“Lambs?” Katie’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Cool. I’ve never seen one up close.”
Max grinned, wincing slightly because of his split lip. “You want to see one up close, look at your hamburger the next time you eat one.”
“That’s beef,” she replied smugly, “And stop being so gross.” She looked at Clayton. “When do we start?”
“Tomorrow, if it’s okay with Lucy.”
Yeah, right, she thought. Now he defers to my opinion when he’s all but given them a bed and three square meals a day! Neighbourly or not she wasn’t just going to let him steamroll into her life and turn it upside down.
Katie smiled at Lucy’s nod. “What time?”
“I’m usually up and at it by about six.”
Max gulped. “In the morning?”
Katie’s bright smile faltered for the first time. “Are you out of your mind? The sun isn’t even up then.”
Lucy chuckled. “How would you know? You’re never awake that early.”
Katie looked horrified that it might actually be true. “I’m guessing.”
Clayton bit back a smile. “I’ll meet you at the house at ten.” Their relief was almost comical.
“Enough, back to bed everyone,” said Lucy.
Thomas glanced at Clayton then back to Lucy. “You’ll be okay?”
Touched by his concern, she smiled. “Of course. McKinley and I need to talk about a few things.”
Katie gave Clayton an assessing look. “See you in the morning…boss.” She tugged at Thomas’s hand and they followed Max out of the kitchen.
“Why did you offer them jobs?” Lucy asked as soon as the kids were gone.
Clayton sat back in his chair. “Lady, you bring new meaning to the word suspicious.”
“Compliments won’t get you anywhere, now answer the question.”
“You probably think I did it so I could get close to you.”
“Did you?”
He cursed softly and brutally mashed a piece of cake with his fork, looking back at her when he felt more in control. She stared at him with assessing eyes. “What I did here tonight I did for those kids. Not only can I keep them busy but they might learn a thing or two. I may even get Max over his fear of horses. They’ll never be idle, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t want them hurt.”
“I’ll keep an eye on them, make sure they stay out of mischief.”
“I meant emotionally.” She sipped her coffee. “What Gerry said tonight, about the kids being strays. I don’t want them to hear people saying those things,” she said, reining in her anger. “They deserve a chance. They need to be accepted.”
Her words touched him, the strength in them, the fire in her eyes. Did these kids know how much they were loved? he wondered.
“They won’t hear any of that garbage over at Cable Downs. I only have four men on the payroll and they’re all good blokes. Once I introduce the kids, the men know to act accordingly.”
Lucy wished he didn’t sound so sincere. It just made it more difficult not to like him. And Lucy was determined not to like him. Neighbourliness was one thing, but liking opened up a whole other can of worms that Lucy knew should stay very firmly closed. She emptied her cup and looked over at his. “Finished?”
Clayton grinned. “Is that your subtle way of telling me it’s time I was going?”
She raised an imperious eyebrow, trying to ignore what that smile did to her insides. “If subtle worked with you I would be upstairs asleep and you wouldn’t be here.”
He feigned a wounded look. “You mean to say you’d send me out on a night like this with just one cup of coffee under my belt?”
And that tack wouldn’t persuade her either. “Thomas would say I was doing you a favour.”
Truth be told she was right. After that one mouthful, he wasn’t expecting to get any sleep tonight. How the hell he was going to finish the whole lot he didn’t know. But he thought of it as a test. Though he’d like to know what she used to put the coffee in the percolator. He was guessing garden spade. A large one. He looked down at his plate and then back to her, grinning. “I’ve got cake left.”
Lucy sat back, hoping for that bored, unaffected look Lisa did so well. “Then I suggest you eat it.”
Oh, he would. The cake was world-class compared to the coffee. He waved his fork in her direction. “Give me a chance, Lucy. I’ll grow on you.”
Give him a chance? Not if she had one ounce of self-preservation in her body! “I don’t even know you.”
His gaze pinned her with undeniable challenge. He aimed to change that as soon as possible. “What do you mean you don’t know me? I help damsels in distress, children like me…and I drink your coffee. I think that last one should qualify me for some kind of bravery award. What more do you need to know?”
How to get you out of my life before you become a complication I can’t afford, she thought ruefully. “You haven’t finished the coffee yet,” she reminded him smugly. “And what do you mean bravery award?” She frowned. “Are you saying my coffee’s lousy?”
“Of course not.” And he wasn’t lying. It left lousy in the dust. Lousy gave the impression it could be improved. Clayton doubted anything short of an exorcism could make her coffee fit for general human consumption.
“It’s getting late,” she pointed out.
Clayton grinned. “I’ve got an idea.”
“What you’ve got is a hide thicker than any rhinoceros.”
He smiled again and this time she couldn’t muster a defence for it. She had to get him out of her kitchen, out of her house…and then she had to avoid him as much as possible. Either that or try to forget he was the reason they put the S in sinful.
“I’ve never had any complaints about the state of my hide, Lucy. I think you should wait until you have firsthand knowledge of it before you make rash statements.” He smiled as he purposely reached for the mug and drank the coffee. He hoped his medical insurance was up to date. How much did a stomach pump cost? he wondered.
Lucy leaned her arms on the table and met his gaze with a direct one of her own as he put the mug back on the table and finished off his cake. This was something they needed to get out of the way right now. “We’re neighbours. You’re helping the kids to feel more at home here and I appreciate it, but we are never going to be more than that.”
So, she could tell he was interested. That was a good start. “Never is a long time, Lucy. Are you sure you don’t want to renegotiate the time frame?”
She stood up. “Go home.” He put the fork on the plate along with his mug then pushed to his feet, still grinning as if he was having the time of his life. Great…just great! That was definitely the combination she needed in a man. Drop-dead sexy, lethally charming and annoyingly persistent.
“Don’t you want to know my idea?”
Lucy scowled. “Do I get a choice?”
“No.”
She glared at him. “Fine, as long as it gets you out of my house.” His smile wasn’t triumphant enough to be a smirk but it came darn close.
“Do you ride?”
Lucy didn’t trust his casual tone. She just knew there was a trapdoor here somewhere. She hoped she saw it before it was too late.