Page 21 of Due North
“I don’t do that!” She raised a brow again until I huffed and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. “Fine. Whatever. Doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does matter, Cecelia. What did you see out there?”
“He was hugging her!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms up in the air.
“Who was hugging who?” Dawn asked, strolling into the kitchen in her stocking feet. “I thought I better get in here before you woke the baby up.”
I stared at her with fascination until she finally rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean! All the banging and slamming was starting to get on my nerves. What’s going on in here?”
“Cece is upset with Tex,” Amity said helpfully.
Dawn sat and stared across the table at me. “Why is that?”
“I’m not upset with Tex. I just think he should be more professional and stop hugging women instead of conducting business. I left, so for all I know, they started kissing immediately after that.”
Dawn’s head tipped to the side. “Wait, Tex was hugging someone in the barn?”
“Riding arena,” Amity said in her cheerful,I’m so helpfulvoice.
I nodded my head with exaggeration. “When I walked in to bring them coffee, Tobi was in his arms. It was very unprofessional.” I waved my hands in the air. “Oh, oh, and before that, they were exchanging numbers in each other’s phones. It was very meet-cute.”
Dawn glanced at Amity and then back to me. “That doesn’t sound like something Tex would do. Are you sure he was hugging her?”
“He had her against his chest and his arms around her! Does that not describe a hug?”
Dawn motioned for me to calm down. “Take a deep breath, Cece,” she said, inhaling. I followed her lead and inhaled, letting it out with her when she did. “Good, now, there has to be a perfectly plausible explanation for what you saw. Why don’t you talk to him? I’m sure he can clear it right up.”
I stood like a shot and darted to the stove to stir the pot. “Nope, not necessary. I’m not his keeper. He can do what he wants. I have work to finish here if you want chili and cornbread for dinner. I have to finish prepping it while Poppy is asleep,” I said, grabbing an onion and green pepper from the pantry to chop.
Amity took them from my hand and set them down. “We have all day to cook. Why don’t you go out to the barn and grab some fresh eggs? We need three for the cornbread and a few more for us to eat. Maybe the fresh air will help clear your head.”
“That’s a great idea,” Dawn said. “I’ll whip us up some scrambled eggs. Poppy will be hungry when she wakes up.”
I tossed my hand up in the air. “What? I’m the cook, Dawn, not you.”
She chuckled and led me to the door, swooping my coat around my shoulders. “Maybe, but since you’re making dinner, I’ll make breakfast. Get your boots on and go see what Camilla and the girls left us this morning.”
“Fine,” I said on a sigh and slid my feet into my boots and my arms into my coat. “I’ll be right back.”
I jogged down the stairs and across the gravel to the barn. When Heaven lived here, she always kept a menagerie of small animals on the ranch. We had goats for fresh milk, the chickens for fresh eggs, and other animals that just needed a home like a pot-belly pig and a domesticated doe. Heaven had named them all after cartoon characters, so, of course, our hen was Camilla.
I slid the barn door open and slipped inside, heading to the chicken coop in the corner. “Hello, ladies,” I said, grabbing a basket that hung on the wall. “Did you leave us any surprises today, or is it too cold?” I asked, checking in the beds of hay for eggs. I was more than surprised to find almost a dozen tucked up in the various spaces. “Looks like Dawn and Amity will be happy,” I said to the girls, patting Camilla on the head.
“What will make Dawn and Amity happy?” a voice asked from behind me.
I spun around, my hand to my chest and my heart pounding. The man I was trying to avoid stood in front of me. The man with the eyes I saw in my dreams.
The man who was hugging another woman, lest you not forget!I reminded myself.
“Caleb, you scared me. Why are you lurking in the barn?”
“I’m not lurking in the barn. We have a sick horse, and I’m taking care of it. I saw you earlier at the arena, but you were gone before I could catch you.”
“I’m surprised you noticed me,” I said, my temper flaring again.
It’s true what they say. Redheads do have a temper that burns fast and hot when they’ve been wronged, especially by a man. Then again, he doesn’t owe me an alliance. It’s not like we’re dating. He can hug any woman he wants, so why do I have my undies in a bundle? My shoulders slumped when the obvious hit me. He was probably doing more than hugging other women every time he went to town and visited The Wise Anchor Bar. Besides, what in the hell do you have to offer him? You’re essentially a single mother. You don’t have time to date, Cec. You need to take care of that little girl.
“Why wouldn’t I notice you?” he asked, his head tipped to the side and his eyes filled with curiosity. “I was going to call out to you, but you were just gone like thin air.”
