In Bed with the Rancher

by Sara Orwig

  He’d seemed as surprised as she was and she was certain it was every bit as unwanted a reaction to him as it was to her.

  Telling herself to stop thinking about him, she hurried back to join her neighbors and thank Molly for bringing her nurse kit to tend to the stranger’s cuts. Ava was relieved that she wouldn’t have to do that task. The mere thought of taking care of his back or shoulder, or any other part of his anatomy where he had been injured, made her pulse race again. She banished the thought as she rejoined her friends.

  “You’re the greatest neighbors to go out in this storm to come by and meet him, in addition to bringing food, clothing and first-aid care. Thank you both.”

  “We’re glad to do it,” Molly said.

  “I feel better meeting him,” Gerald added. “I can’t recall why he looks familiar, but I have a real strong feeling we’ve met before.”

  “That’s good news, too,” she said. “Right now he knows nothing about himself.”

  She looked out the window at the storm, which hadn’t let up. “I hope your kids aren’t afraid with both of you gone. That wind is fierce and the rain is still teeming.” As if to emphasize her words, a streak of lightning lit the outside. Shortly, thunder boomed again and wind whistled around her house.

  “The kids don’t care. They’re super good at entertaining themselves and, fortunately, both like to read, so they’re either playing a game or curled up to read or comforting my grandmother over this storm,” Gerald answered. “She’s the one who will be scared out of her wits.”

  Thunder boomed and the sharp click of hail drowned out conversation for a moment. Gerald went to the window and then disappeared briefly. In a moment he returned. “Look at the size of this hail. This is slightly bigger than the other we had,” he said, crossing the room to show them. “There will be roof and window damages with this storm.”

  Molly gasped, picking up a hailstone that looked the size of a golf ball.

  “It’s already let up,” he said, taking the hailstones to the kitchen to toss them into the sink. “I think this storm will make the news,” he said when he returned.

  “Thank goodness the hail didn’t last long,” Ava said, looking at the window.

  “Your dinner is in the fridge now,” Molly reminded her. “And, of course, you know you both are always welcome at our house if you’d rather stay there.”

  “Thanks, Molly. I think we’ll be fine.”

  She heard boot heels scrape the floor as Bill Smith walked into the room.

  “I feel infinitely better after that shower,” he said, entering the room, and Ava’s pulse jumped. His hair was neatly combed. He wore jeans Gerald had furnished and his own boots, now with the mud scraped off and cleaned.

  “Thanks again for the clothes, Gerald. I’m glad to get out of the others. Except for my shirt, which I threw into the trash, I brought my wet clothes with me in case I can throw them into a washer if you don’t mind. I washed the mud off the clothes, so if you’ll tell me where your washer is, I’ll put these in.”

  He was bare-chested and he looked strong and fit with bulging muscles and tan skin. Thick black hair curled across the center of his chest. He still had the dark shadow of facial hair on his chin and jaw. She looked up to meet his gaze. Had he seen her looking so intently at him?

  He held a hand towel pressed against his shoulder. “I’m sorry to bleed on your towel,” he said to Ava and then turned to Molly. “If you want to look at my cuts, this is the time.”

  “Go into the kitchen near the sink,” Ava said. “The light is good in there and you can pull a chair over or you can go back to his suite. It has a big bathroom.”

  “I know the way,” Molly said, crossing the room. “C’mon. We’ll put your clothes in to wash and then I’ll see what I can do for you.”

  Ava watched the stranger leave the room. He had muscles, something else that might indicate ranch work. “I’m glad Molly’s here to patch him up.”

  “If you’re worried about staying here with him,” Gerald said, “both of you can come stay at our house, like Molly said, or he can go home with us.”

  “I’ll be okay.”

  “Once again, I honestly think I know him. It’ll probably come to me in the middle of the night. With this storm and the area we’re in, I won’t be able to text or call you if I do remember, but if I know him, he’s an okay guy. I don’t know the other kind.”

  “A rancher seems likely. I saw his pickup when he jumped out of it. It was one of the big ones.”

  “I’ll pick him up tomorrow and let him look at my horses. If he’s a rancher, the horses might jog his memory.”

  “That would be nice if it works out, but if we’re still having storms, don’t come out.”

  He grinned. “I wish my horses would tell me that,” he said and she smiled.

  Soon Molly and the stranger returned. It was difficult to think of him as Bill Smith because that really wasn’t his name. Now he wore a long-sleeved blue denim shirt that Gerald had brought. His arms were slightly longer than Gerald’s and his shoulders were broader, so the sleeves were short. He had the shirt tucked into his jeans and his shirt had the top three buttons undone. His injured shoulder was bandaged, with only a tiny part of the bandage showing. He was handsome and the sight of him, even with his blackened eye, forehead bump and bruises, still took her breath away.

  “I feel better. Now if I just can remember who I am, life would be great.” He turned to Molly. “Thanks for coming out in the storm to help and for tending to my wounds.”

  “Glad to do it,” she said while Gerald put on his hat and coat and held out Molly’s slicker for her while she slipped into it.

  Bill turned to Gerald. “Thank you for bringing the clothes. I appreciate it. In this storm that’s a big deal.”

