by James, Sandy
Shoveling another bite of the delicious omelet in her mouth, she let a contented sigh escape. Cheese. Sausage. A bit of tomato. It tasted like heaven. Josh’s smiling reaction to her sigh was a little too smug for her peace of mind. Then she had to admit it had been a long time since she’d had food this good, so a little conceit might be in order. The guy could even flip the silly omelet in the air like some flapjack. He’d done so several times just to prove it to her.
“Seconds?” Josh asked, holding up the frying pan that cradled another scrumptious looking omelet.
Libby laughed, setting her fork down on her empty plate. “Actually, I think that would be thirds.” She winked at Sarah. “But who’s counting?”
Sarah felt the heat of a blush spread over her cheeks. Before she could apologize for making a glutton of herself, Josh walked over, scooped the omelet onto her plate, and grinned down at her.
“You need to put a little meat on your bones.” He deposited the pan back on the stove and came back to sit in the chair next to Sarah.
It seemed like Josh actually enjoyed watching her eat. Grabbing a biscuit, he pried it apart and smeared it with raspberry jam. Then he took a big bite and chewed while he watched her eating another forkful of omelet.
Sarah suddenly became very conscious of how she looked. The clothes were a little too big. Libby had found some khaki pants which came close to fitting because they mercifully had a drawstring waist. The only shirts they’d uncovered were either t-shirts that drowned Sarah or men’s dress shirts. Sarah had finally opted for one of the latter in a soft sky blue. After the cuffs continually covered her hands, she’d rolled the sleeves up. The tails hung to her knees, so she’d finally tied them together at her waist. The outfit was hardly attractive.
Not that it matters, she lied to herself. But her looks did matter. A lot more than she’d thought was prudent. She wanted to be beautiful, to be the kind of woman who deserved a man like Joshua Miller.
Horribly aware that her face bore no make-up and her unruly hair was plaited in one long braid that probably looked crooked, she self-consciously tucked a few stray tendrils of hair behind her ear. Until she’d taken a good look in the mirror, she hadn’t realized how painfully thin she’d become. Or how drawn her face looked.
Josh just kept staring at her as he ate the rest of his biscuit. God, he was handsome. Dressed in a red flannel shirt and jeans, he appeared the rugged outdoorsman. Everything about him called to her. The peppering of gray reminded her of a professor. The wise look in those eyes added to the notion.
“What are we doing today, Pop?” Libby asked, reaching for a biscuit of her own. “Horseback riding? I can have Brodey and Dylan bring over a couple of our horses.” She turned to Sarah. “Do you like to ride?”
Before Sarah could answer, Josh chimed in, “You just want to go see Dylan.” Libby’s face flushed crimson. “Besides, Sarah needs her rest. I don’t think horseback riding is restful. Maybe in a few days.”
Sarah arched an eyebrow at him. “A few days? You’re keeping me here a few days?” She wasn’t sure whether to be thrilled or panicked.
Except for a mischievous twinkle, his eyes gave her little indication of what he was thinking. “Depends.”
“Depends?”
“On how long it takes you to get strong again. Days. Weeks.” He shrugged. “Who knows?”
Libby grinned. “Months. Years. Decades.”
Josh winked at his daughter, shoving the last bite of biscuit into his mouth. He never bothered answering Sarah’s question to her satisfaction. “So I’m a hostage now,” she said, pushing the remainder of her omelet around her plate.
He looked entirely offended. “You’re not a hostage, Sarah.”
She chuckled her disagreement and put her fork down.
Libby intervened. “Okay, horseback riding is out. How about an afternoon picnic? Up by the falls?” She shifted her gaze back to Sarah. “Think you’re up to a little walking? We can four-wheel it up there, but we’ll have to walk some of the way.”
Sarah was about to answer when Josh interrupted her again. “Sarah probably needs to—”
“Sarah,” she interjected, “can speak for herself. And she would love to go on a short hike.” She shot Josh a grin, letting him know she truly enjoyed contradicting him but ignoring the fact her legs still felt as weak as sticks of kindling. “Of course, it would be nice to know exactly where she’ll be hiking to.”
