Page 50 of Treat Her Right

Chastity said, “Oh be still, Wynonna. Let the man have a look.”

Zack looked.

A long bloody scratch ran up and over her ribs almost to her breast. Zack looked furious. “This needs to be cleaned.”

“I’ll take care of it as soon as youlet-me-out-of-the-bushes!”

He began checking her arms, her legs. Wynn, peeved at being the center of attention, scrambled out of his reach, gaining more scratches in the bargain. Using the side of the house for support, she stood.

Her efforts ended in a gasp and she almost dropped again. Zack caught her under the arms. “What is it? Your leg?”

“No.” She squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered. Damn damn damn. There was no help for it. Drooping, she said, “It’s my toe.”

“Your toe?” her father repeated.

“My baby toe.” She was balanced on her left leg, so Zack rightfully assumed she’d injured her right toe.

“I’m going to lift you,” he told her. “Tell me if I hurt you.”

“Zack!” The whole situation was going from bad to worse. “You can’t lift me.”

“She weighs more than I do,” her father said.

Wynn gasped. “I do not!” She tried to slap him, but he ducked aside.

In the next instant she found herself securely held against Zack’s bare chest. His arms didn’t shake and his legs were steady. He didn’t appear the least bit strained.

Awareness mushroomed inside her.

She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had lifted her up. Even Conan didn’t do it anymore, claiming she was too big, and he could easily bench-press four-fifty.

It felt kinda nice. Dumb but nice.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, but said, “You can put me down, Zack.”

He stepped out of the bushes. “Dani, come with me into Wynn’s house. We’ll get you dressed in just a minute.”

“We’ll be late,” Dani predicted with an adult sigh, and skipped after him.

Wynn looked over Zack’s shoulder and saw her parents watching the display with fascination. She groaned. “This is awful.”

“Wynn?”

“What?”

“You’ll notice I’m not even breathing hard.”

She looked at him, his hair mussed and his eyes still heavy from sleep. His sleek, hard shoulders were warm and his chest was solid. He smelled delicious. “I did notice that.”

“And I’m not straining, either.”

Despite her humiliation at having fallen off a ladder, shocking her parents and making Zack run late, she smiled. “Superhero.”

He grinned. “C’mon Dani. You can open the door for me. I think Wynn’s parents are a little confused by all this.”

“They’re confused,” Wynn responded, “by the sight of a male neighbor feeling me up in the bushes and toting me around with a lot more familiarity than has ever been exhibited in the past.”

“I wasn’tfeeling you up.I was checking you over. There’s an enormous difference.”

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