Colton by Blood, page 7
Good to know. She could crush on him all she wanted because he didn’t even live in the same state as her. All she had to do was keep her desires to herself until he left. She pushed a lock of hair away from her face with the back of one floury, doughy hand. “You had quite a drive yesterday.”
“You’re telling me. I did my undergraduate work at the University of Colorado, and I made the drive from there to Dead to visit my mom every chance I got. I’d forgotten how tiring it is to drive distances like that.” He walked across the room to the sink and grabbed a paper towel, then wet it. “You didn’t grow up in Dead, did you?”
“No. Cheyenne.”
“Didn’t think so. I would’ve noticed you.” Then he was in her space, reaching the paper towel to her forehead. “You have flour in your hair. Hold still.”
Keeping her head steady, she looked sideways at him.
His brows furrowed in concentration as he wiped the paper towel over her hair, yet a hint of amusement remained. “You need a scrub cap.”
“Like doctors wear?” At his nod, she added, “I usually wear something but I forgot today.” That wasn’t true, precisely. Kate’s hair was so impossibly unruly that she normally wore a bandanna while she baked, but it made her look like a chubby-faced pirate wannabe. With Levi as company this morning, vanity won out over practicality.
“I think the water from the paper towel turned the flour into glue. Oops.” He held the afflicted lock of hair out and wrapped the paper towel around it, then pulled.
“It’s been a long time since a boy put glue in my hair. This is like kindergarten all over again.”
He tucked the damp hair behind her ear. “Blowtorch notwithstanding.”
“You know what I say to that?”
“Quibbles,” they said in unison.
Their matching smiles were short-lived. Judging by the way Levi huffed an exhalation that turned off his smile and then practically jogged to the end of the island where his coffee awaited him, he was freaking out the same way Kate was at the discovery of their compatibility. Damn it all, she wished she’d never found out how much she enjoyed his company, because now that voice inside her yearning for more out of life was louder than ever—and that scared the snot out of her. Tense and irritated by her foolish battle of emotions, she turned her concentration to the dough prep.
Levi cleared his throat. “What brought you all the way out here to the middle of nowhere?”
No one had ever asked her that except Faye. To Faye, she’d eventually told the truth, but it wasn’t something she shared lightly. “I needed a job.”
“Do you still have family in Cheyenne?”
“Yes. My parents and my brother and his family.”
“Do you see them often?”
“No.” Enough with the hard questions. Time for her to turn the tables. “Why were you sleeping down here?”
“Like I said, I got hungry for a midnight snack. Then I wasn’t sure I could find the guest suite again.”
It sounded like a pat excuse, but that’s all she’d offered him in return for his questions, so she could hardly fault him for it. Besides, she wasn’t in a position to press him for details. She probably shouldn’t have asked such a prying question in the first place.
Come to think of it, any minute Agnes would arrive, and shortly thereafter the rest of the waitstaff, to prepare for another day of service to the Colton family. The thought had her wishing Levi would return upstairs to the family area of the house. She wanted to protect him from the staff’s prying eyes and greedy, gossipy hearts. He deserved better than their overcurious attention. She set the dough in a greased bowl and covered it with a towel, contemplating the best way to get him out of the room.
After an extended, awkward silence, Levi strummed his fingers on the island. “I do have something else I wanted to ask you. Last night, after you left the guest suite, I went out to have a look around, and Gabriella’s fiancé, Trevor, found me looking at the nursery.” Kate’s heart dropped. “He told me about the kidnapping and mur—”
“This weather is turning my bones brittle, is what it’s doing.” Agnes stormed into the room like a tornado, Liz on her heels. “I swear, I’m going to turn to dust before this dry spell’s over. If I ever scrounge up enough money to retire, I’m moving to Florida.” She saw Levi and ground to a halt. “Oh! Dr. Colton. What an honor.”
He stretched his hand out in greeting. “I haven’t had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.”
