Kiss Me (Fool's Gold #17)(37)

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Uh-huh.”

She cleared her throat and went for the casual smile. Her attempt at nonchalance wasn’t helped by her instant and oh-so-familiar physical response to the man’s nearness. It was the usual list of reactions—faster heart rate, weaker thighs and knees, dilated blood vessels and hormones performing bits from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.

“I might have called out in surprise,” she admitted when it became apparent he wasn’t budging without some kind of an explanation. “A fish touched my hand.”

“Hey, you almost caught your dinner.”

She caught a glimmer in his eyes and laughed. He wasn’t as humorless as some people might think.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

She tossed her towel over her shoulder and smiled. “Great. I really like the riding. Except for my...” She cleared her throat. “I’m not used to sitting on a saddle.”

“Butt numb?”

“A little.”

She waited for him to say it would get better, but when he didn’t, she filled in the silence.

“Rocky seems nice. He’s a little tall for me, but I guess that’s a good thing in a horse.”

Zane’s blue eyes continued to stare straight at her. His lips didn’t move, but somehow she heard the word “idiot” as clear as if he’d shouted it from those snow-covered mountaintops.

“You don’t actually want short horses,” she continued, even though she knew it was a mistake to keep talking. “Except maybe for children. You don’t have any, do you? Children, I mean. Not short horses.”

He was quiet a long time before he answered.

“No.”

“I didn’t think so. Maya didn’t mention any. Plus, I probably would have seen them at the house, huh?”

He tugged on the brim of his hat. “You about ready to head back?”

“Sure. I just need to get my watch.”

She relished the excuse to turn away. Man, oh, man, had she really said short horses would be good for children? Could she have sounded more stupid? Had there been a wall nearby, she would have banged her head against it a few times, just to give herself something to think about other than feeling humiliated.

As there was no wall, she crossed to the flat rock where she’d left her watch.

“It’s gone.”

Completely. There was the rock, and on top of it was exactly nothing.

She checked around it to see if it had fallen off, then checked her pockets, but she hadn’t put it there and forgotten about it.

Zane walked over to stand next to her. “What did it look like?”

“My watch? It was silver. Not expensive or anything. Just a regular watch.”

“Shiny?”

“I guess.”

“Raccoons.”

Determined not to say anything stupid for at least the next ten minutes, she considered his single-word statement. Raccoons? Okay. He probably hadn’t started a word-association game, so what did he mean?

Going with the safest response, she cautiously repeated, “Raccoons?”

“They like shiny things. Take off with them whenever they can.”

“You’re saying a raccoon stole my watch?”

“Probably.”

She really wanted to point out that they couldn’t possibly tell time, but knew instinctively that was a bad idea.

“Can I get it back?”

“Sure. If you can find it.”

Could she? She glanced around at the underbrush, the trees, the stream.

“Is it safe for me to go exploring?” she asked.

“You’re not likely to be attacked by raccoons, but you’ll probably get lost, fall down a ravine, break your leg and starve to death. But if the watch is that important to you, have at it.”

She felt herself deflating. “You don’t like me much, do you?” she asked sadly.

She half expected Zane to stalk away, but instead he exhaled and shook his head.

“Sorry.”

She blinked. “What?”

“I said I’m sorry.”

Had the earth stopped turning, or had the taciturn, hunky cowboy standing in front of her just apologized?

“I—you—” She paused for breath. “That’s okay. I guess it was a stupid question.”

“No. It was a reasonable question under the circumstances.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I get a little sarcastic sometimes.”

“Let’s call it a dry sense of humor.”

He half nodded in acknowledgment. “You’ll never find them, and even if you did, your watch would probably be all broken up and rusty from them dunking it in the water. Don’t leave out anything they’ll take. Shiny jewelry, another watch.”

“I don’t have another watch. Not with me.”

“You need to know the time?”

“Just when the meals are.”

“Cookie rings a bell.”

“Really? Just like in the movies?”

“Yeah.” One corner of his mouth turned up as he spoke. It wasn’t exactly a smile, but it was close enough to get her breathing up to Mach 3.

“Come on,” he said. “It’s nearly time for lunch.”