The Texan's Tennessee Romance / The Rancher & the Reluctant Princess

Suspecting that she wouldn’t appreciate that analogy at all—would more likely hate it, in fact—he kept it to himself. Setting the coffee mug on the wide deck railing, he nodded toward the wrought iron dining set. “We can start moving the chairs.”

She turned in that direction. Casey reached out to detain her. “Do you have a pair of work gloves?” he asked, glancing down at her soft-looking hands. “You don’t want to risk blisters.”

“I have driving gloves. And some knit gloves designed for warmth.”

“Either would be better than nothing.”

“Then I’ll be right back. Is there anything else we need from inside?”

“No.” He took hold of the first chair. “I’ll take this one down.”

He was returning from that short trip when he met up with Natalie again. Her hands protected by leather driving gloves, she lugged one of the chairs, hindered more by its awkward shape than by weight. He almost offered to help her, but something about the way she looked at him warned him that she’d rather do it herself.

He both understood and respected pride. Nodding, he moved past her to get the third chair. They would carry the table together, he decided. To be honest, he wasn’t sure how he’d have gotten it down the steps by himself. But because of his own slightly overdeveloped ego, he probably wouldn’t have asked for her help had she not offered.

They worked together for the next two hours, removing the remainder of the furnishings and then cleaning the deck with brooms and a small power washer Casey had brought with him. They didn’t talk much, but the quiet was companionable. The sounds of singing birds and rushing water and dried leaves blowing across the ground provided a sound track for their efforts.

Though he didn’t allow himself to stare openly at her, Casey observed Natalie surreptitiously as she worked. He was pleased to see a tint of color in her cheeks, a new sparkle of accomplishment in her eyes. She liked having a purpose, he decided, something that made her feel useful. And the crisp, fresh air wasn’t hurting either, since she’d been spending entirely too much time holed up in the cabin, from what he had observed.

“That looks good,” he announced a short while later as he and Natalie stood back to admire their work. “Tomorrow morning I’ll apply the sealer. We can replace the furniture in twenty-four to forty-eight hours after that, according to the instructions on the can.”

“There’s a lot of maintenance involved with these cabins, isn’t there? It’s mind-boggling how much hard work is involved in being a vacation landlord.”

“Yeah. Kyle and Mack both put in long days, especially now that their full-time maintenance guy’s on the bench. And your aunt stays busy with the books and reservations.”

Still looking at the empty deck, Natalie murmured, “Tommy used to complain that his family lived in a vacation destination and never had time to actually take a holiday themselves. I didn’t understand when I was a kid, but I certainly do now.”

Casey studied her face, regretting that he saw shadows of sadness in her eyes again. “Kyle’s talked about your cousin. It sounds as if he was a great guy.”

“He was.”

Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned, thinking maybe the stray dog had come back for dinner. Instead, he saw a small herd of deer wander out of the woods, grazing on the grass of the lawn. He counted three full-grown does and another that might have been a young buck.

“Natalie,” he said softly, nodding in that direction. “Look.”

She turned her head, then smiled. “They’re beautiful.”

“They are, aren’t they?”

They watched in silence for a moment, and then something—a scent, a motion, a sound, perhaps—startled one of the does. She lifted her head, looked directly at Casey and Natalie, and then turned to melt back into the woods, followed by her companions.

“We’ve certainly seen the animals today, haven’t we?” Natalie said, looking at him again. “Think a black bear will come out of the woods next?”

He grinned. “I kind of hope not. Dogs and deer I can handle. Bears—not so much.”

She chuckled. “The ones around here usually leave you alone if you do the same with them. Tommy and I saw one on a hike once. It looked at us, we looked at it, and then we all turned and went our own ways. Fortunately, Tommy and I had been making a lot of noise, so we didn’t startle the bear when we appeared. That’s when they’re particularly dangerous, when they’re frightened or protecting their young.”

“We didn’t see many bears back in Dallas. Saw a few rattlesnakes on my uncle’s ranch. I didn’t care for them, either.”

Natalie shuddered delicately. “Neither would I. I don’t like snakes.”