Agnes stared at his hand for a beat, then curtsied as if Levi were the king of England. “My name is Agnes and I’m the head chef here at the ranch. And I— Oh, dear, did that worthless girl serve you coffee in a common mug? She’s aiming to get herself fired.”
Kate clamped her molars together and marched the flour back into the pantry.
“Agnes, on the contrary, I applaud you for employing such a brilliant talent as Ms. McCord.” Levi’s voice had the rich timbre of a person who was used to soothing cranky old women, and Kate wondered if that was innate to him or if he’d learned it as a doctor. “I barged in here and she’s taken excellent care of me. Besides that, I find her bread-making process captivating.”
Captivating? Kate emerged from the pantry and searched his expression for a hint of condescension but found none. His gaze found hers and one corner of his lips hitched up briefly.
Agnes, for once in her life, held her tongue as she set a china teacup and saucer on the island in front of Levi and poured it full of coffee. Levi narrowed his gaze at it and Kate could tell he wasn’t keen on making the switch. Mr. Colton hated using the china, too, grousing about getting his fingers stuck in the handle, or the danger of accidentally crushing it if he sneezed.
In a clamor of voices, Liz, Jenny and Misty poured into the room. When they caught sight of Levi, their demeanor instantly shifted. Smiling coquettishly, their hands shot up to pet their hair and stroke their skirts.
“Good morning, Dr. Colton,” Jenny said through her bright smile.
He wiggled fingers in their direction, then turned his concentration to his mug of coffee as though he suddenly found it fascinating beyond belief.
“Go on now and get to work, you three,” Agnes barked. “This isn’t a modeling agency where you get paid to stand around posing.”
The girls dispersed but kept their eyes on Levi, who looked to be working hard not to acknowledge the attention.
Agnes took the mug from his hand and traded it out for the china. “The girl must not have told you that family breakfast is at eight, and we put coffee and pastries in the dining hall beginning at six each day. This morning, I’m making a special breakfast to celebrate your arrival. Bacon, a nice frittata and a fruit salad.”
Kate mopped the prep counter with a rag. “And my French bread.”
Agnes shot her a scolding look. “That’s enough out of you for one morning.”
“You’re so kind to want to welcome me like that, Agnes, but...” Levi set the teacup down and rubbed his neck, looking as uncomfortable as he had the night before when Kate showed him into the guest suite. “What time does the staff eat? Seeing as how I’m here to work, and not as a guest, I thought I’d keep it simple.”
Everyone in the kitchen froze. Liz, Jenny and Misty turned as if their heads were on swivels to gape at him.
Agnes wrung her hands, looking disturbed. “You want to eat with the staff?”
His look of discomfort gave way to a poker face as Levi looked past Agnes to the other women in the room. Kate offered a supportive smile that he did not return. Never had she seen such an old soul on a face that handsome; there was no trace of the smile or devilish gleam in his eyes she’d glimpsed when they were alone, only an iron wall of an expression.
“You know, the real problem is that I’m not hungry. Thank you for your good intentions, Agnes. The breakfast sounds wonderful. But, um...” He shook his head. “I have to go into Laramie today for medical supplies, so I don’t have a whole lot of time this morning. I’ll check in on Jethro, then hit the road.”
“Whatever you say, Dr. Colton.”
At the door leading to the dining hall, he stopped and turned. “Ms. McCord? What dessert are you bringing Jethro this morning?”
“You’ll have to wait and see. It’s a surprise,” she blurted before stopping to think that maybe it wasn’t the right call to evade direct questions from the family, or to seem overly familiar with Levi in front of the keenly observant eyes of Agnes, Jenny, Liz and Misty.
Sure enough, Agnes gasped. “Answer Dr. Colton, or you’re going to find yourself out on the street before the day is done.”
“No, she’s right, Agnes,” Levi said. “I’d rather be surprised.”
With a final grim look around the room he was gone. Behind her, Jenny, Liz and Misty sighed. “I’d like to be his dessert,” Misty said.
“If by dessert, you mean tart, then I think you’re well suited for the job,” Agnes snapped.
