Normal, everyday sounds of life on a guest ranch.
But his life wasn’t normal anymore. Would never be normal again.
Soft footsteps came down the path, and Kelsey’s perfume reached him.
“Is Maddy okay?” he asked, opening his eyes as she walked inside the paddock.
She nodded. “She’s fine. She’s with my mom and your dad, holding court.”
“Good,” he muttered, relieved. “Anyone else hangin’ around out here?”
Kelsey scanned the area, then met his gaze again. “No. So what’s really wrong?”
“I think the binding on my leg busted. If I move, it’ll come off.”
“Oh.”
“Can you help me to the toolshed?”
“Sure. Come on,” she said, and scooted in close to him, wrapped her arm around his back.
He tried not to lean on her, but he had to shuffle and hold on to his leg. Don’t let it fall off out here. Last thing I need. Every step felt like a burning hot poker shoving up through his thigh.
“Okay, hang on, and I’ll get the door.” She scooted out from under his arm to open the door, then came right back to him.
They shuffled inside the toolshed, and he pointed at the stool by the worktable against the far wall. Finally, he could sit down. The bindings chafed his leg, and he was pretty sure some had ripped apart.
Kelsey stood back, hands on hips. “Okay, what do you need?”
“Thanks. I’ll take it from here.”
“Nash, let me help.”
“No,” he growled. “Just leave me alone.” He bent over, rubbed the back of his neck, hoping she’d hurry up and leave.
“That won’t work with me, you know.”
He turned his head enough to squint up at her. “What won’t?”
“Growling at me, pushing me away.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Yes. You are. You’re grousing at your brothers, your dad...it won’t work with me. I’m in this for the long haul, so you might as well get used to it.”
There went her spunk again. I hate spunk, he thought, even as he admired her for it.
“Just need to get this rewrapped and I can get out of here. Go on and take Maddy home.”
He saw her pink tennis shoes, covered in dust and hay, move closer, into his line of sight. Jeans so old they had worn patches of white covered her legs, and he scanned up to her narrow waist. The short-sleeved blue T-shirt had seen better days, too.
He sat up slowly, which raised him to eye level with her breasts. On the small side, he thought and couldn’t help but wonder what they looked like. Tipped in pink?
She folded her arms across her chest, and he jerked his eyes up to see her frowning. Her mouth was kicked up to the side, and that little freckle on her upper lip drove him crazy.
“What are you doing?”
“Just trying to figure out how a little thing like you can be so damn stubborn, obstinate and bossy.”
“I took a class in med school.”
He chuckled, and the smile crossing her face lit her up.
“Come on. Let’s get you taken care of. I do need to take Maddy home.”
Nodding, he reached down to pull the leg of his jeans up. The thick fabric bunched, and he couldn’t get it up all the way.
“Just take your jeans off. It’d be easier to fix the binding, wouldn’t it?”
“I’d rather not strip down in front of you.”
“Oh, get over yourself. I’m a medical professional.”
Black dots danced in front of his eyes, and the back of his head tingled. “I’m just a missing leg to you, aren’t I? One more job. Well I have news for you, Miss Medical Professional. I’m a man, dammit, and I barely have a shred of pride left.”
Just get this over with. He fumbled for the button on his jeans, and he stood up enough to unzip them. Balancing on one leg, he started pushing them down, then overbalanced and started pitching forward.
Kelsey rushed in front of him, but his momentum was too much, and he fell forward, pinning her against the worktable. The binding shifted again, and he felt the prosthesis sliding. He froze, trying to stay upright.
Shock and pain ate at him, and rage that he’d ended up this way.
Gradually, he became aware that Kelsey was rubbing her hands up and down his back. The movements soothed him, and the red haze clouding his vision slowly receded.
She was a little thing, but it sure felt good to be pressed against her body. He breathed in, and the scent of some kind of flower drifted to him, just barely noticeable over the smell of saddle soap, oil and grease.
He leaned his head back a little to look down at her. Her lower lip was caught between her teeth, and her eyes were wide, staring up at him. Sliding his hands down her body, he cupped her butt and lifted her up onto the table.
Pure instinct drove him now, and he kissed her. Her lips were soft, and she tasted fresh and clean. He dived deeper, and she whimpered, her mouth opening to let his tongue in.
He felt her grip his shirt and she shifted, wrapping her legs around his hips.
“Kelsey,” he rasped, sliding his mouth across her jaw, down her neck. Heat seeped through her jeans, and with his briefs the only barrier, his body hardened.
She was holding on to him now, so he wrapped an arm around her waist to hold her still and slid his hand beneath her T-shirt. Her skin was smooth and satiny, warm, and he wanted to touch her for days.
Drowning in the sensation of this woman, the sound of a shout outside the shed barely penetrated the fog in his brain.
Kelsey wrenched her mouth away from his, her breath coming in gasps. “Nash, stop. Let me go.”
His own breath heaved, and he pulled back. She scooted out from between him and the table.
“That shouldn’t have happened.”
