The Maverick & the Manhattanite (Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys)

by Banks, Leanne

  Gage felt a hard twist of discomfort. Lissa sounded an awful lot like Thelma McGee.

  “It’s my job to take care of my people. How am I supposed to stop being protective?”

  “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be protective. That’s one of the reasons I—” She broke off. “One of the reasons I admire you. But you can’t control everything. You can’t prevent every accident or natural disaster.”

  Gage sat with that for a moment. Maybe she and Thelma were right. Maybe he needed to ease off a little bit. “Well, I have to admit, I think I’d have a hard time fighting off a tsunami.”

  She giggled. “You think?”

  It was so good to hear her little laugh. Gage still hadn’t let down his guard since he’d seen her. If Lissa wasn’t alive somewhere in this world, he didn’t know what he would do.

  Gage took her to the house. “I’m carrying you,” he insisted. “You don’t need to take those steps.”

  “This is ridiculous,” she said. “You’re going to get a hernia.”

  He chuckled. “If I do, it will be for a good cause,” he said, as he carried her up the flight of stairs to the second floor

  “You need to put me down,” she said.

  “Not until I get you to the bed.”

  “I need to use the restroom,” she said.

  “Oh,” he said, and set her down at the door to the bathroom. “I’ll be here if you need anything.”

  “I think I can handle this,” she said, closing the door in his face.

  In a snippy mood, he thought, waiting patiently. A couple moments later, she opened the door. “I would like to walk to the bedroom myself,” she told him.

  He sighed. “Okay.” He followed behind her and when she sat down on the bed, he kneeled down to pull off her boots. He looked up at her to find her looking at him with a soft expression on her face. “I’ve missed you,” she said.

  He rose and sat beside her. “I’ve missed you, too.” Reining in the feelings that ripped through him, he leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Let’s not waste any more time fighting.”

  She took a deep breath and let it out. “That sounds good to me.”

  “I’m glad we agree. Now lie down and don’t get up unless I tell you that you can,” he said sternly.

  Glowering at him, she reclined on the bed. “You don’t have to be nasty about it.”

  “I’m not being nasty, I’m being firm. I’m in charge of you for the next twenty-four hours. That means you have to do what I tell you to do,” he said.

  “There was a time when you would find another way to keep me busy in your bed,” she said with a smile too sexy for a woman with stitches on her head.

  “Don’t tempt me,” he told her and hoped the next twenty-four hours of not making love to her didn’t kill him.

  Chapter Ten

  Gage received no less than twelve offers from people who wanted to help. Three from men who offered to take over sitting with her so he could work. Jared Winfree, who’d caused so much trouble at the bar, even had the nerve to call the office and say he wanted to know where he could take some flowers.

  “You can tell him the only flowers he’s gonna see are from pushing up daisies if he tries to come anywhere near Lissa,” Gage told Vickie heatedly.

  “Okay, calm down,” she said. “But we’re getting a ton of food and we need to do something with it. You want me to bring some by the house?” Vickie asked.

  Gage nodded. “Sure. That will be fine. I’ve been feeding her canned soup, but I think she may be ready for something else soon.”

  “Okay, now let me talk to Lissa,” she said.

  “She can’t talk,” he said. “She’s resting.” More than likely she was bored out of her mind because he wouldn’t let her have either her cell phone or iPad.

  “I’ll stop by the rooming house and pick up a few things for her. She might like a change of clothes.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “We’ll be here.”

  Lissa would hit the twenty-four hour post-concussion mark in just a few hours, but Gage was going to try to keep her down as long as he could. She’d rested well last night and he’d woken her every three hours just as the doctor had instructed. He’d noticed her touching her forehead as if it hurt, but whenever he asked, she denied it. Instead of arguing, he just gave her a cool cloth.

  An hour later, Lissa awakened and a few minutes after that, Vickie knocked at the door. “Come on in,” he said to Vickie. “It’s nice of you to bring us some food.”

  “I couldn’t subject Lissa to your idea of food after she’d been injured,” Vickie said and headed for the kitchen armed with bags and a tote with clothing. Gage relieved her of the bags.

  “Let me talk to her,” Lissa called from the bedroom. “I’ll come downstairs.”

  “No, you won’t,” he said, but Lissa was already making her way down the stairs.

  “I want to see Vickie,” she said.

  “Hey there, girl,” Vickie said and grimaced. “Oh, my goodness. That beam got you good, didn’t it?”

  “Is it that bad? I haven’t looked today,” Lissa said.

  “Nothing a ball cap and some makeup won’t cover. I brought you a change of clothes and some food. Now sit down before Gage throws a conniption,” she said, urging Lissa into a kitchen chair.

  “Do you know anything about the new crew? Gage took away my phone,” she said in disgust.

  “You wouldn’t rest if I didn’t remove all communication devices and we both know it,” he said. “What do you want to drink? I have soda and water.”

  “Soda,” she said, pressing her right eyebrow.

  “Oh, look, her head is hurting,” Vickie said. “Can she take anything?”

