I walked around looking at old photos and trying to tell who was who. I think that secretly I was looking for one that would tell me if he was involved.
There was nothing wrong with day dreaming after all and I had the feeling Mr. Caleb Dunbar was going to be starring in many of mine in the future.
It was thanks to Michelle, the counselor that I’d been assigned to that I was able to think so freely where men were concerned.
She’d got me as far as accepting that not all men were monsters, and that there was still a chance at a happy healthy relationship sometime in the future.
She didn’t have to know that I’d chose to live out those fantasies in my head. I’ll never put myself under some man’s thumb again. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself ever since I gained my freedom. Today for the first time in four years, someone or something had tested that.
That thought was a bit unsettling and I needed to clear my head before I let my imagination run away from me, so I made myself busy doing what I loved, baking and cooking.
He had lots of foodstuffs, but none of it was prepared. I made cookies and put some loaves to rise while I made large pitchers of lemonade to go with the double chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies I'd made.
I wasn’t here that long and already I was beginning to feel settled. I was very appreciative of the fact that the place was so isolated and that no one could come up to the house without me, or one of the men outside being alerted.
I was humming by the time I removed the third tray of cookies from the oven. The kitchen looked the way I always imagined a kitchen should look.
Flour sprinkled all over the counter, the bowls and mixers I used waiting to be rinsed and pies and cookies in the window.
Maybe the guys would appreciate a nice snack before dinner, which was still a few hours away. I just needed to figure out where they were on this big sprawling place, and the only way to do that was to go ask my new boss.
I found a cooler and filled it with ice before putting the two pitchers inside. I wrapped a heaping plate of cookies and searched for plastic cups, but found none, so settled for glasses instead.
When everything was ready I lifted the cooler that was almost as big as I am and headed out. I was in luck because halfway to the corral I saw the youngest one, Mikey I think his name was, come running over to help.
"Let me take that Ms. Amanda you shouldn't be carrying this stuff, where you off to anyway?"
"I was coming to find you guys and give you a snack before dinner but I was gonna ask Mr. Dunbar first."
"You don't need to call him that, I'm sure he wouldn't mind you calling him Caleb." He grinned at me and I smiled in return before we were both interrupted by what sounded to my trained ear like an angry man.
"Mikey what the fuck?"
I looked around to see that he had come up behind us and was scowling. My fear radar kicked in and I was ready to run for the hills but Mikey intervened.
"Ms. Amanda made snacks for the guys. She was coming to ask you for help but I saw her from the garage with this big heavy thing and came to help." He put down the cooler with the plate on top.
Why the hell was Mikey grinning, couldn't he see the death rays in Caleb's eyes? Caleb seemed to relax a little after that explanation, but he still looked unhappy about something to me.
"You working on the tractor?" Caleb asked the younger man a bit gruffly.
"Yep." He rocked back and forth on his heels as he grinned like a fool at Caleb. I wonder what that's about.
"Well get to it scamp before I tear a strip off your hide."
"Can I have my snack first?" He laughed and dodged the cuff Caleb aimed at his head. It was then that I realized that between the last time I'd seen him, and the time it took me to prepare my little offering, he'd taken off his shirt.
"Oh merciful heavens." Crap I said that out loud while drooling over his chest. My mortification was boundless when I realized that he’d heard me. Hopefully he wouldn’t guess what I’d been thinking when I said it.
For some reason, even though I could feel the heat in my cheeks that warned of a blush, I couldn’t drag my eyes away from his well- defined chest.
He must get that way from working on the ranch. Look away Amanda; don’t make an ass of yourself. I was pretty sure drool was next.
Chapter 6
CALEB
I tried to hide my smile at her slip of the tongue since her face had already gone up in flames. Poor thing she didn’t know what to do with herself.
One thing was for certain; she wasn’t what I’d first believed. Not skittish at all I was happy to notice.
Maybe what I’d noticed earlier was just the natural reticence of any beautiful woman, when meeting a strange man for the first time.