He hung his head, willed his body to cool down. It didn’t work. If he’d had two good legs, he’d already be buried so deep inside her... Instead, the first woman he actually felt something for was telling him she didn’t want him.
“Come on, let’s get your—”
“Get out.”
“It’ll only take a sec—”
“I mean it. Get out now,” he growled. “I don’t want you here anymore. I don’t need you.”
“Nash...”
“You’re fired.”
Chapter Seven
Kelsey slammed the toolshed door behind her and stalked up the sidewalk toward the main house. She needed to calm down, so she tried some deep breathing and paced in a circle, kicking up dust. Nash’s words echoed in her head, but the feel of his mouth on hers, his hands on her body, wouldn’t let her calm down. Scrubbing a hand over her mouth to rid herself of his taste didn’t help, either.
She wanted to go back in there and finish what he’d started.
Why hadn’t she realized her body was so starved for a man’s touch that she’d be turned on by that cranky, grouchy, stubborn, gorgeous hunk of man?
That’s all it was. She hadn’t been with anyone since Rob died almost three years ago. Normal, physiological, biological needs. That’s all it was.
If that’s all it was to her, she would’ve slept with someone since then. But she’d never been one to sleep around with just anyone. Rob had been her first—and her last. A stab of guilt pierced her heart, and her throat tightened.
She stopped pacing and stared up at the blue sky. Her body still ached where Nash had touched her, her lips still tingled. Clutching two fistfuls of hair, she yanked, hoping to dispel Nash’s face looking at her with so much raw sexual desire.
She shook her head and tried to picture Rob, but his face was blurred around the edges.
“Hey, Kelsey.”
She jumped, pressing a hand to her stomach when she saw Hunter in front of her. “Hey.
”
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t look it.” He frowned. “My big brother being a di—Er...a pain in the rump again?”
She relaxed a little. “You could say that. He just fired me. I really need this job.”
Hunter rubbed a hand across his jaw. “Well, seein’ how it was my dad who hired you, I don’t think he can do that.”
She thought about it a minute, then grinned. “I guess you’re right.”
“Come on up to Dad’s house, and we’ll get some lunch.”
She looked at her watch. “I need to get Madison home.”
“You both gotta eat, so come on up. There’s always plenty of food.” He slung an arm around her shoulder and steered her up the path.
A loud bang had her glancing over her shoulder, and she saw Nash standing in front of the shed, staring at her. He limped over to his truck, grabbed his Stetson off the hood, then climbed in. The truck roared to life, and he backed up, then sped down the driveway.
Guilt pricked at her. She should have stayed and helped him.
They reached Angus’s house and went inside to the kitchen. She still marveled at how big it was, with all the most up-to-date stainless steel appliances. The exposed wood beams and log walls made the kitchen seem much cozier.
Angus sat by the fireplace, holding Maddy on his lap. He and her mother were talking to her daughter, who was laughing. When Maddy saw her, she scooted off his lap and hurled into her arms. “Mommy!”
She gathered her baby girl up and held her tight, shaking as she recalled how close she’d come to being trampled.
Angus stood up. “Is Nash okay? Does he need to go to the hospital?”
“No, he’s fine,” she said, keeping her face buried in Maddy’s hug. She was torn, wanting to fill him in on Nash’s condition, but still needing to respect her patient’s wishes. It wasn’t right of him to keep this huge thing from his family. But, not my place to judge.
Angus soothed a big hand over Maddy’s back. “Madison has been telling me that Nash scared her today, and the other day, too. He shook his leg at her. Did he kick at her?”
Oh no. How do I answer this? “That’s not what happened, sir. Maddy had run off from our picnic the other day and came across Nash at a pond.” She covered Maddy’s ears as best she could. “He was swimming and didn’t have any trunks with him. Had to scramble to cover up,” she whispered. Please buy it.
“She didn’t see anything—” Concern etched his features, and she relaxed. That he cared enough to ask made her like him all the more.
“Oh no. It’s okay. I’m going to take her home now and explain things. She has a tendency to run after butterflies.”
“It can be dangerous on a ranch with trucks, horses and wildlife all over the place.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you for watching after her. Hunter, thanks for the lunch invitation, but we need to get going.” She turned to her mom. “You coming home, Mom?”
Bunny looked at Angus and blushed. “Angus has invited me to lunch and then a movie in town later on. I’ll see you at home tonight, sweetie.”
“Okay, see you later. Have fun, you two.”
She glanced at Angus, surprised to see an almost-smitten look on his face as he gazed at her mother. Would wonders never cease? Her mom looked much the same. Hunter caught her eye and winked.
Picking up Maddy’s bag, she packed them into the car and drove toward the cabin. Once there, she settled Maddy on the sofa.
“Sweetheart, we need to talk about something, okay? Put your baby down for a minute.”
Madison set her doll down next to her and folded her hands in her lap.
“The other day when you saw Mr. Nash at the pond, you got really scared, right?”
Tears gathered in Maddy’s eyes, and her lower lip trembled. She nodded.
“Well, Mr. Nash was hurt trying to protect some people, so Mommy is here to help him get better.”