  “Not much at the moment,” he said. “They told me to give her cool washcloths,” he said and dampened a fresh one for her.

  “Thank you. It does help,” she said then turned to Vickie. “He really has been very gentle.”

  “Well, I hope so. I’d hate to hear he was being a cranky pants,” Vickie said. “Your new volunteers arrived and the pastor is going to fill in for you the next few days.”

  “That’s nice of him,” Lissa said. “Do you know where they’re planning to go first tomorrow? Are the lunches prepared for them? And—”

  Vickie held up her hand. “I’m sure everything is taken care of. You’ve got this whole thing running like a well-oiled machine. The local people are coming out of the woodwork asking what they can do.”

  Lissa smiled. “I know there are good people all over the world, but you guys from Rust Creek Falls keep surprising me.”

  “Well, we’ve taken a pretty big shine to you, too. Some of us wouldn’t mind if you stayed. Right, Gage?” Vickie hinted.

  Gage plastered a confused expression on his face. “Huh?”

  “Yeah, huh,” Vickie said. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Will told me to tell you that everything’s been pretty quiet if you need to take off another day.”

  “No. I’ll be in tomorrow. I’m taking Lissa to the rooming house and Melba has agreed to look out for her.”

  “I don’t need to have anyone look after me. I’m better,” she said.

  Vickie leaned toward her and patted her hand. “Sweetie, you haven’t looked in the mirror. You need a little more rest.”

  Lissa shrugged. “I may look bad, but I feel fine.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t want to scare any of those volunteers,” Vickie said and stood.

  “Gee, thanks,” Lissa said.

  “You wouldn’t want me to lie,” Vickie said with a mischievous grin. “Y’all enjoy the food. That apple cobbler looks to die for. I almost kept it for myself. Bye now.”

  As soon as Vickie left, Gage dug into the bags of food. “
Hey, there’s turkey and dressing in here. Beef stew and some rolls and—”

  A scream rent the air. Gage whipped around saw that Lissa was no longer sitting in the kitchen. He raced toward the bathroom. Lord, he hoped she hadn’t fallen again.

  He found her staring in horror into the mirror. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I look like Frankenstein,” she wailed.

  He chuckled. “Not really,” he said and stepped behind her. “You don’t have those weird little bolts sticking out of your neck.”

  She shot him a sideways glance. “No wonder you’ve been acting like you’re afraid I’ll break. Let me see what else Vickie brought. I hope she tucked some concealer in that bag somewhere.”

  “You don’t need to be worrying about how you look. Especially tonight. You need to keep resting.”

  “My twenty-four hours is up,” she said.

  “You still need to take things slow. I know it’s hard for you, but you’ve got to be lazy.”

  “And how would you respond if someone told you to be lazy?”

  “The same way you are,” he said and gently pulled her against him. “That’s why I understand how hard this is for you.”

  “Thanks for taking care of me. I guess I’m not the best patient.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be as good as new soon enough,” he promised. “Just try not to rush it. Everyone wants you back at full throttle.”

  After a filling dinner and dessert, Gage returned Lissa’s electronic devices to her. She made a few calls and sent several text messages then she took a break. “Everyone’s telling me to rest,” she said.

  “Let’s do something we haven’t done together before,” he said.

  She smiled at him. “What would that be?”

  “Watch some television,” he said.

  Lissa punched at him.

  Lissa might fight the rest, but Gage noticed she fell asleep on his shoulder halfway through the show they were watching. Gage carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed.

  Her eyelids fluttered open. “Hi,” she said.

  His heart turned over. She had no idea how pretty she was even with bruises and stitches.

  “You don’t want to kiss me because I look like Frankenstein,” she said.

  He lowered his head and took her mouth in a deep caress. “I always want to kiss you, Lissa.”

  * * *

  The next day, Gage checked in on Lissa every other hour. By the fourth time he called, she sounded irritated. Chuckling, he hung up the phone and went on patrol to give Will a well-deserved break. On the way back, he filled up his gas tank and spotted Collin Traub doing the same thing. Collin had not only lassoed Gage’s sister’s heart—he and Willa had been married at the end of July—he had also thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for mayor of Rust Creek Falls.

  Although Gage had voiced his support for Collin, he knew he was supposed to appear more neutral than not. That didn’t mean he couldn’t warn his future brother-in-law about what he’d heard about the Crawford family. “Hey, man, come here,” he called to Collin.

  Collin waved then finished filling up his tank and pulled to the side. He strode toward Gage. “How’s it going? I know you’ve been working double time lately. And did I hear the volunteer coordinator from New York got hurt recently?”

  “Yeah. She’s a pistol, but she was no match for that beam that fell on her,” Gage said.

  “Ouch,” Collin said with a wince. “Will she be okay?”

  “If she’ll slow down a little bit,” Gage grumbled. “But there’s another reason I waved you over. As you know, I’m supposed to be neutral on this election, but I thought it was fair for you to know that I’m hearing rumors that the Crawfords are working on a smear campaign on you. Handle that information however you see fit.”

