Page 22 of Wrangling a Texas Hometown Hero

But he wasn’t a perfect angel. He looked tired and needed a haircut and a shave. It was too bad his disheveled appearance didn’t take away from his golden boy good looks.

“Hey, George. Hey, Dixie.” He crouched to greet the dogs that were jumping and spinning around with joy. Once he’d given them plenty of attention, he glanced up at Hallie. “Hey, Teeny Weeny.”

As she looked into those smoky-blue eyes, her stomach took a dip. Which made her scowl. “You aren’t going to stop calling me that, are you?”

A grin tipped one side of his mouth. “Nope.”

She rolled her eyes and turned around to put the dog food back in the refrigerator. Her stomach still felt a little off. Assuming the tingling feeling was hunger, she took out a package of ham and another of Havarti cheese. “So what are you doing here? Last time I talked to Sweetie, you were in Houston being ‘the sweetest little helper in the world.’ Her words. Not mine.”

He laughed. “I think I could have figured that out. Decker is doing much better so Sweetie asked me to come check on things here.”

Hallie turned around, the scowl back in place. “I told her I was staying here. Why would she want you to come check on things? Didn’t she think I could handle a couple dogs by myself?”

He held up his hands. “Don’t yell at me. I’m just the sweetest little helper.” He moved closer. Too close. Her heart started thumping and her breath caught.

“What are you—?”

He reached around her and grabbed a slice of ham from the open package.

The last slice of ham.

“Hey!” She slapped his hand and he dropped it. Both dogs charged toward it. Dixie won. Probably because George stopped in his tracks when he realized his princess wanted it. Hallie watched Dixie inhale the slice without chewing before she glared at Jace.

“That was the last slice of ham.”

He cringed. “Sorry.” He glanced at the dog bowls. “Do you have any more of that bologna?”

“That’s not bologna. It’s highfalutin’ dog food. Help yourself. Those finicky dogs won’t eat it unless I chop it up in little pieces and heat it in the microwave.”

He studied the dog food. “Are those peas and carrots in it?”

“Yep. My sister, who was raised on a ranch where you just pour food in a trough and let the animals go at it, is now preparing gourmet meals for her two spoiled dogs. It’s crazy.”

Jace glanced at the dogs that were looking at Hallie with pleading eyes. “I don’t know about that. Look at those faces. They look as hungry as I am.”

She released an exasperated sigh. “Fine. I’ll chop up their food and warm it.” She picked up the bowls, then glared at Jace. “But you’re on your own.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Lucky for you, I happen to know my way around a kitchen.”

As it turned out, he did know his way around a kitchen. He took the cheese and whipped it up with eggs to make a fluffy scramble that Hallie inhaled like Dixie had the ham slice. When she finished, she glanced up from her plate to find Jace watching her with an odd expression on his face.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing. I just forgot what it was like to see a woman enjoy food.”

“Let me guess, the women you date order half salads with lite dressing and no croutons.”

“Pretty much. Although I haven’t been out on a date since—” He cut off abruptly, but she knew exactly what he’d been about to say. She didn’t know why her face heated. She didn’t blush. She never blushed.

She jumped up and carried her plate to the sink. “That wasn’t a date. It was a mistake.” She waited for him to agree and turned when he didn’t. His gaze was lowered like he’d been checking out her behind. Which wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all. Nor was the heat that moved from her face to the rest of her body when his smoky gaze lifted.

They studied each other for a long tension-filled moment before Jace got to his feet and grabbed his hat. “Well, I probably should get going.” He carried his plate to the sink. “It looks like you’ve got everything in hand here.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Back to Houston.”

She was surprised. Now that Decker was on the mend, she thought Jace would be heading back to his mama’s in Galveston. Or Mexico where his mama had said he’d been. Obviously, Decker’s brush with death had made him realize how important family was.

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