Alex held out a hand and smiled. "Your picture doesn't do you justice. You're much more beautiful in person."
The color returned with a vengeance. Flowery words. She ran a hand through her hair. She must look a sight. Had she even combed her hair this morning? And what about her clothes - all wrinkled and dirty. Was he mocking her, or did he think she was naive enough to believe his outrageous flattery?
She accepted his hand and gave him a saccharine smile. "Why thank you. I labored all day to look like this. It's nice to meet someone with such a discerning eye."
Tiny lines materialized around the dark eyes as his smile broadened into a grin. A large dimple formed in the upper part of his right cheek, lending character to the smooth features.
"A beautiful blond with a quick wit?"
His humor was infectious. She tugged her hand from his and grinned, shrugging one shoulder.
"Go figure."
He nodded at the doe, sobering. "Do you need help?"
She eyed his clothes skeptically. In that garb he'd make a better spectator than anything else. "No. Why don't we go in for lunch? The roast should be done by now. You two go ahead while I put this stuff up."
Her last thought as she watched him open the door for Katie was that he'd make a good pinup. Shaking her head, she deposited the supplies on the counter. She kicked her cowboy boots off and pulled the mud boots on. At best he was going to be a distraction - at worst he would be one more thing to stumble over in the barn. Not that he was going to spend much time in the barn, anyway. The barn represented work, and by the look of him and the feel of his smooth hands, he knew how to avoid physical labor.