“I’m the one who needs to apologize. I shouldn’t have called you a pig.”
“No harm done. I’m going to head on up there and get my room ready. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Daniel was having horrible visions of the bugs on the table.
“Good luck, and I hope to see you around,” she said.
Katherine stood there staring at him. Her gorgeous green eyes were creating quite a stir in Daniel. She took a step toward him and stopped. She had meant to walk around the cute stranger. Daniel let his hands move around her waist and pull her into him. She made a small sound, then quickly backed up. He could see her breathing faster.
“I’m sorry, I need to check the bathrooms and they’re right behind you.”
“Oh, forgive me. I’ll see you soon I hope. Take care of yourself.” Daniel winked and turned around to go through the door.
“Wait!” Katherine grabbed a napkin from the bar and wrote her number on it. “You don’t know anyone around here yet, so in case you need something you can give me a call.” Her cheeks blushed one more time for Daniel as he took the number, smiled, and walked backwards to the door. Their eyes were still locked.
Hot damn she’s beautiful! Daniel was still smiling when his cell phone rang. The caller made his smile leave.
“Hey, sexy,” came the purr from the other end.
“Marissa…”
“You should come over here and heat up my bed for me. I’m wearing that little outfit you love.” Marissa made a small, fake laughing sound.
“Marissa, I’m not in town. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“Oh darn.” Marissa made a heavy sigh. “I was hoping you could take me on a nice weekend getaway on your jet.” Marissa loved to be seen with this man. His gifts were the best! And his car…
Daniel was getting more turned off by the second. Marissa was getting way too needy and attached. To my money. What did he ever see in her? Hadn’t he ever realized what an airhead she is? Daniel knew there were plenty of Marissas he could call as soon as he got back to New York.
“I have to go. Don’t call me anymore. I have back to back appointments.”
“Don’t you miss me, baby?”
“Well--You know what? No I don’t miss you. Goodbye, Marissa. There are more rich guys out there. Go find yourself a different one.” Daniel hung up the phone. He didn’t even feel bad about it. He would love to have all the money right now that he’d wasted on Marissa. He could certainly use it! Women like her were just chasing riches and using anyone they could get their claws into. Hot women in New York were a dime a dozen.
The phone rang again. “Marissa, I was serious. I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I made a bad business decision and lost all my money. I’m totally broke.”
“Oh. Well you’re right. We probably wouldn’t work out…” She quickly hung up.
Daniel looked at himself in the mirror when he climbed up in his pickup. I can’t believe I was letting that woman use me for that long. Normally he broke it off after a couple of dates. Daniel looked at his own face. You were using her. You used every single woman you ever had contact with. You’ve been using people your entire life…Daniel proceeded to stare at his face for way too long. He shook the thoughts from his head and drove toward the farm.
Rosie met him outside and handed him the key and a slip of paper that had his new phone number on it. He smiled as he slipped it in his pocket. His fingers brushed the napkin from the bar that Katherine had written her phone number on.
“I put an extra blanket in there and made you a bite to eat in case you’re hungry. The phone number up to the house is the same, except the last number is a one. It was easier for me to remember that way.”
“Thank you so much, Rosie. I can already tell I’m going to have the best night’s sleep since I got here.”
Rosie smiled and said goodnight.
Daniel walked in through the back door. He didn’t want to disturb the horses, plus he was afraid of them. He’d never really been near one.
The room was so beautiful. He smelled the apple pie as soon as he opened the door. Rosie had made a plate of ham, potato salad, beans, cornbread, and a nice salad. She even included half of an apple pie that was still warm. The entire meal was at the perfect temperature because of the meticulous way she wrapped it. Daniel didn’t realize how starving he was. He ate all of it except for one slice of pie.
Time for the real test, he thought. Daniel stripped down to his black boxers and climbed under the sheets. The bedding was so soft and comfortable against his skin, and the scent was fresh, sweet, and clean. He set the alarm on his phone for four forty-five, then fell fast to sleep. For some reason he dreamed of his mother’s face, which he had only seen in pictures. Her voice sounded just like Rosie’s.
When Daniel’s alarm went off he cursed. It took him a minute to figure out what the alarm was set for, but then he sprang out of bed. He got dressed in a green flannel shirt and jeans, put his work boots on, then gathered his dishes and headed up to the house. The light was shining on the porch.
He knocked on the door softly and twisted the handle.
“Come on in, John. You don’t have to knock. You don’t have a bathroom down there so you’ll have to come up to the house. I should really build one. Have a seat.” Rosie greeted him with a smile.
Daniel’s mouth was watering. The smell of scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy filled the air. Rosie set the plates of food on the table and poured two hot cups of coffee.
“Rosie, this is delicious. I thought last night’s dinner was heaven, but you’ve outdone yourself this morning,” Daniel said with his mouth full, forgetting all manners.
“I’m glad you like it. I love to cook. If you’re ever down there and get hungry, come on up and help yourself to the food. I just ask that you clean your mess up before you leave.” Rosie smiled and sipped her coffee. “Did the heater keep you warm enough?” It wasn’t yet April and was still pretty chilly at night.
“To be honest, I fell asleep the second I put my head on the pillow. I really like the room, Rosie. Thank you.”
Daniel hadn’t eaten that much food in his life. It was also the first time that biscuits and gravy had ever reached his lips. If he lived here permanently, he’d be the size of a house.
“Isn’t anyone else showing up?”
“I’m kind of short on workers right now. There’s just me and Sam. But now you’re here so that’ll be a big help!”
“Does Sam live here?”
“No, but he’ll be up here around six. You’ll meet him soon enough. His bark is worse than his bite. He’s a nice man once you get to know him.”
“I’m ready to get started as soon as I’m finished. That shouldn’t take too long because this food is amazing.” Daniel didn’t know what he’d been missing. My father’s chef could learn a few things from this woman, that’s for damn sure.
“I would like for you to brush down my horses if you don’t mind. Sadly, I only have two. I had four but had to put two of them down over the past three years because of old age. They were suffering and were my babies, so I wasn’t about to let that continue. The vet said it was the best thing I could have done. She put them to sleep and they didn’t feel a thing.”