Fletch
I scowl at the empty spot where Nella’s van was parked. She must’ve snuck off while I was in the shower, or I would’ve heard her leave.
Part of me expected something like this after I kissed her last night. Not sure what possessed me to do that.
At first, she responded like a dream, granting me access to her mouth as her hands grabbed onto my shirt at the small of my back. She pressed her body against me, and the last of my control went out the window. I had my tongue down her throat and my hand under her shirt covering one of her luscious tits, when I could feel her freeze up.
All she did was whisper a soft, “No,” and I released her so fast she wavered on her feet. Then she mumbled an unnecessary apology and disappeared into the bedroom. My first instinct was to go after her but I could hardly barge into her bedroom, so I left without a word. It had been a long day, emotions were high, and I planned to have a chat with her this morning, but it looks like that’s not going to happen.
I spent half the night rethinking that decision, and now it’s not even seven o’clock and she’s gone. I just don’t know if she’s gone for good.
Walking over to her cabin, I try the front door which is firmly locked. We don’t normally lock doors here, but I guess Nella found the key by the side of the door. That would mean she intends to come back. I blow out a relieved puff of air before turning toward the main house. Better check in before I run after her. It’ll give me a chance to cool down first.
Alex is standing by the stove in the large kitchen and Jonas and his dad are sharing a newspaper at the table. My stomach grumbles at the smell of frying bacon. No sign of any of the others yet.
“Morning.”
Thomas is the first one to spot me.
“Morning,” I echo as Alex turns around and throws me a smile.
“Scrambled okay for you?” she asks.
“Great. Thanks.”
I take a seat beside Jonas, who eyes me conspicuously.
“Did you piss off our guest already?”
I wisely keep my mouth shut. The boss has an uncanny ability to see through any lie, and the truth is, I probably did piss her off last night when I groped her.
I guess he wasn’t expecting a response because he continues, “Saw her sneak out of the cabin earlier and take off.”
“Hospital would be my guess,” I volunteer as Alex sets a mug of steaming coffee in front of me.
“And yet you’re here, which makes me wonder.”
“Leave him alone, Jonas,” Alex admonishes him from the kitchen.
He mumbles something under his breath and dives back into his newspaper, but his father still has eyes on me.
“Pretty little thing, isn’t she? I saw her from a distance. Too bad we haven’t been introduced yet.”
“The woman’s had a tough two days,” I snap. “She’s walking around with broken ribs and her sister’s in a coma. Cut her a break.”
The old man seems to find my reaction amusing, and once again I feel his son’s sharp eyes on me.
“Relax, my boy,” Thomas says with a grin. “Not faulting her for anything. I just wondered why you’d been keeping her to yourself. And more importantly, why you let her go off on her own.”
“That’s quite enough out of you as well,” Alex pipes up, sliding a plate in front of him.
“What did I do?” Thomas asks innocently, making Jonas chuckle.
To avoid any further discussion about Nella, I ask what’s on the docket for today as Alex serves me a plate.
“We were supposed to move some of the foals to the south pasture,” Jonas shares. “But I just got a call from the family of a missing hiker up on Mount Sterling and I’m waiting to hear back from the ranger station. Looks like we’ll be heading out there so the foals will have to wait.”
“I can take care of the foals,” I volunteer, catching an odd look from him.
“I thought you were supposed to be off hunting bighorn,” he points out.
It’s the tenth of September today, four days left. I guess I could head out but, because of a pair of pretty hazel eyes and a lush mouth, I don’t want to venture too far. I could pop into the hospital, make sure she’s okay, and keep busy the rest of the day.
Before I can respond to Jonas, Ama bustles into the kitchen.
“Sorry I’m late. Una had a little episode this morning,” she mutters as she pours herself a cup.
“Oh no. Is she all right?” Alex wants to know.
Ama flaps her hand. “She’s fine, it’s me who has the lasting effects.”
Una is Ama and James’s sixteen-year-old daughter, who has been acting out a bit lately and giving her parents a run for their money.
“Like I told you before, feel free to drop her off at the rescue any time. Lucy is good at cracking the whip,” Alex offers before she announces to Jonas, “I should get going. I’ve got that blind appaloosa coming in this morning. Let me know if you go out on that search.”
