by Ashlee Price
Her tale was so incredible that no one said a word when she had finished. Although many of Paul’s questions were not answered, it was starting to make more sense. Paul got up and poured everyone some more coffee to drink. “I don’t know what to say Katie. I never go there. It was actually Colt that found you. It was like he knew you were there, going straight towards the woods.”
“However you found me, I am thankful you had. It had been a long night and when I saw you there, I thought I was imagining you all of a sudden. It was pretty surreal.”
Paul couldn’t imagine such a dainty looking woman doing any of what she had described, but the marks were there to prove it. It made him realize that there was far more to her than what had initially met the eye. Paul was even more intrigued, silently hoping that she would stay a little while and he could get to know her better.
Chapter 4
“I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay Paul.”
He waved her off. “I insist. You are in no shape to be traveling and this old house always has an extra room available nowadays.”
It was well past ten and he was helping her into the bed in the downstairs spare bedroom. It was the easiest place for her to get around, but Paul had promised to get her some crutches in the morning to help her move around. Since Carol wasn’t a regular doctor, she didn’t have anything like that to use. Paul knew of a friend down the road that had used some for a time and he hoped that he had held onto them.
Once he had her in bed and nothing else needed, Paul stole over to Jimmy’s house and after a few beers and chat, went back into the spare room and laid the crutches against the night stand so she could use them in the morning. He found himself looking down at her sleeping form, the innocence in the open expression making her seem younger than he knew her to be.
She moved and made a small sound in her sleep, reminding him he was not supposed to be there with her. Paul walked back out, fighting the urge to move the red curl out from her face. He finally went to the kitchen to clean up after dinner. Scott was already in there and that was more surprising than anything else that had happened that day.
“What are you doing in here? I don’t think you have washed a dish since it was your chore when we were kids and you didn’t have money to pay me to do it.”
Scott chuckled. “It’s woman’s work. I keep telling you that you need to get a maid in here, then none of us would have to do it.”
Paul didn’t say anything. He knew that Scott was not the type and as soon as he was close enough, he handed him the wash rag. “So what were you doing in there?”
His head moved towards the rom he had come out of. “I was bringing her those crutches, but she was already sleeping.”
“What are we going to do?”
“About what?” Paul didn’t understand what he was talking about. “You can help dry and then I am going to bed. We still have work tomorrow.”
Scott nodded, but it wasn’t the subject he wanted to talk about. What he wanted to talk about was the woman in the other room. “I am talking about Katie.”
“What do you mean? She is hurt and can stay as long as she likes.”
There it was and Scott pounced. “So you want her to stay?”
Paul turned the water off and sighed loudly. “What are you getting at?”
“Just admit that you are in love with her.”
Scott felt almost jealous that she was not for him and the way Paul looked at her. H wanted to feel that way as well, but there was something holding him back. He had never felt that way for his girlfriend and he was starting to feel the empty need that Paul had talked about. Scott was happy for his brother, but at the same time he wished it for himself as well.
“I don’t even know her, but I will admit I feel something for her, some kind of draw.”
“It’s like what Marcel described isn’t it?”
Paul finished the dishes, not saying anything else until they were all put up. “Are you trying to tell me that you have never been in love Scott?”
Scott hadn’t, but he wouldn’t admit it. There were a couple of times that he had thought he was, but it was lust. When Marcel had talked about his new wife, there was never a time where either brother could say they had felt that way. Paul wasn’t sure what he felt, but he knew that it wasn’t something he had experienced before.
“I don’t know, have you?”
“Once, but it didn’t work out.”
“And what of Katie? Is she open for me to try for?”
Paul’s blue eyes narrowed and his brother laughed at the sudden change of his expression. “That’s what I thought.”
Scott left the room and didn’t help with the rest of the cleaning, he never did and Paul was left to think about his brother Marcel and how much he wanted what he had. Paul had always lamented that there were no women around that he wanted, but that was no longer true. It didn’t come into his mind then that she was not from there and when she was better, would surely be back to her life that he had no part of.
He didn’t want to think about that though. All Paul wanted to think about instead was the possibilities that could come from it. He wanted more than anything to feel the way he did in that moment, forever.
***
Paul stayed around the house as much as he could. He chose to train one of the horses in the closest stable, instead of taking care of the fences. When Scott told him that he would take care of it instead, he was relieved beyond words. It was trying to ignore the woman still asleep in the house. He knew that she needed time, but he had so many things to ask her and he wanted to know everything. As the day wore on and he still hadn’t seen her, Paul started to worry and he finally went back in.
He heard a sound coming from the back of the house where she was and as he got back there, he was shocked to see her trying to get dressed. She had dropped a crutch and only had gotten her undergarments on by the time he had come in. Katie was balancing on one leg, trying to reach it when he came in and made a sound behind her.
“Paul?”
