Читать книгу Night Hawk онлайн | страница 13

Nodding, her heart was racing, but it was with joy this time. “I know I’ll love working here, Mr. Holt.”

“Call me Talon,” he said, sitting up in the chair. He rested his arms on the desk. “The wranglers’ lockers are located in the big red barn, next to the tack room on the main floor. Just grab one and put all your gear in there.” He looked at his watch. “My wife, Cat, is a paramedic. She works at the local hospital three days a week. She’ll be home at 5:00 p.m. We’ll eat at six sharp, in the kitchen. Cass is a helluva chef. The guy missed his calling and he should have gone to chef school. He’d probably have his own TV show by now.” Talon grinned. “We’re lucky to have him.”

“Your mother seems to really like him. He’s very kind and gentle with her.”

Talon lost his smile. “My mother’s just gotten through her last round of chemo and radiation. This is her second go-around with breast cancer.”

Kai winced. “Oh, no...” She saw the pain in Talon’s darkening gray eyes. He loved his mother very much.

“There may be days,” Talon said more softly, “that me or the foreman might ask you to do a little caregiving for her instead of being out riding fence. Would you be up for that?”

“Of course. I like Sandy. She’s very kind.” Like her son, she thought. The joy bubbling through Kai was fierce, like a tsunami, and she tried to keep a serious face because of the worry she saw in Talon’s eyes. “I see you have a dog. He’s beautiful.”

Talon grimaced. “You need to know that he’s a US Navy SEAL trained combat assault dog. Zeke and I were together for three years before we both got wounded in a firefight. I’ll make sure to introduce you to him so he knows you’re a friend of mine, not an enemy to bite.”

Her eyes widened. “You were a SEAL?” She saw his face turn grim and she saw anguish in his eyes for a split second, and then it was gone.

“Up until about nine months ago,” he said gruffly. “I came home to take care of my mother and get our ranch back on its feet.”

Nodding, Kai felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes. “I would never have thought you were a SEAL.”