Page 18 of Combust
“WhereisAndrew, by the way?” Maggie asked. She couldn’t help darting a nervous look at the street outside, framed by Cinnamon + Sugar’s big plate-glass windows.
“Gone,” Dad answered, his tone firm. “Annika assured me that he was last seen driving up the highway, heading for Missoula.”
Relief shot through her. With any luck, she’d never see or talk to Andrew again.
“I baked a fresh pan of cinnamon rolls for you two,” Mom said. “Please take a seat. Would you like some coffee?”
“Yes, please,” Dad said, pulling out a chair and seating himself at one of the café’s marble-topped tables. “Can you fix me one of your cappuccinos, Maggie?”
“Of course,” she assured him. “Cade? What can I get you?”
“I’d be much obliged for just a plain cup o’ coffee, black,” he said with the same scrupulous courtesy he’d been using since he arrived. He dropped into a chair across from Dad.
Maggie filled a mug with coffee from the airpot and placed it in front of Cade. As she did so, she became aware of his scent.
He smelled earthy and clean, like moss-covered granite boulders, overlaid with the fainter scents of sun-dried hay and horses. It was unexpectedly pleasant, considering he looked like someone who should be reeking of spilled beer and stale tobacco.
She found herself unexpectedly tempted to lean in and take a deep sniff.
Oh, heck, no! Are you crazy?she asked herself, horrified.Stop it!
Once again thoroughly unsettled, she retreated to the espresso station.
As she began grinding the beans for her dad’s drink, she wondered what her father was up to, bringing Cade here.
Chapter Six - Disturbing News
Something was going on with her bear.
Maggie was still trying to figure it out when Mom bustled over to the table to deliver a pan of fragrant, freshly-baked cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven.
They smelled heavenly, even to Maggie, who helped baked them every day.
Both men inhaled deeply. With predatory intensity, they eyed the puffy rolls topped with sweet vanilla icing.
“So, what do you two have planned for the rest of the day?” Mom asked, stepping back with an amused smile.
“We’ll be heading back to the ranch so that I can give Cade a tour and get him oriented,” Dad announced, reaching out and snagging one of the rolls.
Which was pretty much what Maggie expected, given that Dad had introduced Cade as the new foreman.
As if he’d been waiting for Dad to make the first move, Cade reached out and grabbed a bun for himself. He took a huge bite, chewed and swallowed.
Maggie saw his mouth stretch in a blissful smile, and a strange jolt traveled through her. She didn’t know why. After all, everyonereacted like that the first time they tasted one of her mom’s famous cinnamon rolls.
But the expression completely transformed Cade’s face. He looked almost…sweet.
Dad’s next words came as a shock. “Cade will be joining us at tomorrow’s family dinner, so that we can welcome him as a provisional clan member.”
Grandma Elle’s weekly Sunday dinner was a sacred tradition, and all of the clan members were expected to attend at least once a month, unless they had a good excuse. As the clan’s matriarch, it was Grandma’s role to officially welcome Cade into clan territory.
But Cade gaining clan member status, even provisionally, was perturbing.Whose idea was it?she wondered.Dad’s? Or Grandma Elle’s? Why couldn’t they simply grant Cade guest-right?
But what really disturbed her was her bear’s reaction to the news. It was excited. And…happy?
Great, just great, Maggie thought, tamping down freshly-ground coffee in a portafilter before attaching it to the espresso machine’s grouphead.I can’t get a second date no matter how hard I try, and now my bear is attracted to the biggest redneck I’ve ever met.
She couldn’t deny that Cadewaskind of hot, in a rough, hairy, tattooed kind of way, but Maggie preferred her men well-groomed and a lot smoother.