“Is he sick?”
“Well, no, not exactly. Some bad people hurt him, and now he doesn’t have a leg anymore. He has one made of metal to help him walk. That’s what you saw him holding the other day.”
Maddy cocked her head and looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face. “What’s metal?”
Kelsey looked around the room and saw the poker by the fireplace. She stood and reached for it, then sat back down. “This is metal. Feel how hard it is?”
Maddy reached out and gently poked at it. “Uh-huh. This is what he has now instead of a leg like mine?”
“It’s just made like this, but it looks a bit different for him. Mr. Nash doesn’t want anyone to know he has to use a metal leg now, so it’s a big secret. Do you remember what a secret is?”
Maddy nodded, her face very serious. “It’s like when Grandma kissed Mr. Angus and told me it’s a secret.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened, and she fought not to laugh. “Yes, I guess that would be a secret, too. Just don’t tell her you told me, okay?”
“Does Mr. Nash hurt when he walks?”
Her daughter had it right on the nose. “Yes, his leg really hurts him, so I’m trying to help him. But he hurts inside, too. He’s a hero, and tried to protect lots of people, but he doesn’t see it that way. And today, when you ran into the corral and that big horse was in there, he tried to protect you.”
“He’s not mad at me?”
“No, sweetie. He was scared that you would be hurt by the horse. That’s why he ran so fast to you.”
Madison looked down at her fingers. “So he was a hee-row today, too, right?”
“He sure was.” Stroking a hand down Maddy’s black hair, she ran her fingers through the tangles. She could never repay him for saving her little girl, but she’d find a way to try.
“I hope he feels good soon. I don’t want him to be hurted.”
“I know you don’t. And I don’t, either. So will you help me?”
Maddy nodded. “I want to help, too, Mommy.”
“Okay, good. And remember, it’s a secret. You can’t tell anyone, even Grandma. Remember?”
“I won’t tell.”
“And as for you, you can’t go running off anymore, okay? There’s too many bad things that can happen to you. I know you love butterflies, but you have to stop chasing them. There are some big animals out here, and cars and trucks, and they may not see you in time to stop. Promise?”
“Okay, Mommy.” Maddy yawned and picked up her doll. “Baby needs to go to sleep now. She wants me to lay down with her.”
“That’s a good idea. You carry your baby, and I’ll carry mine.” She picked Maddy up and took her to the bedroom. She snuggled her tight, then laid her down. “Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you, Mommy. And Baby does, too.”
Kelsey watched her, thankful Maddy was fine.
Now if only she could figure out what to do about her grouchy patient.
Without losing her heart in the process.
* * *
NASH’S PHONE DINGED the next morning, and woke him up. He fumbled for it on the nightstand, and read a text from Kelsey.
Rise & shine, Cowboy. Therapy starts in 30. Meet me on porch.
He grimaced, then texted back. I fired you.
His phone dinged again.
You can’t. Get moving.
He shook his head. Hell I can’t. You’re still fired.
Ding. Another text from Kelsey. Only Angus can fire me. 25 min.
What the hell was she up to? He shoved the covers off and reached for his leg, every movement hurting. His fault for getting in the way of a nervous horse. He strapped the leg on, still wanted to hurl it across the room, but at least he was resting his leg every night. Pulling on clothes and boots, he wondered why she hadn’t quit when he gave her the chance.
Thi
rty minutes later, he opened his front door, surprised to see Kelsey sitting on Bubba, one of the horses their more advanced guests used. She held the reins to his own gelding. “What’re you doing?”
“I’m going riding. What does it look like I’m doing?”
“I fired you. Can’t you ever do what you’re told?”
“Since your dad hired me, only he can fire me.” She grinned, and damned if he didn’t want to laugh.
Scowling instead, he stroked a hand down Thunder’s nose. “You said I wasn’t ready to ride.” Remembering their kisses from the day before, he added, “Horses, that is.”
A blush of pink colored her cheeks. “There will be no more of that. I’m a professional. That’s why I’m here. Not to let you compromise me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Compromise? What is this, Victorian London?”
The blush on her cheeks deepened. “I fell asleep reading a historical romance last night. But you know what I mean. We need to keep this professional. Got it?”
“Got it.” He reached inside the door and grabbed his Stetson, clapped it on his head, anxious to see if he could do this. He shut the door, then limped to the steps, but hesitated.
“You probably don’t want to hear my advice, much less do it, but I think if you mount from the step, it’ll be easier this first time.” She guided her horse next to Thunder’s side and handed him the reins.
Guiding his left leg into the stirrup, he grabbed the pommel and slung his right leg over the saddle. The horse shifted, and a small tremor ran through Nash. Sweat broke out on his brow. What if he wasn’t ready for this? What if he would never be ready for this? All he wanted to do was get back on a horse and prove he could still do his job on their ranch.
“How’s that feel?”
“Fine,” he snapped.
Without another word, Kelsey clicked to her horse, and they turned toward the path leading to the trailhead.
A Family for the Rancher Page 7