“Ah. So there is something that intimidates the intrepid Natalie Lofton.”

“Intrepid?” she repeated, lifting an eyebrow.

Shrugging, he admitted, “It’s a word I tend to associate with you, for some reason. Maybe because you seem so hard to rattle. Broken pipes, blood, stray dogs—bears, apparently. You deal with it all without blinking. I’ve only heard you admit to two things that intimidate you—snakes and babies.”

She blinked and he could tell that he had taken her completely off-guard, something that apparently didn’t happen much with her. And then she gave a little smile that didn’t quite reach her somber eyes and said, “I’ll admit to being wary of both snakes and babies, though maybe not quite to the same extent. As for the rest—I’m not sure intrepid is the word to describe me. Trust me, I don’t handle everything as calmly as you suggest.”

“Coulda fooled me.”

He’d always considered himself fairly proficient in interpreting body language. Something about the way she crossed her arms and then huddled a bit into her sweater made him wonder what it meant. A slightly self-protective gesture, perhaps hinting at a recent blow that had been difficult for her to handle? Or was she just chilly and he was reading too much into the emotions he’d thought he glimpsed in her expression?

“The temperature seems to be dropping,” he commented, telling himself to mind his own business. “Maybe you’d better go back inside.”

She glanced again at the clean, empty deck. “I guess so, since we’re finished here. You’re done for the day, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s getting too close to dark to start anything else. I guess I’ll head on back to the cabin I’m staying in. I’m going to do some work on the floors there this evening. I’m sanding and refinishing them, starting in the kitchen.”

“So you’re working on both at once?”

“Pretty much. The regular maintenance guy had already finished the outside of mine before he was in the accident. So I’ve been working inside there for a couple hours a day after leaving here.”

“I know Kyle and Uncle Mack must appreciate your help.”

He shrugged. “As you’re well aware, I’m not the most skilled handyman, but I want to contribute what I can while I’m here.”

She took a step toward the cabin, then stopped and looked back at him. He could almost see a debate going on in her head before she asked, “You said you’re working on the kitchen floor in your cabin?”

“Yeah. I’ve got the room cleaned out and everything taped off, so I’m going to start sanding tonight.”

“What about dinner?”

“I figured I’d pick up a burger and fries on the way.”

She took a quick deep breath and then said very casually, “I have a few things I can make quickly here if you’d like to eat with me before you go. If you’re going to put in more hours of work this evening, you need to eat something a little more nutritious than a burger and fries.”

Though he was surprised that she’d offered, Casey didn’t hesitate to accept. “I’d love to join you for dinner. Thanks.”

She smiled somewhat tentatively. “Okay. Great. Come on in and you can wash up while I get started.”

Leaving his toolbox at the foot of the steps, he followed close behind her as she moved toward the door.

Chapter Four

Casey entered the kitchen a short time later sniffing the air. “Something smells really good.”

Her hands protected by oven mitts, she set the pan of broiled fish on a trivet. “I hope you like fish tacos.”

“Love ’em.”

They sat at the kitchen table with their meals, and Natalie searched her mind for conversational topics that didn’t stray too far into personal territory. They talked more about the renovations to the cabin, and a few more things that needed to be done inside before it was rented out again. They chatted about the A-frame in which Casey had been staying, and how Kyle and Mack had decided to install a pool table in the loft now being used as a cozy sitting room with a spectacular view.

Casey admitted he hadn’t taken advantage of the many local tourist attractions during his stay. He added that Molly wanted him to accompany her and Olivia to the Dollywood theme park the following week, leaving the baby with Jewel. Kyle wasn’t enthusiastic about amusement parks, but Molly had promised Olivia she would take her soon.

“I haven’t been to the park in years,” Natalie said, “but I always had a good time there. I’m sure you’ll have fun with Molly and Olivia.”

Casey took another bite of his almost completely eaten taco. Washing it down with a sip of the peach tea she had prepared, he complimented her again on the simple meal. That led to a casual discussion of their favorite foods and specialty restaurants.

