Page 15 of In Love with a Ranger

“As you wish,” he called out, frustrating her. “Can I move two feet to the right and sit in the recliner?”

“Sure. Whatever,” she muttered, grabbing her clothing from the counter where she’d put it to change. So much for thinking she had privacy for a little while longer and enjoying a cup of coffee. This was a nightmare, and she was going to have to talk to Houghton or Jill about this – and quickly.

“Christina?”

“Chrisssss…” she drawled pointedly, interrupting him.

“I’m not calling you by a man’s name because you are anything but that – and I’m trying to be a perfect gentleman when I say that you should probably move to the left about a foot.”

Christina froze. She leaned sideways, peering out the opening into the cabin where her new ‘roommate’ was located. Gideon was sitting there in the recliner, with his eyes closed and his face turned away like a gentleman?

At least there was that, she mused in frustration, wondering if he’d seen anything. For some reason, there were no doors in the house because of the extra-large openings making it almost handicap accessible. There were railings in the bathrooms and a bench seat near the tub that was affixed to the floor. She just used it to hold her towel and thought nothing of it – until now.

Now, all of this was a problem. The doors, the single cabin, the fact that he was a guy, and she hesitated. There was only one bed.

“We need to talk…” Christina started almost in alarm and was tucking her T-shirt into her jeans as quickly as possible, walking out – only to see that the recliner was empty. He’d left his bag and the cabin. Where could he have gone?

Opening the door, she looked to see if she could spot him and didn’t see the man anywhere in sight. Maybe he went to the main cabin also to protest them sharing a cabin, because she was certainly headed there now! Just as she shut the door behind her, turned, and started toward the main cabin… she paused, seeing Jill headed her way.

“We need to talk,” Christina repeated those same words to Jill – and kept looking around for Gideon, almost warily. She was wondering if he’d pop out of nowhere once again surprising her, especially after the towel incident.

“We do,” Jill nodded, smiling. “Shall we have some coffee?”

“Probably not a good idea, considering I’m wide awake and slightly on edge,” Christina said openly, feeling full of vinegar right now as she looked over her shoulder again, and still not seeing the unexpected ‘resident.’ “We need to talk because I cannot share a cabin with a man.”

“Did he do or say something?”

“No… but that’s not the point.”

“Was he rude, or did he make advances?”

“No, are you defending him?”

“Of course not. You were here first, and if you want him out, then I will kick him out,” Jill said simply, starting a fresh cup of coffee since her other one had gotten cold. Her back was toward Christina, causing her to circle around so she could see the woman’s face. “If you want him out, I’ll have my sweet Babe take the man on crutches straight to a bus depot.”

“I’m not that mean…” Christina hesitated because it was getting close to dark soon, and she didn’t want to be cruel about things. It was just intolerable to expect her to share a cabin with him. “I just think he should be in a cabin of his own.”

“Then should I kick out Daphne, who has nowhere to go… or Lena, the young lady who just arrived and needed a safe place to clean up her act? Maybe I should send her back home and tell her to ‘be strong’ when her druggie friends come around again.” Jill turned and looked at her with knowing gentle eyes. “It’s a hard decision, but if you need me to remove someone from the property. I understand.”

“Can’t Daphne and Lena bunk together?”

“No, there are two more occupants expected.”

“Males?”

“Actually – yes,” the woman said calmly, not blinking an eye. “We have three females on the property and will have three males here. The first arrived and was scheduled to stay with you. The next is staying with Lena – and then Daphne.”

“And you don’t see something wrong with this?”

“Well, no, but you should have told me if you have uncontrollable urges toward men and cannot act properly,” Jill began, her face eerily calm as she stared at Christina. “If this is the case, I should probably warn the others just like we did regarding Lena’s weakness toward pills.”

“I’m only having one uncontrollable urge right now,” Christina gritted between her teeth. “And it’s not toward a man.”

“Oh, then you most certainly cannot pair with Daphne or Lena,” Jill sputtered, looking shocked to her core. “No. No. No, that would not do at all, and Logan should have said something to us.”

“I’m not…” Christina hesitated, shaking her head. “We’re not having this conversation, okay?! I’m very much into men, not women. That man you’ve paired me with is absolutely ringing every bell in my system and utterly gorgeous, which is part of the reason he cannot stay with me. Jill, there’s one bed, for Pete’s sake!”

“Wear pajamas.”

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