He was backing up when he heard his name, trying to look away because he knew he was supposed to. It didn’t matter though, her body burned into his memory always. “Sorry I was just coming to see if you needed help with anything. I didn’t realize you were not dressed.”
“Don’t go, please hand me that crutch. I was trying to get it, but it’s just not happening.”
She looked back and saw the look on his face. “I’m pretty much covered. About the same as if I was at the beach.”
Paul tore his gaze away and moved to get the crutch that had fallen away from her. “Here you go.”
“Thanks Paul. Always coming to my rescue.”
Their hands touched briefly and he was frozen to the spot. Was he supposed to offer her more help?
“Did you uh, need anything else?”
She shook her head, but then changed her mind. “I was wondering if you had anything I could wear. Anything would work, but my clothes are so dirty and torn, I just don’t want to put them back on. It took almost an hour to wash it all off of me. I don’t think I’ve ever been so dirty in my life.”
“Well you look great.”
His eyes were back on her long, curvy body and the panties that were too thin to be worn on the beach. She was standing towards him now and the bra was like the panties, far too thin to be having any kind of conversation with her. Katie finally cleared her throat a little and he remembered that he was supposed to be getting her something to wear. There was plenty of clothing from his sister and in laws that seemed to be left at the ranch for them and going upstairs he quickly found what he was looking for. She was about the size of Leanna and she had several cotton dresses that would fit her fine. In truth, he wanted to see her in it.
He went back upstairs and ended up helping her put on the dress. Paul was made uncomfortable by the time the deed was done and he had to get out of there to give himself time to settle down his raging hormones. His body didn’t care
that he didn’t really know her or that she was hurt, he could care less. When he went back in with the first-aid kit, he was more settled, but it was still hard to concentrate with her leg in his lap.
Paul tried to keep her talking to make it less awkward, but she only had short sentences. He realized then that it was hurting her, though it looked better, he imagined it was going to hurt for some time. “Sorry, I am not trying to hurt you.”
“I know, your hands are very gentle. It hurts to even look at it, but at least it doesn’t look infected.”
“Yes, it does.”
He finally seen what was in front of him, too focused on the feel of her against him to really look before. On closer inspection, he was still surprised that she had made it that far and was still on her feet when he found her. She had an inner strength that he hadn’t usually associated with females. Unlike his brother he didn’t feel like they were better or worse, just different. Strength and perseverance were usually attributed to men, but Paul wondered if he would have been able to do the same. The only saving grace was that she had been spooked in the beginning, making her not seem too perfect to want.
“I would like to meet the person that stitched it up. I would like to thank them.”
“You will see her today if you want to try going out for a bit. She will be here at two for an appointment.” Paul didn’t mention that she was there to help with a cow that had just given birth and was having complications. Paul wasn’t so sure that she would want to know her stitches were from a vet and not a real doctor. He figured she would find out soon enough.
“That would be great. I remember her voice talking to me at one point, but I don’t remember seeing her. It was such a weird time. I don’t think I have ever fainted like that before. How did I get here?”
“I rode you back on my horse and you were out the whole time.”
She nodded and moved towards him on her crutches. Katie was getting used to them, but she was still a bit clumsy on them. “I really need to use a phone, but I didn’t see one. Do you have a cell phone I could use?”
Paul nodded that he didn’t, but he showed her on the wall where the landline was. She had passed it several times and never noticed it. Feeling silly, she didn’t make much of a comment. “Is there anything else I can get for you? Colt is still out, but he won’t go anywhere too far.”
“No, I’m good Paul. Just need to make a few calls. I was supposed to be flying back today.”
“Are you sure you are ready for travel?” He didn’t want to sound desperate, but he didn’t want her to leave either. Paul wanted her to stay forever, but he would settle on another couple of days with her for starters.
“I really am not, but I couldn’t impose on you anymore.”
“Nonsense, Katie. All you do is sleep anyways, no trouble. Stay as long as you need to. Me and Scott are out working most nights until dark, so you will have all the peace and quiet you need.” He stopped talking, realizing he was talking far too fast and starting to babble.
Katie grinned, “I might take you up on that offer for another day or two if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Paul walked out the front door smiling to himself. Her staying didn’t mean anything, but it gave him hope that it may.
Chapter 5
It had been almost a week since Paul had first found her and though she had a whole life left behind in New York, something was keeping her in the ranch in Texas. She had met the mother Elna that ran the business and a few more brothers and other family. It felt right to her there and with whatever was going on with Paul.
He was a man of few words, but his eyes and face were expressive enough that none were really needed anyways. Paul wanted her and though he was gentle and always a gentleman, there were times that he looked at her in a way that made her shiver inside. The longer she knew him, the more she wanted to stay with him, but she knew that it had to end one way or another. Her life was in New York and she too had a family company to work at. It was what she had done since getting out of college and though she loved the quiet of the country, there was a part of her that missed the hustle and bustle of city life.