  Gerald put his arm across Molly’s shoulders. “I didn’t want to wait for the rain to let up because from the predictions, we’re supposed to have three big storms move through here. I think this is still storm number one.” He turned to Ava. “We’ll go, but if you want us for any reason, turn on your yard lights. We can see them and if it’s late at night, turn them on and then step outside and fire three shots into the ground. The dogs will bark and all the ruckus will wake me. I’ll hear them and come over.”

  “I think we’ll be fine.” She followed them out to their vehicle while her guest stayed behind in the house.

  Molly turned to her. “I gave him instructions on things to do, take it easy, take care of himself. No alcohol. He shouldn’t sleep right away. He has everything written so he can show you. Here’s a short list for you,” she said, giving Ava a torn piece of paper. “This isn’t my area of expertise, but I think those are things he should do. He was interested and seems cooperative.”

  “Thank you so much for all you’ve done tonight. I wouldn’t have known how to help him.”

  “You would have done okay,” Molly said, smiling. “We better go.”

  Gerald paused once he opened the truck door. He looked back at Ava. “I meant what I said about firing some shots,” he told her.

  She smiled. “I don’t think I’ll need to do that. I think you’re right about him being a rancher.”

  Gerald nodded. “I agree. I may remember who he is or at least where we met. We need to know and he needs to know.”

  She waited under the porte cochere until Gerald drove into the storm and his taillights disappeared in the darkness and the rain.

  When she went back inside, once again, it was just the two of them. Her and the stranger. She was confident that Gerald knew him and would eventually remember how and where, and she wasn’t afraid to have him as a guest. She was far more afraid of her own reactions to him, of the unwanted, fiery attraction she felt that drew her to him, a connection that was pulling her in.

  Her worry was, alone with him, could she resist his charm a
nd sex appeal?

  Three

  When she rejoined him in the large living area, he turned from the window and gave her a smile. And that’s when Ava knew exactly how hard it would be to resist this man. Whoever he was.

  “Ava, I can’t thank you enough for coming back for me today. Not everybody would have done that.” He walked toward her and his focus was intently on her eyes. “I’m very grateful.”

  Better he be grateful from a distance, she thought, sidestepping him and turning toward the kitchen. “No problem. How about that dinner now? Are you ready to eat?”

  “That sounds great. Let me help.”

  Not only did she want her space, but she also remembered Molly’s directions. “You should take it easy. I’ll get everything on and you can sit and watch. Molly told me you shouldn’t sleep right away and no alcohol. She gave me a list of foods good for you and, fortunately, what they had for dinner tonight is good for you—bass.”

  “Yeah, she told me when she worked on my shoulder that the bass is great.” He flexed his shoulder a bit. “My shoulder doesn’t bother me as much as my head and my memory loss. I hope she’s right that the memory loss won’t last.” He followed Ava into the kitchen. “I can help you get things on the table, at least.”

  As she took dishes out of a cabinet, she said, “No way. You sit and watch.” Only when she turned did she realize how close he had been standing behind her. She was caught again by those deep brown eyes as her gaze locked with his, and she was swamped by another moment of intense awareness. Another moment of desire. She should move, look away, do anything except what she was doing—standing immobile, barely able to breathe, her heart racing. But she felt trapped in his gaze. Her pulse drummed when she looked at his lips—he had a well-shaped mouth that took her breath away even more.

  “I don’t know why this happens.” She thought she’d only said it to herself, until his eyes flared. “I—I think you should go sit across the room.”

  But he didn’t move. He held his ground and held her gaze. “I don’t know why this happens, either. But I’m your guest so I’ll do what you want. But we may be missing something here by our restraint. After all,” he said in a husky voice, “a kiss isn’t a commitment. And this is a good night for a kiss.”

  His head lowered toward hers, but to keep him away, she placed a hand on his chest—a hard, muscled chest that did nothing to douse the desire that was burning inside her. “I think we should stick to restraint,” she cautioned, making herself say the words. “We can’t go wrong with restraint.” She felt like she was lecturing herself instead of him. Her words were breathless. How could he ignite desire by just looking at her and standing close?

  He paused a moment before he spoke. “Your call,” he said, then turned and walked away. As he crossed to the table, she let out her breath. She watched him pull out a chair and sit to face her.

  “I’ll get dinner on,” she said, aware her words were still spoken breathlessly. She was acutely conscious of his dark-eyed gaze following her as she got out dishes to set two places.

  “I don’t have any memory of my life. You, on the other hand, remember your life full well. So tell me about yourself. Is there a man in your life?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “I find that difficult to imagine,” he remarked dryly and she had to smile at him.

  “I was engaged and we broke it off and I really haven’t wanted to go out with anyone since that happened.”

  “May I ask why you broke the engagement?”

  “Sure,” she said, avoiding looking at him and trying to sound casual, busying herself with removing the containers from the fridge. “Actually, he broke the engagement to marry someone else. That was early last spring. I really haven’t wanted to go out with anyone since then. That may change someday, but right now because I got hurt, I’m not ready for a relationship.” She stopped to look at him and smiled. “Definitely not with anyone who doesn’t know his identity. I’m sure you agree on that one.”

