But seeing Deborah and Adele together had made her wonder what she was missing.
The love between the mother and daughter reminded Elissa of what she shared with her own mom. And would she ever feel that with her own child?
Fortunately Jacob returned, interrupting her musings.
“Deborah liked you.”
“It’s mutual.” To keep herself busy, Elissa turned on the kettle. “How did she become your housekeeper?”
“She’s the sister of one of my ranch hands. Left a bad relationship right before Adele was born, and we put her in one of the property’s cabins while she got back on her feet. She refused to accept what she called charity, so she insisted on doing some work around here. At this point, I’m not sure how I’d manage without her.”
“Adele is wonderful. And even Waffle seems to like her.”
“That says something.” He grinned. “She’s smart for her age, too. And she shows an aptitude for skiing, like her mother.” He placed his cup in the sink. “Can you be ready to leave around twelve?”
“That’s perfect.” Even if he wanted to head out in ten minutes, she’d make sure she was ready.
“I’ll meet you back here then.”
She nodded.
Once again she was aware of how big the house was, and for the first time in her life, a pang of loneliness assailed her.
The strange emotions had to be a result of the even stranger circumstances, she reached for the box of pastries sitting on the counter. Bypassing the apple fritter and several eclairs, she grabbed a chocolate-covered chocolate doughnut, complete with sprinkles.
After she’d devoured it and brushed off her hands, she finished brewing her tea, then carried it outside.
She paused for a second to take in the view from the patio, refusing to admit the truth to herself—that she was hoping to catch a glimpse of Jacob in the distance.
With the drink cooling, she continued toward the garage apartment. Waffle darted in front of her, nearly tripping her as she opened the door.
The cat wound her way between Elissa’s legs before racing up the stairs. “I see you’re joining me.”
Inside, Waffle found a patch of sunshine and dropped down to groom herself.
Before starting work, Elissa made calls home to talk to her parents and to check in with the bar.
Once she’d powered up the computer and settled into her chair, her creative energy flowed. The previous day, she’d been stifled, but now, inspiration danced from her fingertips.
It took only a couple of minutes to decide on her final choices for the motivational speaker’s color palette. It was a shade darker than she’d been working with, and the change made the logo pop.
Less than two hours later, she’d added a couple of finishing flourishes to the logo and drafted a mock-up of his website’s landing page. Finally satisfied, she sent the files to her client for his approval.
Then, captivated by Deborah’s excitement about the ski bunny, Elissa spent another hour sketching out a couple of versions of the cartoon bunny.
She was deep in concentration when a notification skittered across the bottom of her screen, signaling an email from her client. Curious to know if he was pleased, she clicked through to find he was more than happy. “Yes!” She fist-bumped the air, and Waffle shot her a narrowed-eye sleepy glare. “Oh. Sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb Your Majesty.” Elissa had never had pets, and she was enjoying the feline’s companionship.
Elissa promised the vector file to her client within twenty-four hours and asked him to supply pictures and videos, along with text to populate the actual website. Elissa shut down the computer and headed back outside, Waffle trailing behind her.
A noise captured Elissa’s attention, and she paused. Moments later, Jacob drove up in a red all-terrain vehicle.
Instead of continuing on inside, she waited for him, admiring the way sunlight glinted off his dark hair. Even across the distance, she was aware of his gaze, and shivered anew at the way she’d come undone for him.
When he reached her side, he shut off the loud, rumbling beast and climbed out of the bucket seat. “Your ride, ma’am.”
“I’m impressed.” The machine had half doors, and the front part had a cover over it. “I imagined it would be a little more rugged than that.”
“In what way?”
“I thought I’d be sitting behind you.”
“You’re thinking of a quad—all-terrain vehicle. Generally carries one person. This is a UTV—a utility task vehicle. It hauls cargo and can pull a small trailer. The seats are actually comfortable. Has heat and air-conditioning. Even a sound system.” He cocked his head to one side. “But the idea of you straddling me and holding on tight has me rethinking my decision.”
The image made her squirm, just as he’d no doubt intended. “This one’s fine. Great even.” Her tone was somewhere between prim and squeaky, and she cleared her throat.
He grinned. “Of course, we can save that for this evening.”
For a moment, her heart skittered. She’d hated the idea of coming to his ranch, and yet all of a sudden she didn’t want to leave. Denver and the outside world seemed so far away.
“I’ll grab the picnic basket if you want to get a couple of towels from the hall closet.”
“Why do we need towels?”
“So you can dry off after you get out of the water.” He grinned.
“You might remember I don’t have a swimsuit.”
“Yeah. That’s right.” His grin turned feral. “There’s a camping blanket in there too. Something for us to sit on. Or for me to ravish you on.”
She shivered. His words excited her more than she could ever admit. “Oh no. No no no. No. Nuh-uh. There shall be no public ravishing, Cowboy.”
His eyes narrowed. “Challenge accepted.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Or was it? She cleared her throat. God. The way he looked at her… It might be impossible to deny him anything.
“You may want a hat. Or something to keep the hair out of your face.”
She nodded, then hurried inside. While she was there, she changed into a pair of shorts, telling herself it wasn’t because they’d be easier to get out of than her jeans were. As she’d already told him, she wasn’t the type of woman who skinny-dipped or who made love outside—not ever.
Within minutes, carrying the items he’d requested, she rejoined him.
Very slowly, very thoroughly, very approvingly, he swept his gaze over her, lingering on her bare legs. “You’re a beautiful woman, Elissa.”
His words were laced with conviction. She’d never seen herself as anything other than ordinary, but she had no doubt he meant what he said, and for the first time in her life, she saw herself the way he did.
“You ready?”
“Yes. I’m excited.”
He placed the picnic basket and a bottle of wine inside a storage box, then stacked the blanket and towels on top. After that, he added a folding table and a couple of collapsible chairs to the cargo area.
“I see we really don’t need the blanket.” Elissa propped one hand on her hip.
This time, there was no trace of a tease in his eyes. Instead, his gaze was as dangerous as it was predatory. “Oh I assure you, we do.”