“The falls,” Libby replied with a laugh. “They’re in the foothills on the outskirts of the ranch.”
“The ranch? This is a ranch?” Sarah glanced expectantly at Josh.
“The Circle M,” Libby replied.
“We’re in Montana,” he finally explained, before getting up from his chair and carrying some dirty dishes to the sink.
The man had to be pulling her leg. “Montana? Are you serious?”
Josh nodded and calmly started to load the dishwasher. Libby grinned from ear to ear.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how in the hell did you get me to Montana?”
“We flew,” Libby said. “Dad brought us in the Piper.” She pouted her lip. “But he wouldn’t let me take the stick this time. It’s not like I would crash us or anything.”
“The Piper?” Sarah asked.
“My plane,” Josh replied without stopping his chore.
Sarah stared at Josh open-mouthed. The man was truly a mystery. He finally glanced over his shoulder and gave her an impish grin that reminded her of a naughty little boy.
Quite an accomplishment. He’d taken her right out from under Hannah’s nose, got her on a plane—evidently his plane—and flown her halfway across the country. “Montana? We’re really in Montana?”
“Yup,” Josh said, taking some more dirty dishes from Libby.
Hannah would be frantic. She’d be dealing with all the clients Sarah wouldn’t be there to help. “I need to go back.”
Josh shook his obstinate head and started scrubbing the frying pan.
Sarah gritted her teeth. “People need me.”
This time he hummed a little ditty to himself as he shook his head.
About to unleash her temper on him, she suddenly realized she didn’t really want to win this argument. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll stay. For a little while. But I really need to call home.”
“Landline is down,” Josh replied, appearing a bit too pleased with himself if that smug grin was evidence. “Happens a lot around here.” He shared a conspiratorial look with Libby that raised Sarah’s radar a notch.
“I don’t suppose you grabbed my cell phone when you dragged me away?”
He gave her another arrogant smile. “Nope. Didn’t even think about it. Wouldn’t matter anyway. There’s no cell tower close enough to the ranch. You’d have to go all the way to River Bend to get a signal.”
“I need to call home, Joshua. Hannah will be worried.”
“Your sister knows you’re with me. That’s all she needs to know.”
Sarah tried to push down the guilt bubbling to the surface when she considered how many sick people were supposed to come to her for help. What would happen to them? How many people would die because she was a thousand miles from Indiana, eating omelets and flirting with Josh Miller? She was so ashamed she wanted to—
“Stop it, Sarah. I mean it. Stop berating yourself.” His words sounded harsh, but his tone was soft. “You can’t save the whole damn world.”
The fact he could be so in tune with her thoughts was more than a little disturbing. It was so tempting to listen to him, to put aside all her responsibilities and just...live. To heal herself for once.
With a stubborn shake of her head, Sarah opened her mouth to demand that he take her back home. Josh didn’t let her say a single thing before he stated the cold hard truth. “You can’t heal people if you’re dead.”
There it was. Laid out for everyone to see like a ripe piece of fruit on a supermarket display. Sarah’s greatest fear and the fate to which
she’d resigned herself. Tears sprang to her eyes; she tried to sniff them back.
“Libby,” Josh said in a quiet voice as he calmly dried his hands on a dishtowel. “Can you please...?”
Libby nodded and left the room.
Not sure how father and daughter could so easily communicate, Sarah simply sat there, unsuccessfully fighting the urge to weep but trying to hide what she felt from Josh.
She’d always known her fate. When Charlie died, she’d acknowledged she owed an enormous debt on the karmic balance sheet. From the moment that bolt of lightning had found her and imparted such a bizarre gift, she’d known her penance. An eye for an eye. A life for a life. She would give hers in saving others because she had killed Charlie Baxter.
Josh pulled out the chair next to Sarah and sat down again, feeling guilty at causing such a change in her. She looked like someone had hit her in the gut, and he wondered for a moment if it was because of what he’d said or because of something else in her own busy mind.
