Home For a Cowboy Christmas(70)



Zane cleared his throat. “I’m sorry you’re stuck out here.”

He almost sounded sincere. Cady took a deep breath and released it. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with me.”

“The clothes you have aren’t really suitable for this climate. I’ve got some you can borrow.”

“Sweats?” she asked hopefully.

“Afraid not.”

Cady rolled her eyes. What was it about Zane that irritated her so easily? It had to be his attitude. Though she was sure hers wasn’t the best, either. She remained lying down because the minute she sat up, everything that wasn’t covered became instantly cold.

She heard Zane rummaging nearby. She craned her head to see that his place was much smaller than she originally thought. His bed wasn’t in another room. It was right there, along with the dresser. Cady took a closer look at everything and saw the log walls. She was in a cabin. A very small one that didn’t afford them much privacy, let alone anywhere to go to get away other than the bathroom.

While Cady tried to think about how not to go absolutely stir-crazy with Zane in the cabin, he kept opening drawers and shifting through them. Her hope that this might have been the closest shelter when the storm hit was soon dashed as she came to understand that he was looking through his clothes.

“These might work,” Zane said as he set something on the sofa near her.

She had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t heard him shut the last drawer. Cady grabbed the clothes, thankful to have something warm to put on. She grabbed the item on top to find it was a faded, worn sweatshirt. She slipped it on, sighing at the warmth it offered. It was huge, but she didn’t care. When she reached for the second item, she was surprised to find a pair of sweats after Zane had told her he didn’t have any.

It wasn’t until she pulled them on beneath the covers that she realized they weren’t nearly as big on her as the sweatshirt. Cady put on the socks and got to her feet. When she looked down, she saw that the pants were women’s, while the shirt was definitely a man’s. It never dawned on her that Zane might be involved. She hadn’t seen anyone else in the cabin, but maybe they were out somewhere.

“Is your girlfriend or wife around so I can thank her for the pants?” Cady asked with a smile.

Zane had returned to the kitchen to lean against the counter. He didn’t look up at her. “I don’t have either a girlfriend or a wife.”

“Oh. Sister, then?” she offered, hoping to make the awkward situation a little less so.

“No sister.”

Cady turned her back to Zane and began folding the blankets and setting them on the sofa. She was starving, but first, she really needed the bathroom. Since she saw only one door slightly ajar, she assumed that was it.

Zane didn’t look her way as she walked to the restroom and relieved her bladder. She gasped at the sight of her hair sticking up everywhere. Cady raked her fingers through the shoulder-length tangles. She managed to get most of them out and tame all the strands sticking up at odd angles.

When she walked out, she nervously looked around. “Can you show me where the mugs are?”

Zane pointed to a cabinet to his left.

So much for trying to start a conversation. Cady walked to the cabinet and took out a mug. She didn’t particularly care for coffee, but she needed caffeine. It should be fine after she doctored it a bit with a lot of milk and sugar. Her mother used to call it coffee milk, but no matter how many times—with all different flavors—Cady couldn’t get used to straight coffee. Or coffee in general.

After only pouring half a mug, she returned the pot to its home and went to the fridge. There, she found some milk that she smelled first to make sure it was good. She added that to the mug and began searching for the sugar. It took going through several cabinets before she finally found it. Then she had to search for the spoons to put the sugar in and stir. After all of that, she could barely get the liquid down her throat.

Cady put in more sugar, which helped. Some. And the hot liquid assisted in warming her, as well. She pulled out one of the four kitchen chairs and sat at the table.

“I hope you don’t have any dietary restrictions, and I really hope you aren’t a vegan.”

His condescending tone instantly irritated her. She looked at him and sweetly said, “I don’t, and I’m not.”

He set down his coffee and licked his lips. “I’m sorry for that. There’s no excuse for my sarcasm.”

“I think there’s a story there.”

His lips twisted ruefully. “Yes, there is. Same as your story about being terrified of horses.”

She gawked at him, then closed her eyes in embarrassment. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” he said with a small laugh.

She cracked open one eye. “No. I absolutely did or said something.”

He shrugged and sat across from her. “You got on Brego.”

“I remember you telling me his name.” She flattened her lips while trying not to recall that she had not only gotten close to the horse but had also sat on top of Zane. “You read the books. Did you not watch the movies?”

“I haven’t, no.”

“You’re missing out.”

His gold eyes watched her. “I saw how terrified you were of my horse, and you overcame that.”

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