Taylor took hold of his arm to steady him as he regained his balance, swallowing drily as his hard muscles flexed beneath her palm. As soon as he was on his feet she let go.
“Thanks.” He held out the dog. “You want to keep him until morning?”
“Are you kidding?” she asked, ruffling the silky curls behind the dog’s ear. “Max will eat him.”
“Probably so.” He cradled the poodle against his chest.
“Although… I could probably keep him safe from Max if you didn’t want a roommate tonight.” He gave her a quizzical look, and she shrugged. “I like dogs.”
“Me, too.”
“Hey. Something in common.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t sound so thrilled.” She reached for the poodle, and he relinquished his hold. The little dog pressed his warm little body into her. He was panting hard from his evening’s work.
A grudging smile lifted the corners of Cole’s mouth. “I’ll call Mrs. Clovendale in the morning. Deliver Chucky back home when I make my grocery run.”
“Maybe you’d better take him,” Taylor said. “I don’t want Max’s feelings to be hurt.”
“Sure. We can finish watching The Caine Mutiny together.”
“I love that movie.”
Cole gave her a sideways look. “I got it out of Karl’s DVD collection.”
“If you look in his VHS collection, you’ll find it there, too. We watched it at least once a summer. I have no idea why I like it so much, but I do.” And she halfway wished he would invite her to watch the movie with him, even though for reasons of sanity, she would say no.
They were almost to the bunkhouse when Cole stopped walking. “Name your five favorite classic movies of all time.”
“Classic meaning…?”
“Before the year 2000.”
Taylor lifted her chin, squeezed her eyes shut. “Tough one. Uh… Anything with Rodney Dangerfield. Wizard of Oz. The Right Stuff. Goodfellas. The Caine Mutiny. The Thin Man.” She opened her eyes. “Did I pass the test?”
“Not the math portion. That’s six.”
“Eighteen if you count all the Rodneys.”
“Yet you’re in finance. I think I’m starting to see the problem.”
Taylor’s lips twitched despite herself. “Careful, Mr. Bryan.”
He smiled that devastating smile of his—the one she didn’t see very often, and almost wished she wasn’t seeing now. “Couldn’t resist.”
She cocked her chin sideways. “I was good at my job.” It was important to her that he know that.
“I believe you.” He sounded sincere.
“Why?”
“I read about the professional papers you wrote and the industry award.” Taylor gave him a thoughtful look, which he met without one trace of apology. “Long evenings. I also research weed control.”
“Ah.” One corner of her mouth crooked up. “So I shouldn’t read anything into the research?”
“I’m just curious about my tenant.”
“Do you feel as if you’ve learned everything you need to know?”
“Now that I know about your predilection for Rodney Dangerfield movies, I think I’m good.” His hand stroked over the poodle’s back, and Taylor focused on the movement rather than meeting his eyes. A crackling tension was building between them—one that had nothing to do with online searches and comedy movies. It was Cole who broke the tension by reaching out for the poodle. “Thanks for watching out for the calves.”
“Oh, I’ll take on a marauding poodle any time of the day or night.”
“Good to know. Consider yourself on call until Mrs. Clovendale’s sister goes home again.”
* * *
SHE LIKED RODNEY DANGERFIELD.
That spelled trouble.
He’d asked about movies hoping she’d spout off the names of some foreign films, or say she never watched old movies anymore. No such luck. They both liked dogs. They both liked classic movies…and she did have okay taste in that area, although he’d never been a fan of The Wizard of Oz. Those flying monkeys still freaked him out.
They had a few things in common. She wasn’t exactly what he thought she was. So what?
Cole leaned his head back against the sofa cushions and idly stroked the dog, who was now snoring on his lap. A half hour ago, he’d swapped out The Caine Mutiny for Caddyshack, which he watched on mute. He didn’t need sound, because he’d seen it so many times.
And he could probably be sitting here with Taylor right now, enjoying the movie, which could lead to…trouble.
He didn’t see any way around it. If he pursued things with Taylor, then he would be pitting his new livelihood against an awakening interest in a woman whom he didn’t want to be interested in. A woman who, by her own admission, wanted to live in an urban environment. A woman who would complicate his life just when he was starting to get it sorted out. Did he want complications?
No.
But that didn’t keep his thoughts on the straight and narrow.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Taylor was cool and controlled in bed. Business Taylor? Or did she let go, as she did when heaving a T-post through the air? Farm Taylor.
Maybe a mixture of the two? Maybe she started out businesslike and then slowly lost control.
Or maybe she took control.
That would be good.
He sucked in a sharp breath. He really needed to get laid.
Or better yet, he needed to get a grip. She was hot. He was horny. But he wasn’t sixteen. He could deal.
He needed to distance himself, get things back under control.
Yeah. While working shoulder to shoulder. No problem there. He reached for the remote, turning the sound back on in time to hear a gopher laugh like a dolphin.
The reason he’d searched online for her the second time, three nights ago, was because he was looking for reasons to squelch his burgeoning interest in her. The reason he’d confessed was because he hoped that she’d accuse him of stalking or something. She hadn’t. Probably because she’d researched him pretty carefully herself.
So what now?
Distance.
The