He’d been blunt. But right now, Sarah needed blunt. Hannah sure as hell wasn’t going to lay it on the line. The woman and her waste of a husband were profiting from Sarah’s sacrifice. Libby had found a savings account in the name of Doug’s dead mother that had deposits being made almost weekly. Large deposits. Josh’s own investigative work had turned up Doug’s nasty gambling habit that surely explained the huge withdrawals from the same account. What Doug wasn’t losing at the slots or blackjack table, he was socking away. And not a damn dime of it went to Sarah, if you didn’t count the money used to pay for the utilities and groceries.
Josh reached out and smoothed a tear away from her cheek. For once, those hazel eyes hid nothing. She hurt, and he thought he knew why. “It’s not your fault they’re sick.” He wiped the tears from her other cheek.
She brushed his hand away and stood up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit.”
That got her attention. She shot him an incredulous glare—the first crack he’d seen in that beautiful façade. Sarah didn’t want to let anyone in. She’d locked her feelings up so tight, Josh realized he’d have to dig deep to help uncover what it was that drove her to risk her life to save others.
Good thing reporters liked to dig.
Josh watched her, saw the turmoil, and suddenly had a moment of brilliance. The pieces of the puzzle fell neatly into place, and he chided himself for not seeing the connection sooner. “It’s not your fault Charlie Baxter died.”
Sarah spun on her heel so fast, she knocked her chair over as she hurried away. Josh reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. She fought like an ensnared animal, twisting and struggling to get free. He finally got her trapped between him and the counter. Pressing his body against hers to still her struggles, Josh braced one hand on each side of her. “Stop it, Sarah. Stop it and listen to me.”
“You don’t know anything about me,” she said, her eyes full of panic. At least she’d stopped trying to get away. “Not a damn thing.” He’d clearly touched a raw nerve. His hunch had been right.
“I know you’re kind. I know you’re compassionate. I know you’ve got lots of life left inside you.”
Sarah snorted a laugh. “Not much of a reporter, are you?”
Josh brushed off the insult, knowing she was trying to push him away because she was afraid of him getting too close. “I also know you’re stubborn. I know you’re smart. And I know you care about me. You care about me more than you want to admit to yourself.” He waited for her to react, fearing he’d pushed too hard too quick.
She tried to shove his right arm aside, he wouldn’t let her leave. Then she tried the left. Tears were streaming down her face again, and Josh wanted nothing more than to kiss them away. He hoped his love could break down the wall she’d so firmly built around herself, around her heart.
“I don’t care about you,” she insisted. “I don’t.” She took a long, shuddering sigh. “I don’t.”
“You do.” Pressing against her to keep her still, Josh put a finger under the chin of her bowed head, lifting gently so he could see her face. “Look at me, Sarah.” She shook her head. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. She wouldn’t open her eyes. “Please, honey. Just look at me.”
The long lashes fluttered until she finally raised those beautiful eyes to meet his. For the first time since he met her, he could tell exactly what was going through that mind of hers. He’d been right. Sarah cared. A lot. Maybe as much as he cared about her. At least, he dared to hope.
“I care about you. I want to help you,” he finally said.
“You can’t help me, Joshua. You can’t change...anything. You can’t change the past.”
A slow ten count helped him hold his temper. Of course he could change things. If she’d just let him. “I’ll make you a deal.”
Sarah brushed away a few remaining tears with the back of her hand. Then she sniffled and arched a delicate blond eyebrow at him. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, but the tears had stopped.
“Instead of deciding everything right now, how about we give it some time?”
Even her sniffles were attractive. She wiped her nose on the rolled-up sleeve on her shirt. “Time?”
“Yeah, time. Sarah Reid, consider this your...vacation. Your trip to Montana to take in the sun and the view and to heal yourself. When you’re healthy, I’ll take you back to Indianapolis, if that’s what you want. With no arguments. Just give me a couple of weeks.”
“A couple of days,” she countered with a note of amusement in her voice that raised Josh’s hopes.
“Weeks.”