  Collin nodded with a serious expression and shook Gage’s hand. “Thanks. You’re a good man.”

  “I try,” Gage said dryly. “Take care, now,” he said. “And take care of my sister.”

  Collin’s expression softened. “You know how I feel about your sister,” he said.

  “Yeah, I know,” Gage said, pushing down a twist of irritation. Romance was easy for other folks, but not for him.

  Lissa tried to rest, but it was torture when she wanted to be with her volunteer crew. And everyone was so chintzy with the information they provided. “Go rest,” they all said. “We’re all fine.” It was all she could do not to spy.

  She’d promised Gage, however, that she would rest, and she was doing her best. He’d taken her back to the rooming house so Melba could check on her every couple of hours, which prevented Lissa from getting into too much trouble.

  When she looked at the calendar, she felt sick to her stomach. Her assignment with Bootstraps would be over soon. There was still so much to do. If she were truthful, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the people of Rust Creek Falls. Even more, she hated the thought of not being close to Gage. He was the most amazing man she’d ever met and she didn’t want to lose him.

  With that in mind, she wrote a heartfelt email to her supervisor at Bootstraps, pleading for an extension of her time in Rust Creek Falls. She could only hope her supervisor would agree with her.

  Just when Lissa was sure she was going stir-crazy from staying inside all day, Melba knocked at her door. “There’s a young man who wishes to see you,” she said.

  “Who would that be?”

  “Why, Gage, of course,” Melba said.

  Lissa slowly went down the stairs to find him at the front door. “Hi,” she said. “Nice to see you. What’s the occasion?”

  “I’m taking you back to my house with me,” he said. “Melba took care of you today, but I’ll take care of you tonight.”

  Her heart turned over at the expression in his eyes. How could she leave such an amazing man?

  The next morning, Gage took her to the rooming house, but Lissa slapped on some concealer and a ballcap and headed over to the church to meet the volunteers. She knew she probably shouldn’t spend the whole day out with them, but she couldn’t resist the urge to be with the people who were doing so much for Rust Creek Falls.

  She greeted the pastor and his face fell. “Oh, my goodness, Miss Roarke, you must go back to your room and rest,” he said. “You’re clearly not well yet.”

  Well, darn, Lissa thought. So much for rallying the troops. She needed better concealer.

  She went back to her room and moped. How interesting that Gage had never looked at her with horror over her bruises and Frankenstein stitches. Without saying a word, he made her feel beautiful every time he looked at her.

  The following day, Lissa went to the general store wearing sunglasses and bought every concealer they carried. Perhaps she should order over the internet. She checked out and the cashier studied her.

  “Are you Lissa Roarke, the charity woman from New York?” the cashier asked.

  “Yes,” Lissa said hesitantly. “I recently had a little accident and I’m trying to conceal the bruises.”

  “Let me see,” the woman said.

  Lissa reluctantly lifted her sunglasses and the woman widened her eyes.

  “Ouch,” she said. “Looks like it was more than a little accident. Yellow for a blue bruise, but the colors will change. After that, green for red bruises. And bangs are your friend.”

  “How do you know this?” Lissa asked.

  The cashier’s gaze darkened. “Bad experience. Never to experience again.”

  “Good for you,” Lissa said. “If anything other than a beam hits you in the future, please call me.”

  The cashier tilted her head. “I’ll do that. Good luck with the bruises.”

  “Thanks,” Lissa said and left the general store. That was one more person with whom
she felt a bond in Rust Creek Falls. The numbers were racking up.

  Lissa did more work on her iPad, but also took a few mininaps. She was surprised how tired she was. Again, at the end of the day, Gage picked her up and took her back to his house.

  She felt more energetic than she had felt in days as she walked into his house. “Think you can make love to Frankenstein?” she challenged.

  “I’ve been counting the minutes,” he said and carried her up to his bed. He made love to her sweetly and tenderly and she fell asleep in his arms.

  Lissa watched her email daily, anxious to get a response from her supervisor giving her more time in Rust Creek Falls. In the meantime, she followed the clerk’s instructions and painted the upper half of her face with yellow. Wearing sunglasses, she met the volunteers the next morning.

  She saw several people trying to look past her sunglasses, but tried to distract them. When one person was clearly not listening to her, she finally said, “I have bruises. They’re ugly. I’m trying to protect you.”

  “I can deal with it,” the man said.

  Lissa lifted her sunglasses.

  The man winced. “Okay.”

  “Yeah, give me a break,” she said. “How are the repairs going?”

  “Good. We would love to be able to place furniture,” he said.

  “It’s coming in the next few days,” she said.

  The man nodded. “Are you single?”

  “Not really,” she said, but she appreciated the compliment of being asked.

  Lissa visited the different crews by midday and tried to motivate them. She hated how tired she got by midafternoon, but surrendered to her weariness and took a nap. By evening, she was refreshed.

  Gage took her to his ranch again. This was becoming a habit. A habit she wanted to continue. They made love again and again throughout the night, though he was utterly gentle with her.