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plenty of company? Noah wanted to ask. Why didn’t she get on her horse, ride off and leave him alone?
    If Noah was smart, he’d do more than ask her those questions. He’d tell her outright that he didn’t want her around here messing with his mind, making him feel things he didn’t want to feel. But he couldn’t bring himself to utter any of those things to her.
    Just seeing her again was making his heart thump with foolish pleasure. Hearing her sweet voice was like the trickle of a cool stream to a man lost in the desert. He couldn’t forbid himself those pleasures. Even if they might eventually hurt him.
    â€œWell, it just so happens I have enough food to share.” He gestured toward the open door. “If you’d like to go in, I’ll see about making another patty for the grill.”
    â€œThanks. I would like.”
    Noah followed her inside the cabin and moved to one side as she stopped in the middle of the room to glance curiously around her. He could only wonder what she thought about the log walls, low-beamed ceiling and planked floor, much less the simple furnishings. But then, he’d not invited her up here for a visit, he thought. She’d invited herself.
    â€œThis is cozy. And so much cooler than outside,” she commented, then glanced at the short row of cabinets built into the east wall of the room. “Those are nice. Did you help build them?”
    Did she actually believe he might be that talented? The idea very nearly made him smile, but he stopped himself short. What the hell was he doing? He didn’t smile at women. He didn’t even like them. Not after the hell Camilla had put him through.
    â€œI helped measure and hammer a few nails, but not much more than that. When it comes to carpenter work I can do a few repair jobs, but nothing major.”
    She said, “I made a little doghouse once with the help of my grandfather. It turned out pretty good, but the darned dog never would get in it. Probably because Grandmother kept letting him in the house.”
    The main ranch yard of the J Bar S sat just across from Jett’s house. While Bella had lived there, Noah had often spotted her going to her car as she left for work in the mornings. And sometimes late in the evening as he’d dealt with barn chores, he’d seen her return. She would always be wearing dresses and high heels and carrying a leather briefcase. With that image fixed in his mind, it was hard enough to accept she was a competent horsewoman, much less imagine her using a hammer and nails.
    â€œSounds like your grandmother spoiled your project,” he said.
    â€œNot really. My cats used it.”
    He inclined his head in the direction of the windows. “I don’t get much sunlight in here. I’ll turn on a lamp.”
    â€œDon’t bother on my account. I can see fine.”
    Noah wasn’t having any trouble seeing, either. Yet he was having a problem deciding if the vision standing in his cabin was real or imagined. Other than Jett and a couple of the other ranch hands, he’d never had visitors up here. And bringing a woman home was definitely off-limits. How Bella had managed to be here was a different matter. But she was here just the same and for now he’d try to deal with the situation as best he could without being rude.
    â€œHave a seat. The couch is a little hard. You might find the chair more comfortable.”
    â€œThanks, but I’ll sit later. Let me help you with the hamburger meat. I can make the patty.”
    She followed him over to the kitchen area and though she stood a few steps away from him, Noah felt completely smothered by her presence.
    â€œI’ll do it,” he told her. “You’re a guest.”
    Laughing softly, she leaned her hip against the cabinet counter. Noah tried not to notice how her jeans hugged the ample curve of her hips and thighs and the way her blouse draped the thrust of her