She’s not kidding. Lucy is Alex’s manager at Hart’s Horse Rescue a few miles up the road. She’s tiny—shorter than Nella—but is tougher than many a man I know. That woman can be intimidating.
“I’ll walk you out.”
Jonas gets up and follows Alex down the hall and I hear the front door close. I’m sure they’ll be in a hefty lip-lock on the front porch. Those two seem to have trouble keeping their hands off each other. Even though they’ve been together for the past six months, this is the first time I envy their connection.
I find Nella in the small ICU waiting room where the nurse directed me.
Apparently, visits on this floor are limited to fifteen minutes only a couple of times a day, and I’m guessing Nella already had her first visit in. She looks up and sees me.
I experience a rare pang of compassion at the forlorn look in her eyes and the remnants of my earlier anger at her for skipping out disappears.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” she answers in a soft voice.
“How’s your sister?”
The waiting room is empty but I take the chair next to her.
She shrugs. “The same.” Then she slumps back in her seat, her shoulder brushing mine. “She still has a fever so they were giving her another dose of something to try and bring it down.”
She sounds dejected.
“Her body is weak yet, Nella. It makes sense she needs a little extra help and time to fight off the infection and the fever.”
“I know.”
She lists a little until she’s leaning against me and my arm automatically rounds her, tucking her close. Her head rolls against my shoulder and I rest my chin against her hair.
We sit like that for a while in silence.
At some point she asks in a quiet voice, “Why did you come?”
I lift my head and look down at her, but she keeps her eyes fixed on the opposite wall.
“Checking in on you. You left before we had a chance to talk.”
She tucks a hank of hair behind her ear. “I wanted to get here early.”
It’s not hard to hear the lie. I have a gut feeling she doesn’t do it often so instead of calling her out on it, I let it go.
“Did you sleep at all?”
Now her head turns my way. “A little.”
“We should talk…about last night.” I feel her stiffen beside me but soldier on. “I probably shouldn’t have kissed you.”
Nella
I knew he would bring that up.
Last night was messed up. The kiss was definitely unexpected—handsome men don’t go around kissing me with any regularity—and this one swept me right off my feet. For a moment he made me forget everything, I didn’t even recognize myself. Then his hand was under my shirt and on my breast when I heard a horse neigh outside and reality suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I was at the ranch, losing myself to a tall, handsome cowboy while my sister was in a coma at the hospital.
The guilt had been so fast and thick, I could almost taste it. Still can.
I couldn’t face him this morning. Couldn’t imagine being introduced to the other people at the ranch, smiling and being polite, while I was feeling like the manure pile I’d spotted next to the barn when I was sitting on the porch watching the sun come up. So I bolted and came straight here.
But his words still sting. Reality must’ve hit him too, and he probably wants to make sure I don’t have any expectations.
I don’t know much about men. At least not men like Fletch. Maybe it was my lack of experience, or exhaustion, or the highly emotional events of the day that had me misinterpret the look I saw in his eyes as interest. Last night, I thought he’d instigated the kiss but this morning I realized I practically threw myself at him.
And yet, here I am again, snuggling into his side.
I probably shouldn’t have kissed you.
With his words echoing in my mind, I abruptly stand up and move to a seat across from him, just to create a little distance. I’m like a moth to the flame when it comes to this man.
“I’m sorry.” It feels like I’m always apologizing to him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” he snaps, his surly disposition back on display.
The man’s moods are hard to keep track of. He makes me feel unbalanced.
“Last night. This morning. Everything.”
His heavy eyebrows—barely visible under the brim of the hat he’s wearing—draw together to form a stern line over his deep-set eyes.
“That’s bullshit. In case you missed it, it was me kissing you last night.” He flips off his hat with one hand before agitatedly running the other through his thick hair. “I took advantage of you. Fuck, I practically mauled you when you could barely stand on your own feet. That’s not me.”
I stare at him in disbelief. Advantage of me?
“I liked it,” I blurt out, and I can’t stop myself from adding, “a lot.”
My confession is instantly followed by a flush of embarrassment as Fletch’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
“You did.”
It’s more of a statement than a question, but I nod anyway.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he mutters.