  “Oh, yeah—I don’t want to have complicated my life in the meantime.”

  While the fish and vegetables reheated, she set a tossed green salad on the table, along with tall glasses of water for him and for herself.

  His fingers closed around her wrist, stopping her and holding her near him. “This may not be the time to pursue it, but you can’t deny there’s something between us. Something that comes out of the blue. I won’t forget it, Ava, and I know there may come a time to explore it a little.”

  She didn’t deny it, knew she couldn’t, not when he could feel her pulse jump and race as she looked down at him. “I’ve never had it happen with a complete stranger,” she whispered and he flashed that smile that made her heart pound and made her want to step closer to him. “I better move away right now,” she said breathlessly without moving an inch. He stood, putting him even closer to her. Mere inches were between them and his gaze held hers and stole her breath.

  “Damn, I wasn’t going to do this,” he said in a husky whisper. “We both just agreed we wouldn’t, but I can’t resist when you get me wound up with just a look. I know full well you don’t even want to have that effect.”

  “No, I don’t,” she whispered. They stared at each other. She couldn’t move or look away.

  “You don’t want to step away any more than I want to. Just say to hell with it,” he whispered and closed the last tiny bit of distance between them. He paused just long enough for her to put her arms around his waist, then he took her into his arms and kissed her.

  As if she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings, she turned her mouth up to his and closed her eyes.

  When his lips brushed hers lightly, longing burst through her with a hungry need for more. While she tightened her arms around his waist, her lips parted. His tongue ran over her lips and common sense vanished.

  As she pressed against him, her tongue slid over his and then his mouth came down hard and possessively. She had never been kissed this way in her life, nor had such an explosive reaction to a kiss. She wanted to kiss him the rest of the night. He leaned over her, his strong arms holding her. She felt his erection pressing hard against her as she clung to him.

  She didn’t know how long she held him and kissed him, until finally, reluctantly, she got her wits together and pushed slightly against him. He straightened to release her. They both gulped for breath as they stared at each other.

  “We have to stop,” she said. “Neither of us wants the problems kisses could lead to,” she said quietly. “After what I’ve been through in my broken engagement, I don’t want more stress or hurt in my life.” Her words were a whisper and she didn’t know whether she was telling him or herself.

  With an effort she turned and walked away from him, leaving the room to put more distance between them. Her lips still tingled from his kiss. Every inch of her body wanted to be back in his arms, kissing him, being held tightly against his marvelous, strong male body. Desire was intense, but so was caution and memories of how badly she had been hurt not so long ago.

  She crossed the hall to look into a mirror. “You are headed for more than a wagonload of trouble. Kiss him again and it’ll be a trainload of trouble,” she whispered to herself.

  She didn’t want to be attracted to him for too many reasons. He had no idea who he was. He didn’t want to succumb to the attraction any more than she did—maybe a degree more because he was the first to give in to it.

  But, oh, what a kiss. Her lips still tingled, her body was hot, she ached for his arms around her and his hard, muscled body against her.

  “Sheesh, Ava,” she whispered and made a face at herself. “Use your self-control. Do you want another broken heart? No, absolutely not. No, no, no,” she told herself. So why couldn’t she stop thinking that was the sexiest kiss she had ever experienced?

  She threw up her hands. She should go down
the hall to her suite, lock the door and not see him until tomorrow morning, when she would hopefully have forgotten his kiss. Who was she kidding? She’d never forget it, but she needed to resist kissing him again. The minute this storm was over, the water would recede quickly. As soon as she could get back to town, she would take him straight to the sheriff and let the officials take care of him and help him learn his identity. No one lived in a vacuum. And the stranger who had just kissed her senseless was no exception.

  What she needed to worry about right now was keeping a distance between herself and him. She didn’t want to think about his kisses that had made her heart pound with desire, excitement and a hunger for more. A lot more. She had to avoid him. She didn’t want another heartbreak, didn’t want to complicate her life. She looked at herself in the mirror. “Can you go back and eat dinner with him and keep away from him?” she asked her image. “I can. I have to,” she replied. Taking a deep breath, she turned down the hall.

  “I’m back,” she said, getting the fish from the oven and getting their drinks and the rest of their dinner on the table.

  Sitting across from him, she looked at him. “Kisses won’t happen again,” she stated firmly, telling herself as much as informing him. “I think you agree—that wasn’t the smart thing to do. Neither of us wants another emotional complication in our lives at this time. Right?”

  “I’m the one who lost it. I don’t want to get into a relationship when I don’t even know who I am.” He nodded. “You’re right.”

  “So, then, no more kisses. Let’s just eat our dinner and move on,” she said, passing him the platter with the fish.

  “I apologize for losing control,” he said as they shared the tossed salad, baked potatoes and carrots Molly had provided.

  Ava looked into his midnight eyes and shook her head. “No, you don’t need to apologize. It won’t happen again, but believe me, you don’t ever have to apologize for that kiss.” She felt her cheeks flush and looked down because she was getting back on dangerous ground. She didn’t want to think about the sexiest kiss of her life or that he sat only a few feet away.