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Every nerve in her body was antsy. There was nothing about her mental state that was normal. And for what? A man who didn’t even like her? She needed to shut down that thought process before it turned even more dangerous.
It had been far too easy to empathize with the man. That was where her problems started. It would be wise to keep her distance from this point forward—as much as someone could, given the situation.
The back door banged open, then closed, and she jumped.
Right, she’d invited him for breakfast.
Why had she done that?
Agatha placed both her cool hands on her flushed cheeks as she faced the window in the kitchen. She could hear the heavy footfalls of his boots as he made his way from the mudroom toward the kitchen.
The second he entered the main living space, she set to work. Eggs. Bacon. Toast. She gathered everything she needed and prepared a quick breakfast that any cowboy would be happy to eat.
But the second she sat across from him at the kitchen table, she immediately regretted her decision—just not for the reasons she would have thought.
Zeke’s demeanor had changed from the stiff, guarded cowboy outside to someone entirely different before her. He’d removed his hat and placed it on a hook near the door. His hair was mussed, but in a way that made her itch to run her fingers through it in order to tidy it up.
It was his eyes that drew her focus the most.
They were kind—the sort of eyes that made her feel… safe.
He lifted a brow, and that was when she realized she was staring. Shoot! Agatha wasn’t doing a very good job at keeping her feelings locked away. She fixed him a plate, then set her focus on her food.
Their meal continued like that—in complete silence. Alone in her head with her thoughts, Agatha returned to what she’d been going over when they were out by the tent. If a man spent the last decade or so completely alone except for his daughters, he had to be struggling with his self-identity.
Hadn’t she done the same when she found herself single and raising her son on her own? It was incredibly difficult to shift from one mentality to another.
Well, bother! Why did she have to empathize so fully with him? It would have been so much easier to keep him at arm’s length during the rest of this process.
Something in her heart told her that wasn’t the plan. There were reasons certain people walked into each other’s lives, and this could be the very one why their paths had crossed. Zeke needed someone to show him how to find himself again.
Zeke motioned toward a small vase she’d displayed on the table. It held a few wildflowers from a walk she’d taken on the way back from her place the other day. The flowers were already looking a little shabby. She just hadn’t gotten to the point of replacing them.
Agatha waited for Zeke to make a comment regarding her stealing from him. But he didn’t. He swallowed his food and finally commented on it. “You like flowers.”
She let out a strangled laugh. “Of course I do. What woman doesn’t?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised at what some women despise out here. Most of the rancher’s wives tend to think that flowers are best kept in the ground.”
Well, there it was. The statement she’d been expecting. He didn’t want her to pluck flowers from his property. “Look, I didn’t know—”
“Evelyn—my wife—she loved flowers, too. She’d make me buy them from town every single time I went.” The sadness crept into her chest, making everything turn cold. Zeke lifted his gaze to meet hers. “I think I would have preferred something like this, though. It’s a lot simpler.” He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. Then he took his dishes to the sink.
She followed suit, making sure to rinse the dishes so they’d be easier to do when she got back from her house.
Then Zeke caught her off guard again. He took the dish from her hand, his fingers grazing hers, and washed every dish currently in the sink. Agatha only came to her senses when he handed the first one to her expectantly.
She yanked a dish towel from the counter and dried it without a word. They worked in companionable silence, neither one speaking. Discussing what the day held would likely end up in an argument, so Agatha was perfectly fine to keep her thoughts to herself. The walk to the construction site wasn’t something she was particularly excited for, but it was necessary if she planned on being there every day. When she was done, she headed for the front door but then stopped in her tracks.
Somehow Zeke had made it to the door without her realizing. He stood there, his arms crossed, as he leaned against the door like he had all the time in the world. “I don’t figure I could convince you to stay put today.” At least his voice was lighter this time, almost tender.
“Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.” He pulled away from the door, opened it, and gestured for her to leave first. “Care for a ride?”
11
Zeke
