Page 41 of The Unbuttoned Ranger
Sharp grinned. “Ursula’s quite the talker.”
“Should I mention when your tongue got stuck to the ice statue at Willie Bee’s wedding reception or when you toilet papered Coach Toole’s house and you had to hold a sign on Second Street admitting what you did?”
“Let’s not,” Sharp replied wryly.
The banter between the two made CaDee smile. She missed family. Maybe staying in Fin’s Creek meant having family.
Chapter Sixteen
“Where do you think you’re off to, Sharp Creed!” Piper said as she made her way across the yard to where he was finishing up painting the barn for the day.
“Headed home.” He stuck the lid back on the paint can.
“Come to dinner. I won’t take no for an answer. It’s the least I can do for all the help you’re doing around here.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” In fact, doing tasks gave him time to make a mental list of everything he needed to do to get the Texas Heat team running at Creed’s Creek. He’d contacted the men and they all agreed they were in. They were set to start the ball rolling in a few weeks.
“Of course I do. Come up to the house and you can wash up there.” She didn’t wait for his answer but nearly raced up the path toward the house. He’d never seen her move so fast before. She did seem different since CaDee and Carsen arrived. Happier.
If Piper told him to be somewhere then who was he to not listen?
In truth, he couldn’t wait to see CaDee again.
Placing the paint supplies in the back of his truck, grabbed his extra shirt, he then walked up to the house and started to knock when the door came swinging open. Carsen and Piper were on their way out.
“Guess where I’m going, Sharp?” Carsen seemed excited.
“Where, kiddo?”
“I might get to show a goat at the fair so I’m going to a fourth meeting.”
“4H,” Piper corrected.
“You did say dinner tonight, right?” Sharp said to her. He was confused.
“I did, but you know how my mind works. I completely forgot that I promised Carsen I’d take him over to meet the kids in 4H camp. I guess you and CaDee will have to eat without us.” Piper winked and wasted no time shuffling Carsen toward her truck.
When he turned around, he found CaDee standing in the doorway. “Hi,” she said.
He couldn’t find his tongue. She looked amazing. Working on the farm had turned her skin golden honey that brought out the color of her eyes. The dark circles were gone, and her smile seemed to fit perfectly on her plush lips. Her presence reminded him what life had been like before he was jaded, before he saw things that he couldn’t unsee. The way she made him feel, more alive than he had in years, gave him hope that he wasn’t broken.
They stared for three heartbeats then he said, “Piper invited me to dinner.”
Her disordered stare told him Piper had played them both.
“She did?”
“Yeah, she did.”
“Piper asked if she could take Carsen to 4H camp. They’re supposed to be sitting around the fire, making s’mores, and singing.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. Now he knew why Piper had been so demanding. “That sounds about right.”
“She made dinner. Enough to feed an army. If you don’t mind that it’s just me, I’ll share.” Her smile was a lure that practically pulled him across the threshold.
Sharp felt like they’d been ignoring the chemistry between them for a while and his control was slipping.
“If you don’t mind.” He enjoyed Carsen and Piper’s company, but being alone with CaDee made his heart kick up in speed. He felt a bit like a teen again, wanting to impress the pretty girl.
