Page 17 of In Bed with the Rancher

“Leave her alone, buddy. Don’t complicate her life or your own,” he whispered, wondering if he was way too late for that bit of advice.

* * *

Ava woke to the tempting smell of coffee brewing and the sound of raindrops hitting her windows. Startled, she sat up and remembered her houseguest and the past day and night. It was still raining, so they would still be cut off from any communication with the outside world. Would this rain last all day? Two days?

She felt that each day that her houseguest couldn’t try to contact someone or at least check with the sheriff of Persimmon, the stranger ran a risk of someone missing him badly.

When she recalled his kisses, her pulse jumped. Briefly, she was lost in memories of his strong arms holding her and his kisses demolishing the defenses she had kept around her heart. She had avoided getting involved with another man since her engagement crash. Until now. She’d taken foolish risks in kissing the stranger because he was exactly that—a stranger. He didn’t know himself and she certainly didn’t know anything about him. She stepped out of bed to shower and dress, and then she’d go and see if he was better this morning. Had any of his memories returned?

* * *

He was sipping the hot coffee he’d brewed and watching it rain when footsteps caught his attention and Ava walked through the door. When she did, his pulse raced.

Looking gorgeous, she was in jeans and a pink short-sleeved sweater that had two open buttons at the throat. Her straight, silky blond hair fell to her shoulders. She had on cowboy boots and she made his heart pound just looking at her.

“Good morning,” he said, standing and smiling at her, fighting the urge to cross the room, wrap his arms around her and kiss her. He tried to remember the lectures he had given himself last night about kissing her and doing anything that might cause her more heartache. Intellectually, he knew what he should do. Physically, he yearned for her. “You look fantastic.”

“Thank you. Another rainy day, I see. The coffee smells great,” she said, entering the kitchen.

“You sit and I’ll get your coffee. What do you want in it?”

“Just black, please,” she said, sitting across from where he had been sitting.

He placed a cup of coffee in front of her and went around the table to sit facing her.

“You look a bit better than yesterday. Your black eye has improved slightly and that bump you had is gone. How’s the memory?” she asked.

“A few random things that are insignificant. Not people, nothing that’s really a help. Before you got up, Gerald stopped by. He said he might take me to Persimmon to the sheriff if we can get out of here. Judging from the pouring rain and what you’ve told me, I don’t think we can get out.”

“I know you can’t and Gerald knows it, too. The rain has to stop and then the water has to run off and the creeks and streams go down. Just relax. We’ll try to find something fun to do,” she said, smiling at him and he smiled in return.

“May I make a suggestion?”

“I don’t think so, unless it doesn’t involve both of us and anything where we would touch each other.”

“Well, you never want to hear my suggestions. They were good rainy-day ones,” he said. “It would just put a bit of fun into our lives and I don’t have to even know who I am to participate and have a great time. You don’t have to do anything, but just be your irresistible self.”

“I think we should avoid temptation and move on to other topics.”

He sighed. “I know you’re right and have spent more than half my waking hours since we last talked lecturing myself and promising myself I wouldn’t do what I just did—tell you I want to kiss you. So much for common sense. I’ll try to do better. We can talk about the rain or you can tell me more of your life history. I can’t tell you anything. I’m a blank.”

“Not really. You have ideas.”

“Oh, yeah, do I ever,” he said and smiled. “See what I mean? You bring that out in me.” He tried to keep the conversation light, but that wasn’t the way he felt. He wanted her in his arms and he wanted to kiss her. Right now, while he looked at her, his heartbeat was faster. They sat looking intently at each other and he realized she was fighting desire just the same as he was.

“What do you do to entertain yourself here?” he asked as he sipped coffee.

“Ride one of my horses sometimes, which is out now. I garden, which is also out. I have a gym and I exercise most days. I run on the treadmill each day. Sometimes I bake things to freeze and take back to Dallas with me. Or I get my camera and take pictures.”

“If they’re anything like the one over the mantel, they’re good.”

“Thank you. I have good subjects—my horses, Gerald’s, too, a roadrunner who hangs out here in the summer, owls that are here year-round, a pair of cardinals. Once I caught a mountain lion going through.” She stood and he came to his feet.

“I’ll start getting breakfast,” she said.

“I’ll help. What can I do?”

“I’ll scramble eggs and you pour orange juice,” she said. She walked around the table and they both crossed to the kitchen counter and cabinets. He glanced down at her to catch her looking up at him, and when she did, he knew she wasn’t thinking about breakfast.

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