Page 9 of In Bed with the Rancher

She heard boot heels scrape the floor as Bill Smith walked into the room.

“I feel infinitely better after that shower,” he said, entering the room, and Ava’s pulse jumped. His hair was neatly combed. He wore jeans Gerald had furnished and his own boots, now with the mud scraped off and cleaned.

“Thanks again for the clothes, Gerald. I’m glad to get out of the others. Except for my shirt, which I threw into the trash, I brought my wet clothes with me in case I can throw them into a washer if you don’t mind. I washed the mud off the clothes, so if you’ll tell me where your washer is, I’ll put these in.”

He was bare-chested and he looked strong and fit with bulging muscles and tan skin. Thick black hair curled across the center of his chest. He still had the dark shadow of facial hair on his chin and jaw. She looked up to meet his gaze. Had he seen her looking so intently at him?

He held a hand towel pressed against his shoulder. “I’m sorry to bleed on your towel,” he said to Ava and then turned to Molly. “If you want to look at my cuts, this is the time.”

“Go into the kitchen near the sink,” Ava said. “The light is good in there and you can pull a chair over or you can go back to his suite. It has a big bathroom.”

“I know the way,” Molly said, crossing the room. “C’mon. We’ll put your clothes in to wash and then I’ll see what I can do for you.”

Ava watched the stranger leave the room. He had muscles, something else that might indicate ranch work. “I’m glad Molly’s here to patch him up.”

“If you’re worried about staying here with him,” Gerald said, “both of you can come stay at our house, like Molly said, or he can go home with us.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Once again, I honestly think I know him. It’ll probably come to me in the middle of the night. With this storm and the area we’re in, I won’t be able to text or call you if I do remember, but if I know him, he’s an okay guy. I don’t know the other kind.”

“A rancher seems likely. I saw his pickup when he jumped out of it. It was one of the big ones.”

“I’ll pick him up tomorrow and let him look at my horses. If he’s a rancher, the horses might jog his memory.”

“That would be nice if it works out, but if we’re still having storms, don’t come out.”

He grinned. “I wish my horses would tell me that,” he said and she smiled.

Soon Molly and the stranger returned. It was difficult to think of him as Bill Smith because that really wasn’t his name. Now he wore a long-sleeved blue denim shirt that Gerald had brought. His arms were slightly longer than Gerald’s and his shoulders were broader, so the sleeves were short. He had the shirt tucked into his jeans and his shirt had the top three buttons undone. His injured shoulder was bandaged, with only a tiny part of the bandage showing. He was handsome and the sight of him, even with his blackened eye, forehead bump and bruises, still took her breath away.

“I feel better. Now if I just can remember who I am, life would be great.” He turned to Molly. “Thanks for coming out in the storm to help and for tending to my wounds.”

“Glad to do it,” she said while Gerald put on his hat and coat and held out Molly’s slicker for her while she slipped into it.

Bill turned to Gerald. “Thank you for bringing the clothes. I appreciate it. In this storm that’s a big deal.”

Gerald put his arm across Molly’s shoulders. “I didn’t want to wait for the rain to let up because from the predictions, we’re supposed to have three big storms move through here. I think this is still storm number one.” He turned to Ava. “We’ll go, but if you want us for any reason, turn on your yard lights. We can see them and if it’s late at night, turn them on and then step outside and fire three shots into the ground. The dogs will bark and all the ruckus will wake me. I’ll hear them and come over.”

“I think we’ll be fine.” She followed them out to their vehicle while her guest stayed behind in the house.

Molly turned to her. “I gave him instructions on things to do, take it easy, take care of himself. No alcohol. He shouldn’t sleep right away. He has everything written so he can show you. Here’s a short list for you,” she said, giving Ava a torn piece of paper. “This isn’t my area of expertise, but I think those are things he should do. He was interested and seems cooperative.”

“Thank you so much for all you’ve done tonight. I wouldn’t have known how to help him.”

“You would have done okay,” Molly said, smiling. “We better go.”

Gerald paused once he opened the truck door. He looked back at Ava. “I meant what I said about firing some shots,” he told her.

She smiled. “I don’t think I’ll need to do that. I think you’re right about him being a rancher.”

Gerald nodded. “I agree. I may remember who he is or at least where we met. We need to know and he needs to know.”

She waited under the porte cochere until Gerald drove into the storm and his taillights disappeared in the darkness and the rain.

When she went back inside, once again, it was just the two of them. Her and the stranger. She was confident that Gerald knew him and would eventually remember how and where, and she wasn’t afraid to have him as a guest. She was far more afraid of her own reactions to him, of the unwanted, fiery attraction she felt that drew her to him, a connection that was pulling her in.

Her worry was, alone with him, could she resist his charm and sex appeal?

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