Gawd, woman, why are you swooning?
Ha, for his behavior to be a deal breaker, they’d have to have a deal first. What deal did she hope to have with this cowboy who also happened to be great with kids and lived hundreds of miles away from her life in Austin? Ridiculous. He was hot. And today, after a good night’s sleep and a close shave, he was gorgeous, like a model. He was hiding a deeper side, she could see that, with his mother’s urn having caused him to freeze up—
She shook her head. Distracted much, Rosalinda?
“Mommy, can we go to the lake?” Sage asked again in her ear.
Taking a deep breath, she released it slowly. “After we get back to Austin, baby.”
“Okay. Bye.”
He hung up.
“Bye-bye,” she said, though he was no longer there. I love you, munchkin.
Slowly but surely, they were working on learning greetings, but Rose was used to his lack of social etiquette. She knew her dad had made him call her. How she wished she could wrap him in her arms, although she knew he was in good hands. Sage lived for visits to the ranch, where he always stayed while she conducted fieldwork. He blossomed bit by bit during the summers. The outdoors, working with the animals, helping Abuelo in the kitchen, and her father’s quiet way with the boy made a difference. Her dad was the dad her son didn’t have. The man and role model with his own teaching style, own way of showing his love that Sage craved, even if he didn’t have the words to describe his need. She loved this short stint in the desert each summer, using her time away from Sage to recharge, but being apart from him was hard, too.
She let the phone drop and spent a moment inspecting her social media app as if it were interesting to regain her composure.
“Did I interrupt something important?” Toby said, his smooth voice bringing her back to the moment. “Sorry.”
A crinkle of concern had furrowed his brow.
“No.” Here goes. “No, that was my son. I was just checking in on him.”
“Your son?” His furrow only deepened.
She jammed her phone into her desert-pants pocket. “Yeah. He’s six. He’s out at my dad’s ranch while I’m here.” She kept her smile pasted on her face. But Toby’s teasing from yesterday seemed absent now. Just as I thought, a deal breaker. Why did it feel uneasy in her stomach? “So. What can I do for you? At six thirty in the morning?”
Falling silent, his eyes traveled over her face. The flirty heat she’d seen there yesterday was gone, replaced by something else. Curiosity? Wariness? Distance?
“You can take me down to the panther shaman site, for starters,” he finally said. His eyes dipped to the cup in her hand. “After you’ve had your tea.”
He wanted to go see the site? After two summers of ignoring her entire operation?
“Sure. Have you been to it before?”
He leveled that playful smirk at her. Stupid question, Rosalinda. Of course he’s been there before. He owns this whole spread.
“I live here, woman. I used to hike these badlands as a kid. But I’d be interested in your interpretations. That’s something I’ve never had.”
Her forced smile turned genuine, though careful. “You want some tea, too?”
“You got any coffee? It’s considered polite to return a favor.”
She raised her eyebrow. So he was back to bantering, even after she’d told him about her son. Good. “Tea or water, Your Highness.”
He snorted. “Tea. I’ll take it.” He reached up to her trailer latch and opened the door, ushering her in. “After you, Doctor.”
“Why thank you.” She replied with playful haughtiness.
The trailer dipped beneath Toby’s added weight as he entered her home away from home. She moved to her water kettle, still hot with the remaining water, and held up her tea boxes. “I’ve got herbal tea…or herbal tea,” she said, turning over her shoulder to look at him. “Pick your poison?”
He grinned. “I’ll take the coffee.”
“Herbal tea coming right up.” She put the tea bag in a mug, the other of her mismatched pair of old mugs, and poured the hot water over it, then turned back around to hand it to him.
“Thanks,” he said, his fingertips brushing hers as he took it from her.