Page 14 of The Maverick of the Mountain
I shake myself out of my daze. “Stew?”
“Big pot full of vegetables, meat, and broth. Good stuff, had it?”
I snort. “Yes. They do have stew in the city.”
“Not as good as mine.”
“Oh yeah?”
He dusts off his hands before extending one to me. “I’ll let you be the judge.” I take his hand, and he pulls me to my feet gently. “But first, I should get you cleaned up. Out of those dirty clothes and into something?—”
His eyes flare at what must be a ridiculous expression on my face. “I-uh-I didn’t mean it like that.”
He steps back, unfortunately, he steps on the basin of water, knocking it over and spilling water all over the floor.
“Shit,” he mutters, rushing off toward the back of the cabin as I try to keep it together, trying my best not to think about Maverick undressing me.
Why not like that?
He comes back moments later, cleaning up the water with a couple of towels, Hank sitting off to the side, chittering away with glee.
I bend over to help as Maverick glances over his shoulder at Hank. “Keep laughing, and you won’t get any stew.”
That silences him. Maverick glances at me, winks, and then smiles before he puts his head down, scrubbing the ground with one of the towels.
“How about that shower?” Maverick asks as we finish up. “I can get the stew going.”
“That sounds great.” I could use the moment to clear my head.
Maverick shoves the towels into the basin and then stands up. “Shower’s through the bedroom.”
I follow him, looking around. I only see one bedroom, and when I walk through it, I only see one bed. Uhhh… I’m not going to think about it right now. But I can’t help it because of how Maverick’s looking at me. He’s sizing me up from head to toe, and he’s not being subtle about it.
“Yup,” he says simply before setting the basin down on the bed and heading for his closet. “My sister visited a few weeks ago. Left some stuff here. I think it should fit you fine.”
It’s surprising how disappointed I am that he was actually sizing me up.
“Thanks,” I say when he hands me leggings, a shirt, and a cute, oversized sweater.
“Afraid I’m all out of underwear, unless you want some boxers.”
Maybe…no.
“They’d probably look like pants on me. Or a tent,” I add, bumping him with my hip. I inwardly slap my forehead. What wasthat?
He smiles. “Guess there’s a little bit of a size difference between us.”
Little… There’s nothing little about this man. I’m not the smallest girl in the world, but next to him, I look like a doll. I stare at him. The breadth of him. I’ve never seen such broad, thick shoulders. Never seen a man as tall as him in real life. Never…
I’m staring. Hard. And he’s noticing that I’m staring, his smile growing wider as he folds his arms beneath his chest.
“Just a little bit.” It comes out squeaky. He laughs, and my face lights up.
“Shower’s there.” He gestures to the door behind me. “Towels too. If you need anything else, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
I nod, heading for the bathroom before I find a new way to embarrass myself. The bathroom is surprisingly spacious for a cabin, although I’m sure that’s out of necessity for Maverick. And?—
“Agghhhhh—Oh my god!”