Kate paid them no mind, too busy planning her baking schedule. She had two men with sweet tooths counting on her for three fantastic desserts today, and she planned to exceed their every expectation.
* * *
Levi could tell something was amiss the moment his shoe hit the third-floor landing. The double doors of Jethro’s suite were wide-open and a cacophony of womanly chatter drifted through the hall.
He was nearly to the door when he collided with the same young, bouncy brunette who’d been batting her eyelashes at him in the kitchen earlier that morning, the one that looked like Trouble with a capital T.
“Dr. Colton,” she purred as she brushed her hands over his chest. He released her elbows, wedged his medical bag between them and backed out of arm’s reach. “We can’t keep running into each other without proper introductions.” Her hand fluttered to her neckline. “I’m Jenny. If there’s anything you need around here, anything at all, then I’m your girl.”
“Thank you.”
“Has anyone taken you on a tour of the estate yet? Because it would be my pleasure.” She puckered her lips at the end of that last word and Levi supposed she meant the pout to be sexy.
“I did take a tour, thank you. This morning Mia, the ranch nurse, showed me around.” Mia had impressed him with her professionalism. She’d sought him out shortly after he’d left the kitchen and during their tour hadn’t seemed the least bit offended by his sudden presence. He’d been worried about that, worried about her feeling as if he was sweeping in and taking over her job. But she seemed genuinely relieved that Jethro was finally accepting help.
As far as his impression of the ranch, Levi had to admit, grudgingly, that the setup was outstanding. The infirmary was well stocked, the fitness room state-of-the-art and the stable filled with beautiful, healthy horses and shiny, new tack.
Jenny flipped her hair at his refusal of her offer after having frowned peevishly at the mention of Mia’s name. “Well, I suppose if you like that kind of girl.”
Yep, this one was nothing but trouble. “You mean the competent, friendly kind?”
She looked taken aback by his snark, but she was saved from answering when Kate bustled down the hall from the opposite direction, where Levi imagined the employee stairwell was located.
A shock of nerves jolted him, like it had every time he saw her, as if someone so pretty and full of life had no business in this dismal, artificial place.
Stopping short, she hefted the heavy tray in her arms to one hip and took in the sight of Jenny and Levi standing together with a hard expression and eyes that shifted back and forth between the two. “Jenny, Agnes has another tray ready in the kitchen. Would you mind grabbing it for me?”
Rather than answer, Jenny sidestepped so that she bumped Levi with her hip, then pretended to catch herself, throwing an arm around Levi’s waist. He made fast work of removing it, but Jenny was unfazed. With a simpering gaze, she tossed her straight, brown hair and grinned. “Remember, I’m your girl.” Then she sashayed past Kate and through a door at the end of the hall.
Only after Jenny was out of sight did a hint of Kate’s usual warmth return to her features. “Hi,” she said with a guarded smile.
Levi bridged the distance to her, far too riveted by her flushing cheeks to glance into the suite as he passed the open door. “Let me take that tray for you. It looks heavy.”
She reversed a step, shaking her head. “I can’t let you do that. But thank you.”
“I’m here as a doctor, not a guest. A worker like you. You all pitch in to help each other and it’s no different with me.”
“Not to your way of thinking, but I answer to Agnes, Mathilda and Mr. Colton. And I’m certain they’d disagree.”
“I don’t think Jethro would, actually.”
She pressed her lips into a straight line as though she desperately wanted to comment. Their stilted interaction was a stark contrast to the fun, easy connection they’d had that morning, which was for the best.
While in Jethro’s house, it was critical that Levi remained impartial and unemotional—a doctor and nothing more. He refused to allow Jethro or the daughters dearest the satisfaction of seeing him weak or vulnerable, which meant that Kate and the feelings she stirred inside him were dangerous in every way.
