Page 39 of Beat around the Bush
Not to keep it, of course.
Though I wouldn’t argue if she did.
God, what was wrong with me?
Frustrated with myself, I grabbed her wet jeans off the ground and headed to the kitchen to make her breakfast, tossing her pants in the dryer on my way. We were both scheduled to work today, but she needed rest, so I pulled out my phone to shoot Jacey and Leo a text.
Lennon:Need you to come in today and open the store. I’ll be there when I can.
I set my phone on the black granite countertop and pulled out a pan to set it on the stove top. My kitchen was my favorite place in this house, with its dark counters and white cabinets, to its stainless steel appliances and oak floors. The house was on its last leg when I bought it seven years ago, but I remodeled it. It was the perfect distance to the feed store and my parents’ ranch, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity whenit hit the market.
My phone buzzed on the counter as I was in the fridge grabbing eggs, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and sausage. Setting the ingredients beside the stove, I checked my texts.
Jacey:Late night? ;)
Lennon:You going in or not?
Jacey:Yes, boss. Drink some coffee, you’re grumpy when you're non-caffeinated.
Lennon:I’m pretty sure it’s uncaffeinated.
Jacey:Make that two cups of coffee, please.
I sent back a middle finger emoji and saw that Leo had sent me back a thumbs up. Setting the phone down, getting to work cracking the eggs in the pan, mixing the other ingredients in as the pan heated up. My phone buzzed again, causing me to glance at the screen.
Jacey:Since when does Lennon Bronson send emojis?
I ignored the text and moved to the coffee pot as the eggs cooked. Placing some ground coffee beans in the filter, I clicked a few buttons and let the machine do the rest. As soon as the coffee started coming out, the scent filled my house, along with the scramble cooking on the stove.
From down the hall, I heard my bedroom door squeak open, then click shut, followed by tiny footsteps padding down the hall. Oakley appeared around the corner, rubbing her eyes and looking like the sunrise on the first day of spring.
Her amber hair was mussed up from sleep and my sweats were way too big for her petite form, but even wearing my baggy clothes, she was beautiful.
I forced my eyes off of her before she could see me gawking and brought my attention back to the pan. “Hungry?” I asked.
She was quiet, so I glanced over my shoulder to see her eyes on my bare back.
I probably should have put a shirt on, now that I thought about it.
She was my employee, not some girlfriend I had over for the night. I shouldn’t be standing in my kitchen shirtless, making her breakfast and coffee.
She caught me watching her and blinked, averting her gaze. “You don’t have to make me breakfast, too. You already went above and beyond letting me stay here and take advantage of your heater,” she said, her voice hoarse from sleep.
“I wasn’t about to let you sleep in that freezing house, Oak.” I turned around to find her slipping onto the barstool at my kitchen island. “You need to run your heater.”
Those green eyes bored up at me from where she sat, and I wanted to hug her, wrap my arms around her just to make that look disappear off her face. She looked sad, like she was alone and had no one else to rely on but herself.
“I will. I’m not used to the cold sneaking up so quickly, but I’ll run it. I promise.”
“It does that out here.” I pulled two plates out of the upper cabinet and dished up even portions of the scramble, then poured two cups of coffee.
“I mean, it did in Colorado, too, but I never had to deal with a cold house, so I guess I just wasn’t expecting it.”
I set a plate and mug in front of her, but remained standing on the opposite side of the island. “What made you leave Colorado?” I asked before taking a bite.
Her fork was halfway to her mouth when she paused. “What?”
I finished swallowing, taking a sip of coffee. “Colorado. Why’d you leave?”
