Designs on the Cowboy

But as she called to the boys to come help, it took more concentration than it should have to put a stop to those lustful thoughts.

* * *

FROM THE BARN, Dylan watched as the kitchen cabinets were carried inside, knowing he should be helping, but he’d been avoiding being in Glory’s vicinity as much as possible. Not that it was easy. She was there every day except Sunday, from early morning to late evening. It hadn’t taken long to learn that she brought her lunch and ate while she worked. People had called him a workaholic, but they obviously hadn’t seen her doing her job. At least he took time off for his dinner.

He was wondering what it was that drove her when his brother pulled in with the trailer behind his pickup and parked at the gate to the pasture. Dylan waited until Luke reached the barn to speak. “Any trouble?”

Luke shrugged. “A little with that one heifer, but she finally realized she was going to have to leave her baby behind, if she didn’t get in the trailer. It didn’t take long after that.”

“Yeah, I bet it didn’t.”

Turning in the direction of the house, Luke asked, “So how’s the redecorating going?”

“Is that what it’s called?”

Luke looked over his shoulder. “I guess. That’s what Hayley calls it, at least.”

Dylan nodded.

“It’s going okay?”

“I don’t pay a lot of attention,” Dylan answered. It was a lie. The truth was that he’d never intended to, but he did. A lot more than he liked. He didn’t know much about decorating, but he knew at what point she was with the work in each of the rooms.

Except the upstairs bedrooms.

“She’s working upstairs,” he admitted.

Luke faced him, his eyes wide. “Yeah? What’s she doing?”

“I’ll be damned if I know. Stuff. All I know is that when Jim White was tearing out the old kitchen cabinets, she started asking questions about upstairs.”

“You’ve been up there?” Luke asked.

“Just up the stairs,” Dylan admitted. “She ordered me to stay out of the rooms.”

Luke’s eyebrows shot up. “Ordered? She ordered you?”

“Pretty much.”

Luke ducked his head. “Glory never struck me as someone who ordered other people around. It’s like she just wished it and it was done.”

When he looked up, Dylan could see that his brother was trying not to laugh. “Yeah, well, people change,” he grumbled.

Laugh was exactly what Luke did, loud and long. “That’s pretty obvious, at least where Glory’s concerned.”

“Right.” Dylan didn’t want to talk about it, and he couldn’t look his brother in the eye when he said, “Let’s get these cattle unloaded, instead of gossiping like a couple of old women.”

He noticed a look on Luke’s face that he couldn’t quite understand, but he ignored it as they went to work. After they were done unloading the cattle, the two of them went into town for lunch. Instead of going home when they finished, Dylan stopped by his brother’s house to spend some time with his nephew. He was amazed at how much Brayden had changed since Hayley had come into their lives. They were happy. Whenever he saw them all together, he’d have one of those “maybe someday” moments. Not that he thought he’d ever be a family man. He’d spent almost half his life working with his brother to make their ranch a success. And they had. He’d given up everything but ranching when his parents died, believing that was what they would have wanted. He owed them that much. There’d never been time for relaxing or even taking a woman out for dinner, but he hadn’t thought about it. Until now.

Back at his ranch again, he managed to keep busy in and around the barn until it was getting too dark to see. He knew Glory was still working, but he’d run out of things to do to keep him away from the house. There was nothing left but to go inside and clean up. If he was lucky, Glory would be too busy upstairs to know that he’d come in, and she’d be gone by the time he’d showered and changed.

The kitchen was beginning to look as if it might survive the war Glory had waged on it. While it didn’t look like the picture he’d seen, it had the same feel. Not that he needed that kind of kitchen. But now that Glory was making changes, he was beginning to think his sister had done the right thing when she’d hired Glory.

As he searched through the boxes in the dining room for a glass, he heard Glory’s footsteps on the stairs. So much for that drink he’d planned to have.

“Oh, you’re in,” she said, stepping through the doorway and into the dining room. “Are you busy? Can you spare me a minute?”

“Sure,” he answered, in spite of the wariness he felt.

Her smile was tentative and shy, and not at all like her. Then it was as if she shook it off and became the self-assured woman who’d walked into his kitchen three weeks before. “I’d like to show you something,” she said, pointing toward the stairs behind her.

“Up there?”

She nodded. “It won’t take long.”

He shrugged. “Lead the way.”

Following her up the stairs was an exercise in strength. It took everything he had not to watch her move from step to step. She always wore well-fitting jeans, but the view from just a few steps below nearly made him break out in a sweat. He was more than relieved when they reached the top and the view was more normal. Not that normal had been easy for him recently.

But being upstairs brought its own reaction. Until earlier that day, he hadn’t been on the second floor for years. He took a deep breath and focused his attention on Glory while he spoke in what he hoped was a normal voice. “What is it you wanted to show me?”

Her wavering smile reappeared. “I’ve finished the first bedroom, and I’d like to get your opinion on it.”

He couldn’t imagine why she’d need to know what he thought. After all, he hadn’t known the difference between Oyster and Creamy Ivory or even cared to. “I’ll do what I can.”

She opened the door to the room at the top of the stairs and walked in. He followed her, not knowing what to expect, but once he was inside, he could barely speak, except to say, “Wow.”

The expression on her face as she looked at him was priceless. It was clear that his approval was important. He wasn’t going to lie. There was no need to. “Wow,” he repeated.

She moved farther into the room. “That’s the same thing Brent said this morning.”