To Protect and Cherish by Karen Rose Smith

Author:Karen Rose Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-09-08T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

All evening, Tate watched Anita, trying not to but unable to stop himself. She seemed to be everywhere yet not anywhere. She had a knack for escaping notice as she filled serving dishes, made sure empty plates disappeared and generally kept things running smoothly.

He wasn’t running smoothly. He’d stayed away from her over the past few weeks, avoiding her when he could. He’d kept their contact to a minimum because he knew what would happen if he didn’t. Tonight, when he’d seen her with Kip Fargo…

Something inside him had detonated.

He didn’t want her to be simply his employee. He wanted a hell of a lot more than that. But the situation was sticky. He didn’t know if he trusted her—not completely, anyway, when it came to her ambition to get ahead. Yet he really cared about her kids, even the baby. When the boys joined him in the barn, he felt as if he was doing something important, telling them about his days growing up on a cattle ranch, showing them pictures of the types of horses he intended to breed. Corey and Jared were curious and couldn’t seem to get enough of everything—the stories, the attention, the rough-and-tumble play around the hay bales.

Whatever was happening to him, Tate knew it all had to do with Anita and her kids.

As he entered the kitchen, he could see the ceramic pot from the slow cooker soaking in soapsuds in the sink. Long serving trays—too big to fit in the dishwasher—lay lopsided on the drainer. Anita had the refrigerator door open and was shoving things this way and that.

When she heard him, she gave a large bowl one final poke, then firmly closed the door. “Not enough room,” she said with a grin. “You have leftovers. I might not have to cook for a week.”

“Everything was delicious. You know that, don’t you? The guests raved about all of it.”

“I’m glad.”

Silence settled between them until she murmured, “I have to go pick up the kids.”

Before she could elude him, he touched her shoulder. “Wait a minute.”

When she faced him again, her pretty green eyes held questions.

“I want you to know that I know you’ve gone beyond the call of duty, fixing up the house and all. A couple of the wives asked if I’d had a decorator come in.”

“What did you tell them?”

“I told them you did it. The truth is, until you moved in, this place was just a building with some furniture scattered about. Now it’s a lot more.”

“A few rugs and some color in the windows makes a difference.”

“I’m not sure it has anything to do with the rugs and the curtains. It has to do with you.”

He could tell his words surprised her.

“Thank you, Tate.”

“I don’t want thanks. I want—”

“What do you want?” she asked softly.

He had to ask her something one more time. “You and Kip Fargo. Nothing ever really went on between you two?”

Spots of color appeared on her cheeks. “I was a married woman, Tate.” She looked angry that she had to explain again.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.