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a hopeless cause. Maddie had given up on Trey Walker.
    â€œI think I’ll put my things away now. Thanks, again.” She moved past him, heading down the hallway.
    â€œDinner’s at eight.”
    She swirled around. “Oh, I don’t expect you to feed me.”
    â€œYou have to eat.”
    â€œI…I guess I didn’t think—”
    â€œKit and the guys are off tonight, so you’re stuck with my cooking. With any luck, I’ll manage not to poison the both of us.”
    Now that’s encouraging, she thought. “What’s for dinner?”
    â€œStew?”
    â€œI’ll help and don’t even dream of refusing the offer. It’s the least I can do. After all, you’re putting me up and allowing me to keep my practice running on your property. I certainly don’t expect to be waited on. I want to pull my weight around here. Besides, I don’t have a kitchen anymore and I sort of miss cooking.”
    Hands on hips, Trey stared at her. “Are you through?”
    Maddie’s mouth dropped open. “Uh, yeah.”
    â€œMeet me in the kitchen in an hour.”
    She gulped then nodded. She couldn’t tell if Trey was amused or annoyed at her little outburst. She had to remind herself that he was a man who wasn’t accustomedto having a woman around and he was probably already sorry he’d agreed to their deal.
    Â 
    â€œThis is hardly poison, Trey.” Trey watched Maddie polish off her second bowl of son-of-a-gun stew. “And I never figured you for a liar.”
    He arched a brow. “Liar?”
    â€œYou can cook. I mean really cook. You had the meat marinating in this wonderfully delicious sauce and then, you did this amazing thing with the spices. I’ve never had better stew.”
    â€œYou helped,” Trey said, standing to take his plate to the sink.
    Maddie immediately rose and gently grabbed the plate from his hand. “All I did was cut up potatoes and carrots. Essentially, you made the meal, so I’m going to do all the cleanup. It’s the least—”
    â€œI know, it’s the least you can do.”
    â€œYes, so please sit down and I’ll pour your coffee. It’ll take me only a minute to have this kitchen back in order.”
    Maddie brought him a mug of steaming hot coffee—cream, no sugar, just the way he liked it. Trey decided to sit, rather than argue. He sipped from his coffee and watched her bustle about his kitchen. Wasn’t too often a woman graced his kitchen. In fact, the last time he could recall was when his father had married wife number four and they’d held the wedding here at the ranch. Then, there’d been a wagonload of women in the kitchen, caterers and servers alike, cooking up the wedding feast.
    The marriage had lasted all of ten months. Hell, Trey couldn’t even remember the gal’s name exactly. Elisa, Elena, something with an E.
    â€œHow’s the coffee?” Maddie asked as she bent down to load the dishwasher.
    Trey’s gaze fastened on the derriere pointing in his direction. He couldn’t quite help watching the wiggle as she shifted to make room for more plates. He had a tantalizing view of her backside, and petite as Maddie was, everything she had was perfectly proportioned. Her tank top pulled up as she bent and a slice of skin appeared in the gap at the small of her back. The combination of her wiggling behind and that particular delicate area, newly exposed, caused Trey a moment of grief and that grief was growing harder by the second.
    â€œCoffee’s fine,” he managed.
    She closed the dishwasher door and lifted up, thankfully. Trey gulped down the rest of his coffee, landing his mug down on the table with a thud.
    Maddie appeared before him with the coffeepot in hand. “Another cup?”
    Before he could answer, she leaned over to begin pouring. That damn silver horse she wore around her neck caught his eye as it