“You ain’t doing it right,” Jayden warned.
“Aw, just be still,” Kayden said, twirling the lasso with more gusto.
“You gave Kayden a rope?” Cissy shuddered at the images that popped into her mind.
Turning, she caught Dominic’s gaze transfixed to the top of her head. He rolled in his full bottom lip and stifled a smile.
“What?” Cissy glared, searching his face.
He held on to his silence, shaking his head. The smile he fought reemerged. Dimples broke out on both lean cheeks and his dark eyes crinkled at the corners.
Men. She’d given up trying to figure out their thought process a long time ago.
“Look.” She ground her teeth together. “I appreciate you giving us a room for the night but I don’t want you taking the boys off without me or my permission.”
“Wasn’t a way around that this morning.” Dominic turned to study the boys. “They ventured out before the crack of dawn. Needed something to do. And I didn’t want to wake you.”
She followed his line of sight to the boys and winced as Kayden slung the rope with bad aim. It smacked against the side of Jayden’s face and rebounded, knocking against a picture on the wall and clanging it to the floor.
“Ouch!” Jayden rushed over and shoved his brother. “I told you you weren’t doing it right.”
“Boys,” Cissy shouted, “stop that and get over here.”
They both jumped at her voice and spun, bounding down the hall toward her. Kayden halted a foot away and burst into laughter.
“Aunt Cissy, you got a Mohawk,” he cackled.
She jerked her eyes upward. A few clumps of hair stood on end above her forehead, waving slightly with her movements. Oh, for goodness’ sakes. She’d been in such a panic to find the boys she hadn’t bothered to comb the rats’ nest.
Face burning, she groaned and dropped her eyes to her wrinkled shirt. She’d worn her clothes from yesterday to bed, and they were rumpled almost beyond recognition. And she’d torn out of the room in such a hurry she’d left her shoes behind.
This had to be a nightmare. She wiggled her unpolished toes against the gleaming hardwood floor just to be sure she was awake.
“Here,” Kayden called. A sharp tug on Cissy’s wrist had her at eye level. “I’ll fix it.”
“No, Kayden, wait.”
Dominic’s deep tenor and heavy footsteps registered right before Kayden jabbed his hand in her hair, fingers snarling in her bangs.
“Ow.” Cissy grabbed his wrist and yanked, but something sticky snagged every strand.
“It’s the syrup,” Dominic whispered softly into her ear as he gently untangled Kayden’s hand. “They just had pancakes.”
She peeked at him from the corners of her eyes. His chiseled jaw was fresh shaven and the soft scent of soap and detergent accompanied each of his movements. His deep chuckle rumbled at her side, the heat of his palm caressing her scalp sending a thrill down her spine.
“Thanks,” Cissy mumbled. She stepped away and smoothed a shaky hand over her matted hair.
“The pancakes were awesome, Aunt Cissy.” Jayden reached her side and wound his sticky fingers through hers. “Ms. Betty cooked some for you, too.”
“Ms. Betty?” Cissy couldn’t help but smile at his excited expression.
“Head chef,” Dominic answered for him. “Though she refuses the title. Ms. Betty’s been heading up the meals here for years.”
Cissy nodded, eyeing Kayden. His knuckles tightened around the rope, wiggling the end that trailed along the floor. She stooped, grabbed it with her free hand and tugged.
“Have you been torturing your brother with this all morning?”
“No,” Kayden said, pulling.
Cissy narrowed her eyes and gave it a firm jerk. He snatched back.
“No, ma’am,” Kayden reiterated, chin jutting. “Ain’t had time to. Mr. Dominic took us out on the paddleboats before breakfast and showed us everything. They have a pool, and game room and—”
“Lots of horses,” Jayden added, leaning against her hip. “They have lots of horses, Aunt Cissy.”
“Uh-huh.” Cissy relinquished her hold on the rope and nudged the bedroom door open with her heel. “Why don’t you two go on in the room and wash up?”
“But Mr. Dominic said he’d let us pet the horses.” Kayden frowned in concentration, winding the rope up in his fist. “He said they have painters and nickels.”
Kayden whipped the rope out against the floor with a sharp snap, causing them all to jump.
“Easy, now.” Dominic reached out, big palm up, for the rope. “And they’re paint and quarter horses,” he stressed with another dimpled grin.
“Yeah. That’s what I said.” Kayden’s face puckered in affront but he handed over his prized possession with no resistance.
Cissy fought to keep her jaw from hanging open. Who would’ve thought this handsome, muscled flirt would be so good with kids? Most men only thought of kids as a nuisance. They dropped tail and ran at the sight of them.
Jayden squeezed her hand. “Mr. Dominic promised we could feed the horses.”
“Regardless—” Cissy bent and steered the boys by their elbows through the door “—we all need to freshen up a bit. And I’m sure Mr. Dominic has other things to do.”
Dominic cocked his head and shrugged. “Well, I did promise them. And I try not to break my promises.”
His deep tone made her blood rush. It was husky and warm. The kind of voice a woman would expect a man to have first thing in the morning, his arms wrapped around her and his body hard.
Cissy firmed her mouth. Promises. She’d made one of those, too. And so far, she hadn’t delivered. She had to get her feet back under her, regain her focus and avoid distractions. She averted her gaze from Dominic’s knowing eyes.
All distractions.
“Yeah,” Cissy muttered, “most men try not to break promises. But they’re usually not successful.”
Dominic’s bright smile dimmed.
Cissy cringed at the bitter tone lacing her words. He’d been nothing but kind and she was being an ungrateful guest. Crystal would’ve kicked her square in the rump right about now.
She dragged a hand across the back of her neck and regrouped before speaking with more care. “That was nice of you to offer. But I’d hate to interrupt anyone’s day.”
“It’s not an interruption.” Dominic moved closer, bracing his hand on the door frame above her head. “I’ll bring your bags up and tell Ms. Betty you’ll be down soon. After you’ve had some breakfast, we’ll head out. I’ll show you around.”
Cissy deliberately avoided the bulge of his biceps and focused on a point over his broad shoulder.
No distractions. If she had any sense about her, she’d turn him down flat.
But she couldn’t disappoint the boys. It was rare for the three of them to be able to spend a day of leisure together. And lately, a day where she wasn’t dragging them around in search of work from sunup to sundown.
“Okay.” Cissy paused at the threshold. It was best to be straight with him from the get go. She clarified over her shoulder, “For the boys. I’d hate to disappoint them.”
“I’ll take it.”