Cade leaped from the couch as she entered. "Here. I'll get that." He took the wood from her arms and dropped it into the wood box. "You don't need to be carrying heavy things and getting out in this weather. I'll do it."
"It's all right. I enjoyed the fresh air and I even found a potential friend. Did you know you have a cat in the wood shed?"
He made a face. "He comes in through a hole in the floor. I guess I'll have to put something over it. The offspring of some stray, I guess."
"Well, at least you won't have mice in the woodshed."
She watched as he added more wood to the fire and stirred the coals up with the poker. "Do you ever feed him?"
Another sour look. "You start that and he'll hang around for sure."
She dropped to the floor in front of the fireplace and crossed her legs. "I take it you don't like cats."
He squatted beside the fire. "I take it you do."
She shrugged. "It's your ranch. If you don't want me to feed it, all you have to do is say so."
He jabbed at the fire a few times. "I don't care. If you think he'll make good company, go ahead and feed him." He stood and returned the poker to its holder. "Just don't try to tame any of those black kitties with the white stripes down their backs."
She stared up at him. He was obviously making a joke, but she would never have guessed it from the expression on his face. He looked so tall, standing over her that way. She shifted her attention to the fire and rubbed the beginnings of a crick from her neck. Working for Cade might not be as dull as she had first thought.