Page 2 of In Bed with the Rancher

As thunder boomed and the first drops of rain fell, Ava Carter saw a pickup in the distance ahead. The drops turned into torrential rain and she could barely see anything except red taillights. Frowning, she pressed the accelerator, trying to narrow the distance. She rarely saw anyone on this back road in the area where she owned a cabin for an escape from her busy life in Dallas. She had been in Persimmon, the nearest small town, and had attempted to beat the storm back to her cabin, but she wasn’t going to do it.

In Persimmon, when she’d heard that the weatherman had updated his forecast for torrential rains, she’d grabbed what supplies she could and left for her cabin.

It had surprised her to see taillights ahead on the usually deserted back road. If that was a stranger, someone unfamiliar with the area, the driver needed to turn around, too, because in a downpour the road would be under water in minutes.

She wanted to catch up enough to flag the driver, but the rain was too intense.

A deluge of rain hid the pickup’s taillights from her view. She leaned on her horn, hoping that might make the person stop, but the rain and thunder probably drowned out the sound. Seconds later, she knew it was too late when the pickup vanished as the road turned in a sweeping curve. At that moment, another bolt of lightning illuminated the entire area and she saw water gush over the highway and the pickup wash off the road. As it went over the edge, still carried by the stream of water, a man jumped from the pickup, hit the ground and rolled down the incline, disappearing from her view. Carried by the rushing stream of water, the pickup crashed into a tree and was then swept around it, continuing down toward the raging creek.

Frightened for the man who jumped, she felt compelled to help him.

Ava pulled to the side of the road, leaving her lights blinking, even though she was certain no one else would happen along. She couldn’t drive away and leave someone lying on the steep slope to the creek in this terrible storm, which was predicted to get worse.

She jammed on a broad-brimmed Resistol hat and yanked on a rain slicker. With a deep breath, she stepped out and ran to the edge of the road, where she looked for the driver. Rain made it difficult to spot anyone, so she cautiously started down the slope that was becoming slippery and muddy where there weren’t weeds and high grass. Then she spotted the man sprawled on the ground, his fall evidently stopped by the low-lying branches of a cedar.

Soaked and chilled, she inched down the treacherous, steep slope. When she reached him, the stranger was lying still. As she thought about what to do, she kneeled beside him. To her relief, he stirred.

“Thank heavens, you’re conscious,” she said. Because of a blow to his head, a knot had popped out high on his brow at his hairline and his skin was already bruising. A deep cut across his shoulder bled even as rain washed over it. He didn’t have a jacket, just a torn shirt, jeans and boots.

Cold rain pounded them and nearby a tree crashed to earth, taking small trees with it and leaving thick roots sticking up in the air, reminding her to hurry.

“We need to get back to the road to my pickup.” She took his wrist to feel his pulse, which was strong. Then she reached out and pushed the tangled black hair off his face. When she brushed his face, his eyelids fluttered and she looked into brown eyes that suddenly held her attention as much as if he had reached out and touched her. Her gaze locked with his, caught and held as if in a trap. In spite of the raging storm, the world closed down to just the two of them. Her awareness of him rocked her and she could only stare at him, stunned.

She shouldn’t be feeling anything except the cold, drenching rain. Since her broken engagement to Judd Porter, she had been numb to men, not wanting to go out with any of them. Not even her male friends. Being around any man brought back the painful memories of Judd. So how, then, could this total stranger, with chilling rain pouring over both of them in a raging storm, captivate her and make her heart race?

A clap of thunder and then a sizzling lightning bolt brought her out of the brief daze and she realized every second they were out in the storm, their situation grew worse.

As if he, too, sensed the danger, the man sat up and she was relieved to see he could move.

“You’re sitting, so how’s your back?”

He shrugged and grimaced. “My back is okay. My head feels as if someone is pounding it with a hammer.”

“We need to get to my pickup. If I help you, can you get up? And do you think you can make it back up this hill?”

“Yes, I can,” he said as if there was no question about it.

“I have a cabin nearby. We have to get out of here before we get cut off by rising water. We can’t go back to the last town now. Trees are falling and there’s lightning. You’re on an isolated back road. An ambulance wouldn’t get here for an hour at best, and if the rain keeps up, an ambulance can’t get here at all. I doubt if we can even get phone reception here. We can still drive to my cabin, I think.” The whole time she talked, he gazed at her with such an intent look that her tingling response to him continued.

“Your cabin it is. Let’s get out of here if you know a way.”

“I do. It’s not good, but it’ll do. The weather predictions are getting worse.”

“I’m ready,” he said, standing without difficulty, and she realized he was fit and in good physical condition. She also noticed that he was tall, broad-shouldered and rather good-looking.

“Let me help you up the incline,” she said, stepping beside him.

“I’ll be okay,” he said, as she thought he would. His shirt was ripped where he had fallen and been cut, the tattered, soaked material clinging to a muscled chest and a torn sleeve revealing a strong bicep.

“You’ll have to look for your pickup later,” she said.

“At the moment, that’s not my worry.”

“No, it isn’t. We need to get to solid ground before some of this incline gives way and takes us down with it,” she said. “Let’s go.”

The climb was slippery, mud constantly making them lose their footing as they gradually neared the road.

Seconds later, there was a crack of tree limbs breaking and then another tall oak fell. He pushed her away from the tree and not even the tips of leaves touched them, but chunks of ground broke off and slid downhill.

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