Page 7 of Stranded with a Bossy Rancher

She just blinks her eyes, and her reaction is nothing like what I thought it would be. I expected her to be surprised. I mean, I have a very small baby bump right now; there’s no way it’s obvious, but then she drops a bombshell. “He told me.” She covers my hand with hers. “And not because he was gossiping or anything. He just thought I should know. How you feeling?”

I let out a ragged breath. “Tired. But I’m just about out of my first trimester, so I’m hoping that goes away.”

Maddie purses her lips. “Don’t count on it. I was tired all the time, but the good thing about working here is, if you need anap, take one. You can pretty much make your hours as long as the job gets done. Trust me, Elliott is very understanding when it comes to pregnant women. I put him through the wringer.”

I lean back in my seat. “Oh no, I’d never nap on the job. I’ll make sure to get a good night’s sleep. I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re tired, you rest. That’s it.”

The sound of Elliott’s gruff voice in the room has me turning in surprise. How in the world did he get in here without us knowing? He’s a big man, and there’s no way he’s light on his feet. I grip the edge of the chair I’m sitting in and try to get a hold of myself. My hormones are raging and are having this crazy effect on me any time I look at him. “Oh, I’m fine. I promise I can do the work.”

Elliott starts coming toward me, and he catches himself because he stops around three feet before he reaches me. “If you’re tired, you go lay down. Anything else can wait.”

I laugh and roll my eyes thinking he’s joking, but it’s obvious by his stare that he isn’t trying to be funny. “Elliott, I’m here to work. I won’t be sleeping while I’m supposed to be working.”

“If you’re tired, I guarantee you’ll be resting if I have to destroy every computer in this house.”

I gasp, and Maddie’s eyes get as big as saucers. She stands up and gives her brother a dirty look. “What my brother is trying to say and doing a really poor job of is that nothing we do in here is on a time crunch. Since I was pregnant and had RJ, we’ve had to rearrange things and the process of how we handle things. We can work around anything.”

Overwhelmed, I nod my head. I can feel the emotions rolling through me, and I know I’m about to start crying. I have no control over it, and before the tears start to fall, I force a smile to my face. “Okay, well, I’m going to go to the ladies’ room. I’ll be back.”

I practically bolt from the room to the surprised faces of Elliott and Maddie. As soon as I’m out of the kitchen, I’m running up the stairs toward my bedroom. I get in and close the door, breathing heavily. I lean my back against the hard wood just as a knock sounds on the door. “Camille.”

I hold my breath, and I’m not sure what I’m thinking. It’s not like I can act like I’m not in here. He undoubtedly just saw me run in here. “Hey, Elliott. I’ll be out in a minute.”

His voice is muffled. “Can I talk to you, please?”

I take too long to answer because he says my name again. “Camille… please?”

I’m debating on whether to answer him or not, and I’m trying to dry my eyes as I do.

“I’m sorry. I want you to know—I need you to know—that I would never, I mean never, hurt you. I know I’m loud and gruff and just say what I want, but I would never hurt you. I wasn’t trying to be mean or hurt your feelings. I just—”

He stops talking, and I open the door before I realize what I’m doing. I wipe at my eyes again. “You just what?”

His eyes search mine, and he’s holding his hat in his hand. “I should never have talked to you like I did downstairs. I just want to know that you’re taking care of yourself, that’s all. I promiseyou—no one is going to care if you have to take a nap midday.” He points his thumb at his chest. “I’m the boss, Camille.”

I have never had anyone care if I got rest or not or if I’m taking care of myself, and it’s a little overwhelming. Can Elliott really be this great of a guy? “Thank you. I’ll take things slow and rest when I need to,” I tell him, even though I know I’m lying. I would never dream of just taking a nap during the day when I’m supposed to be working. “You know, this job seems almost too good to be true.”

He’s back to being gruff. “I’m going to take my sister home. I’ll be back, and then I’ll fix us some dinner.”

He turns on his heel and slams his hat onto the top of his head. Before he gets down the stairs, I call out his name. “Elliott.”

He stops immediately and looks at me.

I clear my throat. “I know… I mean, I know you’d never hurt me.”

He nods his head in agreement, and his voice is gruff as he grabs on to the post of the stairs. There’s regret in his eyes. “I’m sorry if I scared you down there. I just need to know you’re okay, that’s all.” He blows out a breath and then descends the stairs before I can ask him what he means. Why is it so important to him that I’m okay? It doesn’t make sense. We haven’t known each other long, but just as soon as that thought forms, I know it doesn’t matter. I may not have known Elliott long, but I’ve come to care for him too. The days he’s come into the feed store, brought me candy he’d thought I’d like, the times he’s picked a flower just because it reminded him of my eyes and all the times he’s spent talking to me came to mean something to me.

CHAPTER 5

ELLIOTT

“What the hell are you doing?”

I no sooner get the words out and Camille starts to topple off the chair she’s standing on. I walked into the kitchen after dropping Maddie off, and it seems I was worried about her and Camille getting along for nothing because my sister tore into my ass about being nicer to Camille. After promising her I would, I hightailed it back here, and already I’m barking at her.

I dive to catch her, and as soon as she lands in my arms, I hold her to me and don’t want to let her go. She’s gasping for breath, her chest heaving against mine, and I don’t have the words to calm her because I’m so shaken up myself.

---