“There’s a place back home in Dallas that makes the best barbecue pizza anywhere,” Casey enthused. “Topped with pulled pork, barbecue sauce, onions, jalapeños and three different kinds of cheese. The best.”

“Sounds messy.”

“Totally. And a lot of people follow it up with an antacid chaser. But it’s still good.”

“I’ve only been to Texas a few times,” she said. “And then only to Dallas and Houston for business purposes. I haven’t seen much of the state except for the insides of some very nice conference hotels.”

“Oh, there’s lots to see in Texas,” he assured her. “From the coast to the plains, it’s a pretty diverse state. I’ve spent most of my life in the Dallas area.”

“I always seem to be there midsummer. It was always hot.”

He shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“Will you be going back soon?”

She hadn’t meant to ask any questions for fear of giving him an opening to ask a few in return. That one had just slipped out.

Casey didn’t seem to find the offhand inquiry particularly significant. “Yeah. I guess. I mean, well, most of my family’s there. I just came here to visit Molly and Kyle, and then I volunteered to help out a little with the repairs. I’ll probably head back to Texas in another week or so.”

She couldn’t help noticing that he looked as if he were discussing an upcoming dental procedure. What was so bad at home that he would rather hole up here, cleaning gutters and scrubbing a deck on a pleasant Saturday?

He gave a slight shake of his head, as if clearing his mind of unpleasant thoughts. “What about you? When are you going back to Nashville?”

“I don’t know yet,” she said, looking down at her plate. “I’m…between jobs at the moment, and I’m taking the time to make some career decisions.”

She stood abruptly before he could respond. “Aunt Jewel made me one of her famous key lime pies. I haven’t even had a chance to cut into it yet. Would you like a slice for dessert?”

“Sure. I love key lime pie.”

“I’ll make some decaf coffee to go with it.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No, thanks. It’ll just take a few minutes. Feel free to move into the living room, if you’d be more comfortable. The TV remote is on the coffee table if you want to watch the news or something while I make the coffee.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll check the weather forecasts. I’m hoping they aren’t predicting rain tomorrow. I’d like to get the sealant applied to the deck in the morning.”

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll bring the pie and coffee into the living room when it’s ready.”

She heard a weatherman’s booming voice from the other room before she even had the kettle filled with water. Setting the kettle on a burner, she scooped coffee beans into the small grinder she’d brought with her from home.

It had been surprisingly easy to be with Casey tonight, she mused as she transferred the coarsely ground coffee into a French press and set a kitchen timer for four minutes. He hadn’t done anything to make her feel uncomfortable, hadn’t asked any questions except a follow-up to the one she’d asked. He’d been pleasant, entertaining, a little flirtatious. And her bruised feminine ego had responded eagerly.

She needed this right now, she told herself. Needed to spend some time with someone who wasn’t looking at her suspiciously, who could make her forget about all the problems back home and just have a little fun for a change.

She was in no hurry for the evening to end.

Casey sprawled on the couch, a remote in his hand as he only half concentrated on the cable weather channel playing on the flat-screen TV above the fireplace. He jumped to his feet when Natalie appeared around the partial wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. He cleared off a couple of books and a basket of apples from the coffee table so she could set the tray there.

“Wow, that pie looks good,” he said as Natalie took a seat on the couch beside him. He noted that she could have sat in one of the chairs, but she’d chosen to sit next to him instead. Very friendly and companionable. Maybe she was starting to like him a little despite his questionable maintenance skills.

Unaware of the direction his thoughts were taking, she replied lightly to his comment, “My aunt is a really good cook. Desserts are her specialty.”

“It tastes even better than it looks,” he said, swallowing a creamy bite and reaching for his coffee. “Good coffee, too,” he said after taking a cautious sip of the hot beverage.

“Thanks. I buy my beans from a coffee and tea specialty store in Nashville. It’s one of my favorite places to browse.”

He set his cup down and then turned to face her on the couch while he swallowed another bite of the pie. He was fully aware that she didn’t want to answer questions about herself. He’d have to be blind to miss the signals. While she was perfectly amenable to congenial small talk, she had no intention of sharing too much of herself.