“A week. One.” Sarah actually smiled now, holding up an index finger to emphasize her point. He gave that impudent finger a kiss. She smiled again. So sweet and so pure he smiled in return.
“Fine. One week. If you’re feeling better by then.” Josh couldn’t stop himself from caressing one of her reddened cheeks with the back of his knuckles. Those three loving words he hadn’t uttered in a long time tickled his tongue. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was in that enormous man’s dress shirt. He wanted to tell her how much he wanted to hold her. He wanted to tell her that his feelings had quickly become deeper than he’d ever imagined possible.
Leaning in, going slow and watching her eyes to gauge her response, Josh prepared to kiss her. Sarah’s eyes widened for a quick moment, then she closed them. It was all the invitation he needed.
Settling his mouth over hers, Josh kissed her. Her lips were soft, warm, and trembling beneath his own. It took all his willpower not to deepen the kiss, not to ravage her sweet mouth as he really wanted to. Hell, he wanted to grab her, throw her over his shoulder, and haul her right up to his bedroom. Then he’d show Sarah Reid exactly how he felt about her.
Reluctantly pulling away, he was pleased she kept her eyes closed, appearing a bit dazed. He had no choice but to kiss her again, planning what he could do to win her. All he had was a week. God, he hoped that was long enough.
Sarah ended the second kiss. Her cheeks were pink with a blush and she tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. With a shake of her head, she pushed his arm aside and left the kitchen. He had to fight the urge to run after her, not wanting to appear too eager. Even if he was.
At least Sarah was giving him time, and Josh planned to take advantage of every single minute.
Chapter 10
Josh grabbed the picnic basket from the back of the ATV. Sarah had ridden behind him, and she was storing their helmets as Libby still zipped her own four-wheeler around the open field next to the falls.
“You sure she’s okay on that?” Sarah asked as she stared at Libby and her ATV. His daughter drove in an enormous circle, throwing dust in her wake and squealing in delight.
“Yeah, she’s fine. She knows if she gets too wild, I’ll take it away.” He grabbed the blanket and handed it to Sarah. “You hungry?” he asked, nodding at the picnic basket. “I packed a nice meal.”
<
br /> “Seems like all you want to do is feed me.”
“You’re too thin, and you’re supposed to be getting well. Good food. Sunshine. Those will help you get healthy.”
“And good company,” she added, giving him a coy smile. Josh waited for the other shoe to drop. “Libby’s fun to be with.”
“Ouch. The referee takes away a point.” He smiled in return. “I’d hoped you’d get over being pissed by now. Look around you, Sarah. Montana is one of the closest places to heaven on Earth. Just enjoy this vacation. Soak up the sun. Eat ‘til you get fat. Relax.”
She actually seemed to be turning his suggestions over in her head. “I’ll try. But I’m not making any promises. I’m still not used to being kidnapped.”
“I prefer...spirited away for an adventure.”
“Spirited away?” She chuckled, the sound wrapping around his heart and squeezing. She liked to be teased, and teasing was one of his favorite things. “That’s just semantics.”
“Yeah, well. I’m a writer, remember? Word choice is everything.”
Sarah followed Josh as he walked closer to the beautiful waterfall. This was by far his favorite place on the Circle M ranch. During his childhood, he’d loved swimming in and around the cascading water with his multitude of cousins. Miranda had never been one to like camping or picnics, but Libby had inherited her father’s love for the great outdoors. They always enjoyed their time at the ranch, figuring it gave them some good father-daughter bonding opportunities.
“What do you think of the waterfall?” Josh asked.
“It’s so beautiful,” Sarah replied, sounding a bit breathless. Her gaze seemed to have difficulty settling as she gaped at the scene.
“Not as beautiful as you.” God, that sounded lame. It had been far too long since he’d wanted to say sweet things to a woman who interested him. Josh was out of practice, and for a man who made his living by spinning words, he felt pathetically tongue-tied. Wishing he could sit at a laptop and organize his affectionate thoughts into something brilliant instead of using trite adages, he sighed. He only had a short time to win her over. She’d barely promised him a week.