Page 4 of Wounded Cowboy
“I know, honey. I’m sorry,” Spring said automatically.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. This is all my fault!The accusatory voice in his head was the same one he heard whenever he remembered the night he’d gotten Laura killed.
He’d been planning for months now to fix up the old treehouse Grandpa Frank had built for him and his sisters when they were kids. But he just hadn’t found the time, thanks to his new responsibilities as the ranch manager.
“Are you both all right?” Spring asked, his voice barely audible as he tried to suppress the surge of self-recrimination threatening to overwhelm him. He should’ve replaced those boards as soon as he noticed they were rotten.
April wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and nodded.“Daddy, my knee hurts.”
He gave his oldest daughter a quick once-over. Other than her scraped knee and a few scratches and bruises, she looked okay. Thank God.
“Abby?” Spring pressed, concern etched across his face.
“My hand hurts,” she complained.
Kelsey immediately began examining both arms. Abby winced and yelped as Kelsey pressed gently on her left wrist. “I think it’s just a sprain.”
“Let me see.” Spring dropped down on the step next to his youngest. As a former Marine, he’d received first aid training.
“I don’t think it’s broken,” he said after a moment.“Now, let’s get you both patched up.”
“I have a first aid kit back in my cabin,” Kelsey said, looking serious for once.
The evening breeze carried the faint perfume of lemongrass shampoo to him.
He normally tried to avoid her. Something about her relentlessly cheerful attitude grated on him. Also, whenever he encountered her, he couldn’t help noticing how pretty she was, with a taste for tight jeans and flattering tops that showed off her curves.
Today, she wore a ruffled tank top that exposed smooth, tanned shoulders and deliciously rounded arms.
He wondered what it would feel like to have her hug him like she’d hugged his girls. She’d probably make a soft, citrus-scented armful…
Am I actually lusting after my brother-in-law’s nanny?Horrified, he instantly tried to quash his rogue imagination. It felt like he was betraying Laura’s memory.
“There’s one inside the house,” Spring said, yanking his thoughts back to the here and now.“If you wanna help me, go get it and bring it here.”
“Okay, sure,” she replied, looking taken aback by his tone.“Where is it?”
“Under the sink in the hall bathroom,” he said, and forced himself to add,“Thanks, Kelsey. I’d rather not leave my girls alone out here.”
Kelsey’s expression softened.“I understand. Be right back.”
She got to her feet, and Spring noticed she was wearing shorts that showed off nicely muscled legs right at his current eye level. Flat sandals revealed toes with pink nail polish.
Dammit, why am I noticing that when my girls are hurt?
As soon as she vanished inside the house, Spring opened his arms and gathered his daughters to him. They came eagerly, hugging him. They smelled of bruised grass and coconut sunscreen.“Girls, what did I tell you about that treehouse?”
“That you’re gonna fix it, Daddy,” April said. She added,“But you never do.”
Ouch, thought Spring, a fresh pang of guilt stabbing him.
“Baby girl, I promise I’ll fix it ASAP,” Spring reassured her, returning her hug.“Both of you, please promise me you won’t go near that treehouse until I’ve had a chance to make it safe again.”
“Okay.” April sighed dramatically, and added:“The ladder broke too, so we can’t get up there, anyway.”
“That’s how I fell!” Abby added.
He glanced across his parents’ back yard and saw the splintered rungs of the wooden ladder nailed to the apple tree’s trunk.