He’d gone along with her obvious wishes during dinner. But now he was tempted to push his luck a little. Because Natalie Lofton intrigued him too much for him not to at least try to learn a little more about her. Preferably from her, rather than anyone else.

“How long have you lived in Nashville?” That seemed an innocuous enough way to begin.

She looked into her coffee cup. “Pretty much all my life.”

“I’ve always lived within a few miles of Dallas, myself,” he confided. “I guess we have that in common. Not moving around a lot, I mean.”

“I suppose so.”

He suspected that she did not want to talk about careers, since she didn’t seem to have one at the moment. He wasn’t particularly interested in talking about his own, either. He would be hard-pressed to explain exactly what had led him to take an unpaid and inconveniently timed leave of absence.

Family seemed like another relatively harmless topic. “Do your parents still live in Nashville?”

“No. My mother and her husband live in Mississippi, and my dad lives in London.”

He hadn’t realized that her parents were divorced. He knew his family was atypical, but divorce just didn’t happen in the Walker clan, so it hadn’t occurred to him. But she hadn’t sounded particularly bitter, so maybe that wasn’t a sensitive subject for her. “Your dad is Jewel’s brother, right?”

“Yes. They were the closest in age of the five siblings.”

“Five?”

She nodded. “Only three are still living.”

“So you come from a big family, too.”

“You’d think so, but Tommy was Aunt Jewel’s only son, I’m Dad’s only offspring, one of my uncles never had children and the others had three kids between them, none of whom I know very well. I asked my dad once why his family wasn’t closer and he said he didn’t really know. They just drifted apart after their mother died when he and Aunt Jewel were still in school.”

“But you’ve been close to your aunt.”

“Yes. Not as close as I would have liked, since we live several hours apart, and I haven’t been able to make it to east Tennessee very often the last few years. But we’ve always had a special bond between us.”

“I’m pretty close to my aunts, too,” he offered. “Especially Aunt Taylor—she’s married to my dad’s twin brother. Since I was almost always with their boys, Aaron and Andrew, she and my mom claim they pretty much co-mothered the three of us. The rest of the family called us the ‘terrible trio.’”

That made her laugh, and he found himself mesmerized by a quick flash of dimples at the corners of her mouth. He hadn’t noticed those before—but he hadn’t seen her laugh that many times before. At the risk of sounding clichéd, he thought she really should do so more often.

“I don’t know why that doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “Were you known as, um, accident-prone, perhaps?”

He frowned at her. “Very funny.”

“Sorry.” She set her empty pie plate back on the tray. “You said you and your twin cousins are the same age?”

“Almost. Aaron and Andrew are a few months younger than I am. They’re twenty-five. I turned twenty-six in July.”

She gave a little smile. “I’ll celebrate my thirtieth birthday this coming January.”

Which confirmed his guess about her age. “So you’re, what? An Aquarius?”

She waved a hand. “Capricorn, though I don’t really follow horoscopes.”

“I’m a Leo. I have a cousin who’s recently gotten into that sort of thing. She’s pretty good with it. It’s amazing how accurate she can be with her charting and stuff.”

His cousin Dawne had actually warned him that he was headed for a crisis a year ago, when it had appeared to everyone else—and to him, for that matter—that he was leading a charmed life. She’d seen something in his stars that had told her he had some serious choices to make, and that the outcome of those choices could lead either to a lifetime of contentment or one of quiet despair.

He’d almost forgotten that conversation until now. Maybe he should call Dawne tomorrow and ask if her star charts had any useful advice for him now that he’d actually reached the crossroads he’d been warned about.

Natalie seemed to have no interest in discussing astrology. “Can I get you any more coffee?”

“No, thanks. I guess I’d better be leaving if I’m going to get more done tonight.”

She put her cup on the tray. “Just set your dishes on the tray,” she said, motioning toward the coffee cup he’d just drained. “I’ll take care of them.”

Somewhat reluctantly, he stood. “Thanks for the meal, Natalie. It was really good.”

She walked with him toward the door. “It was nice having the company.” She sounded as if she really meant it.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow then. I should be around sometime late morning to waterproof the deck.”

