Page 28 of Seized by the Lawman

“No! I’m fine. Once I get some water in me I’ll be like new.” There was no way she could see a doctor and risk Nix finding out about her secret. She wasn’t ready. The ranch depended upon her and telling him about the baby would only complicate things. “Once I’m feeling a little better, I’ll be back out on the land.”

“Like hell you will. You’ll take the day off,” Nix said through tight lips as he lowered her to the couch.

“We have work to do.”

“Correction. The hands and I have work to do. You need to rest and get your energy back.”

She looked up into his concerned expression. “You’re here to show me the ropes, right?” He nodded in answer. “I won’t learn anything here on my couch. Truly, I’ll be okay.”

Nix studied her. “Woman, you’re as feisty as your father. No wonder you two butt heads.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

His grin reached in and ticked her insides. “I’m getting you some water. Stay put.” He wiggled his finger at her.

“Yes, sir.” She smiled widely.

“How about something to eat too? It’ll help get your energy back.”

“Come to think of it, I could use something.” Melly tilted her chin. “Does that mean you’re offering to make something?”

“I’m not completely inept.” He winked.

“There are makings for ham sandwiches. Why don’t you make us both lunch?”

He looked at her, brows lifted. “You want me to stay?” He removed his hat and dropped it to the coffee table. His hair was cut recently and he was missing some of his natural waves, but it was the sparkle in his warm eyes that got her.

Asking him to stay probably wasn’t the most logical thing, but if he was offering to prepare lunch, how rude would she be to show him the door? However, there was a sliver—or rather an ocean—of her that wanted him to stay for completely different reasons. Could she put aside her raging libido to eat a sandwich in a platonic setting? “I’m inviting you to have lunch with me. If you’re preparing it, I couldn’t possibly ask you to leave. But we must agree that you keep your hands to yourself.”

“Are you sure it’s not your restraint you’re more worried about?” Dimples bracketed his dreamy grin. She was a bit dizzy sitting in front of him, faced with his tanned, incredible looks, alluring blue eyes and wicked smile. His words were said in a sexy, casual drawl that reminded her of a trickle of water flowing over the rock-bed of a creek. All these enticing attributes were wrapped up in a tall, masculine, wonderful cowboy. The benefit, he knew his way around a woman’s body—around a woman’s heart. Making him a dangerous force. He shifted, stretching his worn Wranglers across thick thighs and her senses were stoked by an image…smooth saddle and a good ride. Without the horse.

Resisting the urge to fan her face, she hoped her voice worked. “I have to remind you that on the horse my hands were innocently in my lap and yours were misbehaving, as well as your mouth.”

Hunger flitted across his face, and that grin, the one that sent her near an invisible edge, deepened. “Can’t argue that one. So, if I’m staying to eat, I need to rinse off. I was mucking the stalls earlier. Do you have an outdoor hose?”

An image of him shirtless with the hose over his head, water trickling down his body certainly could make her tremble. “I have something better. A bathroom with running water,” she teased.

“I couldn’t use it.”

“Why not? Too modern for a cowboy such as yourself?”

“If you don’t mind. I won’t be long.”

“Up the stairs and fourth door on your left. Towels are on the shelf.”

After he grabbed a bottle of water and uncapped it for her, he excused himself and went upstairs.

The second he was out of sight, Melly jumped up, feeling much better, and hurried to the wall mirror and looked at her reflection. Just as she figured. Her unruly hair had tight curls, even a piece of straw was sticking in the mess. She plucked it out and went for a finger combing, but it didn’t work much. Thankfully her skin had some color since she’d been on the ranch because otherwise she was certain she be flushed with the pink of excitement.

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