Page 96 of The Holiday Gift

“That’s great. Thank you. The salad can go on the buffet in the dining room. I don’t imagine the toffee will last long with my brothers around.”

“They were already working on it,” he said.

“Oh, man. I love toffee. They know it, too, but do you think they’re going to save me any? Highly doubtful. It’s going to be gone before I get a taste.”

“I’ll have Mrs. Michaels make more for you,” he offered, his voice gruff.

She smiled. “That’s sweet of you. Or I could just arm wrestle my brothers for the last piece.”

“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Uh, I’ll just take this into the dining room.”

This was stupid. Why couldn’t he talk to her? Yes, she was a beautiful, desirable woman who had moaned in his arms just a few hours earlier, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t carry on a semi-intelligent conversation with her.

Determined to do just that, after he had taken the salad into the dining room he returned to the kitchen instead of seeking the safety of the great room with the rest of the Bowmans.

Caidy looked surprised to see him again so soon.

“I wanted to check on Luke,” he explained.

“He seems to be feeling better. I moved him into my room so he has a chance to rest during all the commotion of dinner.”

“You mind if I take a look at him?”

She glanced up, surprise in her eyes. “Really? You don’t have to do that. Ridge didn’t invite you to dinner to get free vet care out of the deal.”

WhyhadRidge invited him? He had been wondering that all afternoon. “I’m here. I might as well see how he’s progressing.”

“Can I take over stirring the gravy so you can show Ben to your room?”

For the first time, he noticed Laura Bowman, who had been standing on the other side of the kitchen slicing olives.

“Thank you. It should be done in just a few minutes.”

Caidy washed her hands, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, nibbling her lip between her teeth just enough to remind him of how that lip had tasted between his own teeth and sent blood pooling in his groin.

She led the way down the hall to a door just off the kitchen and he heard a little bark from inside the room just before she pushed open the door.

He had a vague impression of, not so much fussiness, as feminine softness. A lavender-and-brown quilt and a flurry of pillows covered a queen-size bed, and lace curtains spilled from the windows. His gaze was drawn to a lovely oil painting of horses grazing in a flower-strewn field that looked as if it could be somewhere on the River Bow. It hung on the wall at the foot of the bed, the first thing she must see upon awakening and drifting off to sleep.

He shouldn’t be so interested in where she slept—or what she might dream about—he ordered himself, and he quickly shifted attention to the dog. The border collie was lying beside the bed near the window, in the same enclosure he had rested in while in the kitchen.

When he saw Caidy, Luke wagged his tail and tried to get up but she bent over and rested a comforting hand on his head. He immediately subsided as if she had tranquilized him.

“Look who’s here. It’s our friend Dr. Caldwell. Aren’t you glad to see him?”

Because he had spent two hours operating on the dog and shoved a needle into his lungs a few hours earlier, Ben highly doubted he ranked very high on the animal’s list of favorite humans, but he wasn’t going to argue with her.

“No more breathing trouble?”

“No. He slept like a rock the rest of the night and has been sleeping most of the day.”

“That’s the best thing for him.”

“That’s what I figured. I’ve been keeping his pain medication on a consistent schedule. Ridge has been helping me carry him outside for his business.”

He stepped over the enclosure and knelt inside so he could run his hand over the dog. Though he focused on his patient, some part of him was aware the whole time of her watching him intently.

Did she feel the tug and pull between them, or was it completely one-sided?

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