Page 23 of In Love with a Ranger

“We can work this out.”

“Precisely.”

“Christina?”

“Yes?”

“Please go in the other room so I can get in my running shorts to sleep in.”

And she bolted, darting into the bathroom without a moment’s hesitation. Gideon wasn’t shy in the slightest after sharing the barracks with thirty other men. Yep. There were larger bunkrooms, some private rooms, a few private showers, and then the larger locker rooms that had showers lining the walls like he was in gym class. When you only had five or ten minutes to get cleaned up, you quickly lost any inhibition. He changed fairly quickly because his pants had been cut off to allow his cast to slip through the opening, and his shorts were also easy to slip on.

“Are you decent?” she called out.

“Yup.”

And Christina peered around the corner warily before sighing. As she emerged, he couldn’t help but gawk at the pink and white pajama pants that were in a cow pattern. The girl really liked her cows, he mused, smiling.

“So, where are you sleeping?” he said simply.

“The bed,” she whispered hoarsely.

“Where do you want me to sleep so you don’t feel insulted or that I am pressuring you for something more than cohabitation,” and he held his breath as the silence hung in the air between them. “Christina?”

“What?” she barked in frustration, and he sighed. “Get in the bed and get some sleep. I’m going to rest in the recliner.”

“Fine.”

“Don’t start with that again,” he said grumpily. “I’m doing this for you, my mother, and my sake.”

“I thought you wanted to…”

“You know what?” he snapped, looking at her. “You probably shouldn’t finish that sentence because both of us are tired, I’m sore, and neither of us is ready to cross a line. I’ve already said more than I should have, so can we please just get some rest.”

He put his crutches down and yanked the handle on the recliner, putting his aching leg up before pushing the seat backward and he hesitated. He forgot to get a blanket. Before he could say anything, Christina was there covering him up with enormous eyes.

“I’m just nervous and shy,” she whispered in an apology.

“I know – and I’m sorry I snapped at you,” he replied, not looking away from her eyes. “Get some rest tonight, okay?”

“You too.”

7

* * *

CHRISTINA

Time was ticking away – and so was her patience. Gideon couldn’t sleep, couldn’t get comfortable, or had nightmares, waking him up – and her, if she fell asleep. She was on edge and had caught herself looking at his profile in the shadows of the cabin several times, only to see him turn his head, quickly closing her eyes at the last minute.

This was ridiculous.

Both of them were reaching a breaking point, and something had to give at some point, and she was afraid it was going to be her sanity. Today, she was sitting there in front of Moe-the-Cow, milking her, and had leaned forward to rest her forehead against the cow’s side, only to wake herself up snoring. She was so disconcerted that she nearly spilled the pail of milk, causing the cow to become startled, which, of course, drew Gideon’s attention as he was feeding the horses at the end of the barn.

“Are you okay?”

“Yup,” she hollered loudly over her shoulder in almost a panic. She did not need him coming over here to check on her because she was so… so…

Tired.

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