This morning, he and Kate had laughed and joked. She was so easy to be with. He could’ve stood like that with her for hours, drinking coffee and eating dessert and chatting as he watched her work. When they’d jokingly said the same word at the same time, a powerful yearning had cut through him with the force of an alarm bell. He’d let his guard down. He’d gotten comfortable and forgotten how painful the consequences of being overrun with feelings could be.
For the rest of his stay at Dead River Ranch, he needed to ignore Kate and suppress all the instincts in him drawing him into her orbit. If only she weren’t carrying a tray of picture-perfect cookies.
She swished around him. “Excuse me. I’ve got to get this tray set up before I get in trouble.”
Before he could think better of it, his arm shot out and he snagged her around the waist. “Are those for me and Jethro?”
She offered him an anxious smile. “Yes. You have as big a sweet tooth as him, you know.”
Normally, Levi bristled at any comparison of him to Jethro, but if the two of them had to have something in common, a love of dessert was a rather benign one. Besides, he couldn’t fault the old man for having the good sense to appreciate Kate’s cooking. He released her waist to snag a cookie and popped the whole thing in his mouth. He was rewarded by a flavor explosion—molasses, cloves, cinnamon and sugar and probably a whole bunch of other spices he couldn’t name—and did a little hum and eye roll to let her know how good it was.
He fully expected her to dash off, but she watched him chew. When he’d finished, he nodded toward the suite. “Do you know what’s going on in there?”
“Mr. Colton’s feeling better and asked to have breakfast with his family.”
Amazing what a little morphine could do for a leukemia patient. When Levi got him on oxygen, Jethro was going to feel like a new man. It might be enough to convince him to receive blood transfusions and a marrow transplant. “It’s good to know he’s feeling better.”
“It seems that way, yes.” She took a step toward the door. “We’re setting up a table in his sitting room so he doesn’t have to walk too far. Agnes told Mathilda you wouldn’t be joining them, but if you’ve changed your mind another place setting can easily be brought up.”
“No, thank you.” He took a second cookie. “When are you going to stop to eat?”
She looked flustered by the question. “Oh, I don’t really stop until the day is done. I’ll grab a bite while I clean.”
Kate shifted her weight and hoisted the tray higher, reminding Levi of how heavy it looked. He gestured toward the suite door. “After you.”
He wasn’t sure he’d ever fully understand what made him do it, but as she passed, he stroked a hand along her spine down to the flare of her tailbone. She paused and swayed into his touch before walking on.
He bit the inside of his lip, annoyed with himself. Way to keep it impartial, man. Nice job.
He looked up too late and saw Gabriella watching him, smiling.
He dropped his hand and wiped it on his pants. What a fool. He’d been at the ranch less than twenty-four hours and he couldn’t stop making judgment errors. Good thing he’d be out on the road for much of the day. Jethro needed oxygen, a proper prescription of morphine and some iron pills. The iron pills he could get in Dead, but the local health clinic wouldn’t store enough oxygen to rent out, which was why he was headed to Laramie, the nearest city.
Indeed, a table had been erected in the suite’s sitting room. Kate had set her tray down on the far edge of the table and was transferring the contents. Everyone in the room was ignoring her. Levi bristled. Kate deserved to be the one waited on, not the other way around. He hoped someday, for her sake, she got a better job.
She’d evaded his prying questions that morning about how she came to work at the ranch. He doubted he’d allow himself to be alone with her long enough to ask again, and though it irked him that he’d never know more about her, he knew it was for the best—for both of them.
Catherine was seated at the table and chatting with Jethro and Amanda, who was holding a baby girl. Amanda was listening in on their conversation, but when she noticed Levi, she smiled and stood. “Good morning.”
He waved his hello as she approached him.
“This is Cheyenne. Your niece.”
“Hi, Cheyenne. Nice to meet you.” He shook her foot like a handshake and pulled a silly face. She laughed around the fist she had crammed in her mouth. He didn’t consider himself a silly-face kind of guy, but found it impossible not to turn into a clown around little babies. His gaze darted to Kate, who had her eyes on her work and a sweet smile dancing on her lips, as if she’d noticed his baby face and found it charming.
