Page 29 of That One Night
“It’s what we do here.” His uncle lay his hand on Hendrix’s arm. “We take care of each other.”
Yeah, he was starting to understand that. And maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. Right now, it felt more like a gift than anything else.
Leaving his uncle, he ran back to the road. Mud splashed his legs, rain soaked his clothes. But he didn’t stop until he got to the lane.
And that’s when he saw Emery. Leading Frank back through the last of the trees toward the pasture.
His muscles loosened with relief.
She was almost exactly at the place where he’d first seen her. Half naked, her arm partially covering the curve of her breasts. Then, he’d thought it was funny. And yeah, he’d lusted after her. What full-blooded man wouldn’t? The woman was gorgeous.
But now he felt something different. Something deep in his belly. And he ran as fast as he could toward her, his heart slamming against his chest.
“You found him!” he shouted when he reached her. She was clinging onto Frank’s neck. The goat gave the softest of brays before his knees folded and he collapsed onto the ground.
It felt like Hendrix’s heart fell with him.
“He was in the water,” Emery told him. “He was so scared he was shaking.”
He wasstillshaking. Hendrix dropped to his knees, stroking Frank’s nose. “It’s okay, buddy. Just a storm.” He looked up at Emery. “You’re shaking too.”
“I had to wade into the pond.”
He winced. “Go home, take a shower. Get yourself warm.” His voice softened. “And thank you. Thank you for finding him.”
“You’re going to need help getting him back to the house,” she said, her voice making it clear she wasn’t going to argue with him.
She looked stubborn and wet and glorious. He felt desire pulse through him.
“I’ll manage.” He squatted down, patting Frank’s nose again. “Hey buddy, we need to get you home,” he murmured, sliding his hands down Frank’s body, one hand curling around his front legs, the other around his back.
Frank was a medium-sized goat. Not huge, but not a baby either. He had heft, and it took Hendrix’s whole strength to lift him. Frank started to protest, and he heard Emery murmur to him, her hand stroking his face as Hendrix came to a stand.
It took all of his concentration to carry Frank across the muddy field, Emery still calming Frank down as they slowly made their way back to the house.
“Nearly there,” she told him. “Where are you going to take him?”
“Into the house.”
“Of course.” She ran ahead of him, opening the door. “Where are your towels?” she shouted.
It was weird how welcome her question was. Like she was telling him he wasn’t in this alone.
When was the last time he hadn’t felt like it was him against the world?
“In the laundry room. Down the hallway on the left.”
She ran in, and he gently laid Frank on the ground. The goat looked up at him, his golden eyes hazy as he tried to work out where he was. There was no fire in the grate – not even logs waiting to be lit. The West Virginian heat required air conditioning in the summer, not burning wood.
“I got these,” Emery said, carrying a pile of old towels into the living room and dropping to her knees next to him. Between them they got Frank dry, then wrapped him up.
“Do we need to call the vet?” she asked him when Frank laid his head down on the now-wet rug and closed his eyes.
Hendrix shook his head. “I’ll watch him tonight and reassess in the morning.” He looked at her, taking in the way her soaking hair clung to her cheeks. Her skin was pink from warming up, but her pajamas were wet and muddy. She looked like she’d been rolling around on the ground.
He assumed he did, too.
“You should go home,” he said again, his gaze lingering on her face. Mostly because he didn’t trust himself to look below her neck. Despite the mud and rain, she looked stupidly enticing.