He leaves shortly after, citing some work he needs to do, but he first makes me promise to come back to the ranch after I see Pippa. He surprises me by dropping a kiss on the top of my head before he takes off.
This time when I sit down next to my sister’s bed and the nurse closes the curtain to give us some privacy, I take her hand, lean close, and in a soft voice tell her all about this puzzling man I’ve met.
Two visits a day is all I get, so when the nurse alerts me my time is up, I kiss Pippa’s forehead—the only place free from tubes and bandages—and promise her I’ll be back tomorrow.
But when I walk out of the hospital a few minutes later, the rest of the afternoon and evening seem to stretch out in front of me. I’m not good at sitting around with nothing to do, but I’ve done plenty of it yesterday and today. All it does is make me focus on the negative. I need my hands to be busy.
Instead of turning the van left to go back to High Meadow, I turn right. My plan is to pick up some supplies for the cabin—other than coffee and creamer the fridge had been empty—and maybe bake a few pies as a thank you for letting me stay there. I’ll also need some groceries so I can cook my own meals. I already owe these people so much; I don’t want to infringe on their hospitality any further.
At Rosauers—the same grocery store I visited when I first got here—I fill my cart with enough food to last me the week. As an afterthought I pick up a few bottles of wine. Purely for medicinal purposes, in case I have trouble sleeping again. A glass of wine will knock me out, I’m a bit of a lightweight.
I can hardly believe it was only a week ago I arrived here. So much has happened, it feels like much longer.
As I pull out of the parking lot, I spot the sign for the Sandman Motel and remember the bench from my van which is still stored in Martha’s garage. I might as well go pick it up, I think my boondocking days are over. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to check for vacancies while I’m there.
I have no idea what is going to happen with Pippa or how long I’ll be here, and I can’t stay at the ranch forever. That reminds me, I should call work and let my boss know what’s going on. Derek won’t be happy to know I’ll likely need longer than the two weeks he reluctantly granted me.
A pickup truck I recognize as Wyatt’s, Martha’s son, is parked in front of the garage when I pull up to the motel office. Maybe he has time to give me a hand. I get out, open the van’s side door, and snag a bottle of wine from one of the grocery bags to give to Martha as a thank-you.
She’s behind the counter when I walk in and her face lights up with a smile.
“The whole town’s been abuzz about you finding your sister. How is she? What happened?”
Living in a small town myself, I’m not surprised the news has done the rounds. Even though I expected it, I still have to clear my throat at the mention of Pippa.
“She’s in pretty rough shape. They’re keeping her in a coma for now, so it’s not clear what exactly happened yet.”
Her smile is instantly replaced with a look of concern.
“Oh dear, I’m so sorry. I hope she pulls through.”
I swallow hard before I respond.
“So do I.” Then, eager to change the subject, I ask, “I notice the sign says no vacancies, when do you think you might have something available?”
“We’re pretty booked up well into October, but let me have a look.”
I mentally cross my fingers for something as she turns to her computer screen.
“For how long?” she wants to know.
“I’m really not sure. I hope once my sister improves, we’ll have a clearer idea.”
“I see. Well, the first available room I have is for October twelfth, and only for three nights before it’s booked again.” She glances at me with a sympathetic smile. “I told you, it’s crazy here this time of year.”
Rats. If we’re still here in October, I might as well move because I’m pretty sure I won’t have a job to return to.
“No worries,” I tell her with a smile I have to plaster on. “If I leave you my number, could you let me know if there are any cancellations?”
“Of course.”
She slides a notepad and pen across her desk and I quickly jot down the information.
“I appreciate it.” Then I hand her the wine. “I appreciate everything you’ve done. I was also popping in to get my bench from your garage.”
“That’s mighty kind of you, but it was no trouble at all.” She rolls back her chair. “Let me get Wyatt. He’ll give you a hand with that.”
I end up being sidelined when Wyatt insists he handle the bench by himself.
“You found her then?” he questions.
“We did.”
“Was she lost or something?”
“Injured. She managed to keep herself alive though.”
“Guess she’s pretty lucky,” he points out as he closes the van’s back doors.
He’s not wrong, I just hope her luck hasn’t run out.