She had decided that she would tell Paul and Scott that evening that she would be leaving the next day. Her family had been pushing her to come home for days and get herself looked at by a ‘real doctor’. Katie hadn’t told them that she had been stitched up by an animal doctor. She would smile to herself when she thought of her mother’s face if she knew. Katie was going to save it for a day that she needed some brightening up.
Her skill with crutches was getting better and she was moving around the kitchen to make the two brothers some dinner. It was the first time that she had really been feeling well enough to stay on her feet so long and Katie’s way of saying thank you again. The words seemed to not be enough. There was also the fact that while Paul was a good cook, she couldn’t eat beans again. The two seemed to have an affinity to them and it was driving her a bit looney.
One of the old parts of the house that she had liked was the dinner bell off to the side, mounting by the porch swing to the wall. She jangled the small metal piece against the triangle and went back in. It had a strange sound, but it wasn’t very loud and she didn’t know if it would work or not. It was still pretty early for them to be back, but she couldn’t wait to see Paul, wanting to spend as much time as she could with him before she left.
When the door flung open after a couple of minutes, she looked back startled, almost losing her grip on the plate in her hand. “What’s wrong?”
Katie got over her shock and shook her head. “Nothing. Jeez you scared me Paul. I was just calling for dinner. I know it isn’t time yet, but you work too hard as it is.”
Once he realized that she was fine, he looked to what she was holding. “What are you doing?”
“I made dinner. I can’t sit in that bed all day while you two work. It wouldn’t be right.”
“I don’t mind taking care of you Katie, whatever you need.”
She knew that he meant it. His dark blue eyes told her so. Taking the plate from her hand, he helped her to the chair and she gratefully sat down. She had never used some of the muscles she was using now and with one foot out of commission, it all fell on her good leg, but she was still sore as her body was trying to accustom itself to the change.
“You are already too good to me Paul. You are like my own white knight.” It was true and it made Katie sad for a moment. She didn’t want to leave him, even if she had to. “You make me never want to leave.”
“Then don’t.”
He had grabbed his plate and sat down next to her. Neither one of them was thinking about the brother still out working. “I have to. I run the east coast franchises and we are headquartered in New York.”
“What do they do again?” Paul had remembered her telling him about what she did for a living, but Katie had been twisting her red strands of hair between her fingers and he was left with nothing at all to say. He had zoned out, tuning her out at that time, well several times since she had started staying with him. She would do the sexiest things and the whole time not realize she was doing it, making it far more appealing. Katie drove him crazy much of the time, like right then as she touched his hand to pass the salt.
“We own a bunch of restaurants.”
“Is that where you learned to cook?”
“Yes, after business school, I took chef courses as well. I didn’t think I should run a place that I couldn’t do all positions in, so I learned to cook. Always loved to anyways, but there was some techniques that I learned along the way.”
“This is really good Katie.”
She kind of giggled and waved him off. Everything she did was good to him and he had been complementing her since they had met. “I bet you would have said that even if it tasted like slop.”
He looked down, slightly embarrassed and she loved the fact that he could be embarrassed at his age. While Paul had always wanted to talk about her, she still d
idn’t know that much about him. She learned more from other people than Paul himself. He really was a man with few words.
“You are going to be leaving soon, aren’t you?”
Katie looked up from her plate and at his pained eyes. They both knew that it couldn’t last where she was, but her moment from reality had taken her mind off of the passing of her father and if anything, she was more thankful for that than anything else he had done for her. “Yeah I have to.”
“When?”
She suddenly didn’t want to tell him that she was leaving in the morning. Katie didn’t want to leave him in that moment as he looked at her. His square jaw flexed when he was concerned and she felt the same way as he looked, his face so open to expression.
Swallowing hard, she licked her lips and told him that she was leaving in the morning. “So soon?”
“Yeah, I have already been here a week and I have a lot to do when I get back. I am sure the ranch wouldn’t run without you here for a week.”
He nodded, knowing it was coming, yet still not wanting to believe that soon she would be gone. There was something in the way that she looked at him longingly, that made him wish that she didn’t have to go. Paul had maintained a fantasy in his head that they would be together somehow. “I just don’t want you to go, is all. I’ve gotten used to you here and I wish you could stay always.”
Paul leaned in closer to her, so close that she closed her eyes in preparation for a kiss. Katie had been waiting for days for one, always seeing it in his eyes, but he never made a move. She found herself leaning in slowly, urging him to do what she was waiting so long for. Their lips touched softly at first and then harder as he leaned in further, pressing his lips against hers quickly.
Her mouth opened at his urging and the soft moan that left her lips egged him on. Neither one of them saw the door open or heard Scott walk in. Until he slammed it shut as he always did. Paul pulled back reluctantly when she jumped at the sound. They were apart when Scott finally came into the kitchen. “Something smells good.”