looked at the crutch she held up. “I don’t need it. I just didn’t want it in your way.” He sure looked relieved when he sank onto the chair, though.
“So what, it’s just for decoration?”
“I meant I didn’t need it for this short a distance.”
“Ah.” She leaned the crutch on the island where he could reach it.
“Hey, I’ve been doing everything the physical therapist instructed me to do. You think I wanna stay benched? Every rodeo I sit out costs me money and a chance at the finals.”
Kylie darted him a look but he’d shut down. His expression went blank. “You must be ranked high to be thinking about the finals.”
He shrugged. “I was doing pretty well until this happened.” He gestured to the injured leg and practically snarled. “Talk about lousy timing.”
“I can’t imagine there’s ever a good time for a broken leg,” she said, and went to the sink and washed her hands. “I, on the other hand, do have a timing issue. I need to have this order ready by twelve-thirty.”
Landon looked at the old clock on the wall beside the pantry and smiled. The picture of a fancy cupcake was captioned with I Bake in big bold letters, followed by so I don’t strangle people in a dainty cursive used to hang in her kitchen. “You still have that.”
“I tried getting rid of it but somehow it just wouldn’t stay in the donation box.” Her laugh ended in a sigh at the sight of the mangled cupcake. “Too bad you don’t like chocolate cupcakes.”
“Who says I don’t?”
“Are you kidding? I must have made thousands of cupcakes over the years, and I don’t think you touched a single one of them.”
“Only because I knew you were filling orders. I didn’t want to screw up your count.”
She hadn’t yet iced the six extra she’d made for the display case, so she snitched one from under the dish towel, then turned to Landon. “Well, you were the only one.” She should’ve known, she thought. Landon had always been considerate like that. And Gary, who should’ve been supportive of her fledgling home business, well, he’d been just as bad as the rest of his thoughtless buddies.
At times he’d treated her like his personal maid, minus a paycheck. And what had Kylie done about it? Nothing. She’d made excuses for him, to herself, to her friends, to her mom...although that was easy. Her mother never had a problem giving a man a pass.
Thinking back to those horrible days shamed Kylie to her core. She couldn’t bear to imagine what Landon had thought of her lack of backbone. And then to make things worse, she had a sudden flashback to that day she and Landon had almost kissed.
At the memory, her cheeks flamed. Why did her brain have to dig all that up now? This was exactly why Kevin was the right kind of man for her. She’d always know where he stood, and that job emergencies notwithstanding, when he’d be home each night.
“Kylie?” Landon’s tone suggested this wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get her attention.
Finally she looked at him, but it wasn’t easy.
“What are you gonna do with that?” he asked, nodding at the ruined cupcake. “I’d be happy to take it off your hands.”
“I thought you watched what you ate.”
“Yeah, well, I’m allowed to cheat now and then. Especially when something smells this good.”
Kylie heard the jingle of the bell over the door and handed Landon the cupcake. “I’ll be right out,” she called as she took off her apron.
“Take your time,” Joe Hopkins replied in a gravelly voice.
“Stay here while I talk to Joe.”
Landon put his hands up. “Whatever you say.”
She didn’t believe that for a minute.
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