Читать книгу Night Hawk онлайн | страница 8

Kai nodded, fascinated with the family dynamic. Unlike her own, no question. Sandy was the matriarch. Cass was protective of her, for sure. And as Talon turned and gave the dog a hand command, Zeke leaped up, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and ran down the long cedar hallway toward the screen door ahead of him.

Cass handed Kai a cup of coffee. “Might as well be relaxed. Come on, I’ll show you to Talon’s office. That’s where he’ll interview you.”

Grateful for Cass’s warmth and thoughtfulness, she followed him out of the massive living room and kitchen. It was an open-concept area. Down another hall, Cass led her into a small office. There, he gestured to a chair in front of a massive oak desk that looked to her to be at least a hundred years old. She sat, holding her coffee between her hands.

Cass hesitated at the door and said, “Now, just be yourself. And don’t call him ‘sir.’ He was in the military, but he’s out now. Okay?”

“Yes, si— I mean, yes, I’ll remember.”

Cass nodded and said, “You’ve got mechanic’s hands.”

Dumbfounded, Kai stared up at him.

“I was in Special Forces, a sergeant,” he said. “I was the mechanic in our A team. You can always tell someone who works around equipment.”

“Really?” she asked, still in shock that he could tell by just looking at her hands.

“Sure,” he said, “short, blunt nails, calluses on the insides of your fingers, and the skin around your nails is darker, indicating oil or other fluids you’ve been handling.” He grinned. “Hey, be proud of it. I tried to talk Talon into letting me go finagle those sick pieces of equipment in the barns, but he needed me because I’m good at numbers.” He laughed.

A little shaken, Kai wondered what kind of ranch this was. Talon had been in the military. Cass had been an Army Special Forces operator. She was a vet. Did he hire vets? Her hopes rose sharply. Kai heard the thunking of Talon’s boots along the hall. Her heart rate went up. Setting the cup on the desk, she pulled out her résumé from her pocket and unfolded it, placing it on the desk where he would sit. What would he think?