“I won’t be here much tomorrow. I promised Aunt Jewel I’d join them for church in the morning and then for Sunday lunch. Do you have a key if you need to get into the cabin while I’m gone?”

He told himself there was no reason for him to be disappointed that she had other plans. He wasn’t coming back for social reasons, but to work. He probably wouldn’t have seen her much, anyway. “I’ll bring Kyle’s key, but I’m planning on just working outside tomorrow.”

“Yes, well, feel free to come in if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” He stepped out onto the porch, then hesitated. Turning, he said, “Hey, Natalie?”

She paused in the act of closing the door behind him. “Yes?”

“Maybe I could return the favor sometime. Treat you to dinner, I mean.” Not exactly a smooth invitation, he thought with a slight wince. “There’s a really nice steak-and-seafood place in town. I’ve been told the trout there is the best. Maybe we could try it out one night this week?”

He could almost see the debate going on inside her head. She looked tempted…but a little nervous about accepting. What was it about him that would make her nervous?

“Maybe,” she said after a moment. “If there’s time.”

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but at least it wasn’t an outright rejection. “Okay. We’ll talk about it later then.”

She moved back a step into the cabin. “Good night, Casey.”

“Goo—”

But she had already closed the door between them.

Casey’s truck was in the driveway when Natalie returned to the cabin after visiting her aunt and uncle for most of Sunday afternoon. The fact that her heart started beating a little faster at the thought of seeing him again made her pause behind the wheel.

She winced as she remembered her reaction when he’d asked her out. Even though he’d framed the invitation as a way of repaying her for the dinner, it had been clear that what he’d suggested was a date. She’d been so disconcerted that she’d all but shut the door in his face. It wasn’t like her to be so flustered by a simple dinner invitation.

The truth was, Casey Walker made her nervous. And while she’d told herself that it was nice to have such an attractive diversion from her current problems, she wondered if it would be a mistake to get involved—even temporarily—with a good-looking, younger man who obviously harbored secrets of his own.

She really should be focusing more intently on her problems at home, she chided herself. She didn’t have time for a dalliance. But Casey was pure temptation in blue jeans and a tool belt. Would there really be any harm in flirting with him a bit while Beecham conducted her investigation?

Carrying the bag of leftovers her aunt had insisted on sending with her, she entered through the front door and went straight to the kitchen to put the food away. She debated whether she should go out to greet Casey. It wasn’t as if he was there for a social reason. He was working, and she didn’t want to interfere with that process.

Coward.

She slammed the refrigerator door shut, annoyed with that nagging little voice in her head and with herself for acting so foolishly. And then she cursed herself again when someone knocked loudly on the front door and she almost jumped out of her shoes.

Sighing in exasperation, she walked through the living room to open the front door with a smile. “Hello, Casey.”

He nodded, looking a little distracted. He wore a denim shirt, blue plaid flannel jacket and jeans, all of which showed evidence that he’d been doing rather dirty manual labor that day. “Hi. Listen, that dog’s hovering around again. I think maybe he came back for another meal. Do you have anything?”

“I just brought home enough leftover pot roast for a whole pack of dogs. I’ll get him some, and a bowl of water.”

“I’ll come in and help you carry it out. We can’t walk on the deck because the sealant is still drying.”

“All right.”

He followed her into the kitchen. “Did you have a nice visit with your aunt and uncle?”

She answered as she refilled the plastic bowl she’d used the day before with fresh water. “Yes, I did. Very nice.”

Handing him the water, she opened the fridge and pulled out the plate of leftover roast. “Did you have any problems sealing the deck?” she asked to keep the small talk going.

“No. I used Kyle’s sprayer and everything worked fine.”

“Good. So I should be able to walk on it tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Give it twenty-four hours or so and it should be good to go.”

She warmed the meat just to room temperature, only a few seconds. She didn’t want the hungry dog to burn its mouth. “Okay,” she said, taking the plate from the microwave. “Let’s go see if he’s still there.”

“I have a feeling he will be,” Casey replied, letting her precede him. “He looked pretty hungry. And hopeful.”