular coffee, though her nerves would probably keep her up anyway.
Ryan returned in about an hour and washed up. He looked at Kaylie. “Would you pull that tray of steaks out of the fridge, please?”
“Sure.” She came back with a tray with more than a dozen T-bone steaks on it. “I put all of the potatoes from the open bag in the oven. I figured if there was an extra one or two, you probably have men who would enjoy the extras.”
He laughed. “Very true. I have a couple of men who no matter how much they eat, they’re never full.” He looked over at the counter next to the sink. “I see you found the ingredients for a chocolate cake. My men will be thrilled.” He lifted a brow. “As am I.”
She grinned. “You have a sweet tooth? Interesting information. The old saying is that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. You seem to be the proof of that.” She suddenly realized what she’d said and felt totally embarrassed. “Not that I’m interested in your heart…or any other organ of yours, for that matter.” Kaylie knew she blushed but couldn’t, for the life of her, think of anything to prevent it.
Ryan stared a moment and then burst out in laughter. “No need to worry on that account. I think my heart is safe.”
She slowly shook her head. “Sometimes the things that come out of my mouth…anyway, I think there are sixteen potatoes. How many are you expecting for dinner?”
“With you and me, there will be eleven. Five of the men are out at the south ranch and won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”
“I thought if there were extra potatoes and the men don’t eat them, I can make hashbrowns in the morning.”
He leaned down and looked around before whispering. “I think we’ll save the extras. Hashbrowns sound great. And there are three extra steaks for those that are extra hungry.”
She laughed at his antics. The man was a nut. “Okay, I’ll do that before I set them out. I also found a couple of loaves of French bread that I’ll make into garlic bread. Dinner is very simple tonight.”
He nodded. “Simple is what I do best and since I’ve been doing the cooking, everything is simple.”
Dinner turned out to be quite boisterous. The nine men introduced themselves and then proceeded to act like she imagined brothers would act at the dinner table.
“Hey,” said one lanky cowboy with bright red hair. “That’s my steak. Isn’t that right, Kaylie?”
She laughed. “I’m not getting in the middle of this.”