Читать книгу Falling for Texas - Jill Lynn - Страница 13

Chapter Five

Olivia knocked on the Maddoxes’ screen door the next Thursday, the sounds and smells of dinner wafting into the evening. An afternoon thunderstorm had provided a break from the stifling heat, and she welcomed the slightly cooler air whispering across her skin. Olivia had seen Cash a few times this week—at a fund-raising event, church and last night’s game. Amazingly, she’d managed to avoid falling into the man’s arms for the past seven days. The two of them had also kept any conversations at parent-teacher level and mostly centered on Rachel. Now, if Olivia could just keep up the same track record tonight.

“Come in,” Cash called from the kitchen and Olivia let herself in, finding him taking a pan out of the oven. And no sign of Rachel. Hopefully the girl was just upstairs...though now that Olivia thought about it, she hadn’t seen her Jeep outside.

Cash set the pan on the stove and threw her an apologetic look. “It seems my sister has decided she doesn’t need any help tonight. She never showed up after practice. I’m sorry. I would have called you, but I hoped she was just late.”

Olivia took a step backward. If Rachel wasn’t here, then she had no reason to stay. “No problem, I’ll just head—”

“To the table.” Cash strode across the kitchen, placed his hands on her shoulders and propelled her into a chair. “You drove out here. The least I can do is feed you.”

When Cash went back to the stove, Olivia resisted popping up from her chair. She shouldn’t stay. Not if Rachel didn’t need her help. But...what if the girl showed up and Olivia had already left? She should probably give her a few minutes.

Cash tossed a blue-and-white crocheted hot pad on the table and then moved back toward the counter. “Tell me about your day.”

Olivia shoved down the swell of sweetness that phrase caused her to feel.

“After last night’s win, I thought practice would go great. Instead, the girls were distracted messes. I’m not sure why. I made them run lines for the last fifteen minutes. Guess I should call my dad and get some advice.”

“Is he a coach?”

“Yes. At a college in Colorado Springs.”

Cash whistled. “Now it all makes sense. Were you born with a volleyball in your hand?”

“Not quite. I didn’t start until fifth grade. At that point, I was already inches taller than the boys in my class. I decided to take advantage of it.”

He set the steaming glass pan on the table along with a container of sour cream and bowl of guacamole. “You’re in for a treat. Laura Lee makes the best enchiladas.”

“If the smell is any indication, I believe you.” Yum. Cooking for herself, Olivia hardly ever took the time to make anything that looked or smelled like this.

“But I’ll have you know, I prepared the guacamole myself.”

Olivia grinned and nodded toward an empty plastic container on the counter. “Really? Looks like Wholly Guacamole made the guac to me.”

Cash filled two glasses with water and ice from the fridge door. “I didn’t say I made it. Just prepared it.” He approached the table, expression suddenly serious. “Lying is not something you’ll ever catch me doing. I am not a fan.” His voice took on an edge that Olivia had never heard before.

Interesting. Olivia wasn’t a fan of lying either, but she didn’t feel the need to say it out loud.

Cash placed the water glasses in front of their plates, his mischievous smile returning. “I took the guacamole out of the freezer, where Laura Lee put it, defrosted it and put it into a bowl.”

Olivia laughed. “Since that’s more than one step, I’ll give you two points.”

“Accepted.” Cash sat to her left and reached for Olivia’s hand. She startled, having forgotten this habit of his, then tried to catch up when he bowed his head to pray. He acted as if this hand-holding thing were no big deal, as if it shouldn’t make her heart crawl into her throat and miss the prayer completely. When he finished, Olivia picked up her fork and said a silent prayer of her own before digging into the food.

Their conversation during dinner didn’t require any effort. It just felt...easy. And wasn’t that the problem with this man? But she was here to help Rachel, not fall further into friendship with Cash. Although Rachel taking herself out of the equation made that hard to accomplish.